Discovering different types of engineering to look for your future career path? There are many branches of engineering that concern every aspect of our daily life, from computer and healthcare to agriculture, environment, robotics, and more. If you’re a person who loves math and invention, dive into the different fields of engineering with us in this post!
What is Engineering?
Engineering is the discipline that applies scientific and mathematical knowledge to solve real-world problems. Different from science, which is about discovering and understanding the natural world (seeking knowledge for its own sake), Engineering is about applying knowledge to create or improve things that can serve humanity.
Thus, the heart of engineering is problem-solving; the method involves science and math knowledge, and the process is centered on design, build, and implementation. Another feature of engineering work is that it works within constraints, including cost, safety, time, performance, durability, usability, aesthetics, and environmental impact. The solution is never perfect, but rather about striking a balance and making compromises.
4 Major Types of Engineering
The classical types of engineering refer to Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, and Chemical Engineering, also called “The Big Four”. These branches are the foundational pillars of engineering, and most other specialties have evolved from them. Here is a detailed breakdown:
1. Civil Engineering
- Typical Occupations: Site engineer, project engineer, structural engineer, design engineer, quality control, urban planning.
- Median Salary: $99,590 annually
- Best Universities: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of California, Berkeley, Delft University of Technology.
Engineering is one of the most important branches of engineering, which focuses on the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and natural built environment. It encompasses a broad range of fields closely related to our quality of life. Infrastructure like transportation, water resources, buildings, and environmental systems is all covered. Talking about civil engineering is about building and maintenance of roads, bridges, airports, dams, canals, skyscrapers, modern apartments, and more about your daily living, and transportation.
2. Mechanical Engineering
- Typical Occupations: Design engineer, materials engineer, quality engineer, MEP engineer.
- Median Salary: $102,320 annually
- Best Universities: Stanford University, University of Cambridge, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Nanyang Technological University.
3. Electrical Engineering
- Typical Occupations: Electronic engineer, telecommunications engineer, contral system engineer.
- Median Salary: $111,910 annually
- Best Universities: Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Tsinghua University.
Electric engineering is a specialized field of engineering that focuses on the study and design of electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. More simply, it is about understanding how electricity works and applying that knowledge in practice. Electric engineering is the technology that transformed and redefined the 20th century, with the invention and application of electric power, telecommunications, radio, and television. Nowadays, it is more about connecting modern society with wireless networks, designing circuits for smartphones, and developing electric power systems for buildings, among other things.
4. Chemical Engineering
- Typical Occupations: Petroleum engineer, materials engineer, biotechnologist, pharmaceutical engineer.
- Median Salary:$121,860 annually
- Best Universities: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Seoul National University, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
Chemical engineering is one of the most fascinating engineering disciplines, transforming raw materials into new, useful products. Math and physics are still its foundations, but chemistry and biology are also important. Chemical engineers transform laboratory processes into practical applications, primarily involving conceiving, designing, and producing products such as chemicals, fuels, foods, pharmaceuticals, and biologicals. They usually work in research laboratories or manufacturing plants and always require protective equipment, such as goggles, hard hats, and steel-toe boots.
Other Different Types of Engineering
There are numerous engineering branches and fields generated from the classic four major types. Here is a brief overview about what they are and their career prospects.
Aerospace Engineering
- Typical Occupations: Aerospace engineer, aeronautical engineer, flight test engineer.
- Median Salary: $134,830 annually
- Best Universities: University of Oxford, Purdue University, University of Michigan–Ann Arbor.
Aerospace Engineering has two branches: aeronautical engineering (atmospheric flight) and astronautical engineering (space flight). It is about the design and development of aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, rockets, and missiles.
Computer Engineering
- Typical Occupations: Software developer, web developer, computer hardware engineer, computer programmer.
- Median Salary: $116,287 annually
- Best Universities: Carnegie Mellon University, Georgia Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich, Peking University.
Computer science is the design and development of both computer hardware and software systems. It is a broad engineering branch that combines the hardware of electrical engineering and the software of computer science.
Biomedical Engineering
- Typical Occupations: Biomedical engineer, clinical engineer, biomaterial engineer.
- Median Salary: $106,950 annually
- Best Universities: Johns Hopkins University, University of Cambridge, University of Pennsylvania.
Biomedical engineering is an essential engineering field concerning healthcare, mainly about applying medical and biological principles to create medical devices, prosthetics, imaging systems, tissue engineering, etc.
Industrial Engineering
- Typical Occupations: Industrial engineer, manufacturing engineer, process engineer, quality engineer.
- Median Salary: $101,140 annually
- Best Universities: University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, Purdue University, Beihang University, Polytechnic University of Milan.
Industrial engineering is about improving the efficiency and productivity of an integrated system of people, materials, information, equipment, and energy.
Environmental Engineering
- Typical Occupations: Environmental engineer, environmental cousultant, environmental technician.
- Median Salary: $104,170 annually
- Best Universities: Stanford University, Tsinghua University, Imperial College London.
Environmental engineering cares more about how to improve the natural environment (water, air, soil) through ways such as site remediation, waste disposal, pollution control, and recycling.
Materials Engineering
- Typical Occupations: Metallurgist, polymer engineer, ceramic engineer.
- Median Salary: $92,390 annually
- Best Universities: Harvard University, National University of Singapore, Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Material engineering is an engineering branch to design and discover new materials and their application, concerning metals, ceramics, polymers, composites, etc.
Nuclear Engineering
- Typical Occupations: Nuclear engineer, reactor operator, radiation safety officer.
- Median Salary: $112,637 annually
- Best Universities: University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, North Carolina State University, University of Tennessee–Knoxville (Tickle).
Nuclear Engineering is a broad engineering discipline, focusing on the application of nuclear physics and radiation science to power generation, medical diagnostics, and other industries.
Petroleum Engineering
- Typical Occupations: Reservoir engineer, drilling engineer, production engineer.
- Median Salary: $141,280 annually
- Best Universities: University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, University of Alberta.
Proteoleum engineering focuses on producing methods for extracting oil and gas from deposits below the Earth’s surface. It is an important engineering field that is crucial to not only the energy sector but also to the natural environment.
Marine Engineering
- Typical Occupations: Naval architect, marine surveyor, port operations manager.
- Median Salary: $105,670 annually
- Best Universities: Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Harbin Engineering University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Marine engineering is the discipline of designing and building ocean-going vessels, offshore platforms, and other structures and systems that operate in the marine environment.
Robotics Engineering
- Typical Occupations: Automation engineer, mechatronic engineer, robotics technician.
- Median Salary: $121,351 annually
- Best Universities: Carnegie Mellon University, University of Tokyo, University of Southern California.
Robotics engineering is an interdisciplinary subject that covers mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering, focusing on the design, construction, and use of robots.
Agricultural Engineering
- Typical Occupations: Precision agriculture specualist, irrigation engineer, farm equipment designer.
- Median Salary: $84,630 annually
- Best Universities: Wageningen University & Research, Zhejiang University, University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Agricultural engineering applies engineering principles to agricultural production and processing, enabling better management of natural resources.
Nanoengineering
- Typical Occupations: Nanomaterials engineer, nanoelectronics engineer, nanomedicine engineer.
- Median Salary: $120,442 annually
- Best Universities: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tsinghua University, Nanyang Technological University.
Nanoengineering involves manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale (1-100 nanometers) to create new materials and devices, a challenging engineering discipline that combines physics, chemistry, and various engineering fields.
Mining Engineering
- Typical Occupations: Mine manager, geological engineer, drill and blast engineer.
- Median Salary: $101,275 annually
- Best Universities: Colorado School of Mines, Curtin University, McGill University.
Mining engineering focuses on extracting minerals from the earth and designing mine shafts and tunnels by using engineering principles.
Which Type of Engineering is the Best?
Engineering covers diverse branches and there is in fact no single ‘best’ type. The choice mainly depends on your personal interests and career goals. Computer Science and Engineering used to be hot for the last decades with lucrative salaries, but it seems not to be a wise choice for today’s job market. Also, agricultural and environmental engineering are usually regarded as a choice of the niche market, but will be suitable for students who care about the natural resources and environment.
Apart from market demand, future salary, choosing from so many types of engineering requires consideration of your own:
- Interests
- Passion
- Career Plan
- Strengths
- Experience/Background
If you enjoy working with code and programming, computer engineering will be a good choice. If you care more about human health, consider pursuing a career in biomedical engineering. Some engineering jobs will require not only professional knowledge, but also more. For example, working as a chemical engineer means you will spend your days in labs and wear protective equipment. Many will also require field work with limited infrastructure. Therefore, it is essential to consider the pros and cons before being overwhelmed by the high salary and your passion.
How to Become an Engineer?
If you have decided to work in one of the core branches of engineering, the next step is to figure out how to plan your academic steps, considering what courses to excel in, which university to get into, and what experience or qualifications are required.
First, if you’re going to study one of the kinds of engineering in college, you usually need to first excel in subjects like math and science, or even chemistry and biology is related. Then, choosing the specific field of engineering you’re going to study and several colleges, make sure their entry requirements about grades, exams, launguage, and apply them. After getting into college with the ideal subject, you are getting close to success. What you need to do then is to word hard on your courses, get good results, and also get required qualifications for your future career.
Top Engineering Universities
Don’t know which university is best in engineering fields? We have collected several top engineering colleges all over the world as below:
Best Universities for Engineering in the USA:
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Ranked No.1 by QS University Rankings for Engineering & Technology, excels in University Rankings for Engineering & Technology.
- Stanford University: Computer Science, Chemical Engineering, and Civil and Environmental Engineering are usually cited among the top programs in US.
- University of California, Berkeley: Specilizing in specific fields like Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Environmental Engineering, which usually ranked #1 or #2 in US.
- Georgia Institute of Technology: Its Industrial and Systems Engineering consistently ranked #1, and others like Biomedical, Civil, Computer, Environmental, Aerospace, Chemical, and Mechanical Engineering are also top 5.
- California Institute of Technology: No.5 best engineering schools in US, sepcialising in Aerospace, Biomedical, Chemical, Civil, Electircal, and Mechancal Engineering.
Best Universities for Engineering in Europe:
- ETH Zurich: Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Robotics, Systems, and Control, and Quantum Engineering are its best engineering subjects.
- University of Cambridge: Providing a broad, flexible Engineering BA (Hons) and MEng degree with specializations like Aerospace, Bioengineering, Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, and Information & Computer Engineering.
- Delft Universit of Techonology: Offering excellent courses in Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, Civil Engineering, and Electrical Engineering.
- Imperial College London: Highly-recognized for its Aeronautical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computing, and Chemical Engineering courses.
- Technical University of Munich: TUM is particularly well-known for its programs in Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, and Information Engineering.
Best Universities for Engineering in Aisa:
- National University of Singapore: Known for its engineering fields like Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering.
- Nanyang Technological University: Having many ighly-ranked engineering programs, with top courses including Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Computer Science.
- Tsinghua University: It excels in many top engineering branches, and most famous for its Computer Science and Chemical Engineering.
- Peking University: Key engineering areas to explore include Aerospace Engineering and Energy and Resources Engineering.
- University of Tokyo: Offering comprehensive engineering disciplines, including Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Materials Engineering, and Biotechnology.
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Final Thoughts
There are various types of engineering fields, many of them are lucrative and have bright career prospect. Also, engineering work is highly demanding on qualification, background, and experience. Good in math and science is a must, and you also need to get into a good engineering school, and pass related exams. If you’re a person love invention, sloving problems, and good at math, maybe you will be suitable to study engineering.
FAQ
How many types of engineering are there?
There are four major disciplines of engineering: Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, and Chemical. However, there are dozens of specialized and interdisciplinary fields, like Biomedical, Aerospace, and Software engineering, bringing the total to well over 20 distinct types.
What are the 21 types of engineers?
The 21 types of engineering disciplines include Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Aerospace, Computer, Biomedical, Industrial, Environmental, Materials, Nuclear, Petroleum, Marine, Mechatronics, Software, Robotics, Agricultural, Architectural, Fire Protection, Geological, and Telecommunications Engineering. Each field applies core principles to specialized areas, from building infrastructure and developing software to designing medical devices and exploring sustainable energy solutions.
Which engineering is best for future?
Several engineering fields offer exceptional future prospects. Top choices include Renewable Energy Engineering for sustainability, AI & Machine Learning for automation, Robotics for advanced manufacturing, and Biomedical Engineering for healthcare innovation. The “best” ultimately depends on your personal interests and the specific global challenges you wish to address.
What is the highest paid engineering?
Petroleum engineering consistently ranks among the highest paid engineering branch, due to the complex, high-risk nature of oil and gas extraction. Other top-paying fields include Computer Engineering (hardware/software integration), Electrical Engineering (power systems), and Chemical Engineering, with salaries heavily influenced by industry, experience, and location.
Which engineering is hardest?
The hardest type pf engineering typicall include Chemical, Electrical, and Aerospace Engineering. They involve highly abstract concepts, intense mathematics, and complex theoretical principles. However, the difficulty ultimately depends on an individual’s personal aptitudes and interests in math and science.
What is bachelor of engineering?
A Bachelor of Engineering (B.E. or B.Eng.) is a four-year undergraduate academic degree. It provides the foundational knowledge and skills in a specific engineering discipline, preparing graduates for careers as professional engineers through a curriculum of theory, practical labs, and design projects.
