What are the prospects for a career as a mechanical engineer?
There were approximately 227,000 mechanical engineers working in the United States in 2006. Mechanical engineering jobs are expected to increase by 4% by the year 2016, which is lower than the expected average rate of growth in all industries during that same time period. This slow growth rate is due largely to a decline in overall manufacturing employment. Biotechnology, nanotechnology and materials science will likely create more positions for mechanical engineers, and these engineers will also find that their mechanical engineering skills and education will transfer to other engineering fields, which will open up more job opportunities.
