Manufacturing Engineering

Types of Degrees Manufacturing Engineering Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many manufacturing engineering technology graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	1,866
Associate Degree	1,255
Bachelor’s Degree	712
Undergraduate Certificate	648

What Manufacturing Engineering Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, manufacturing tech majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Manufacturing Tech Majors

Manufacturing Tech majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for Manufacturing Tech Majors

When studying manufacturing tech, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Manufacturing Tech Majors

As a manufacturing tech major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

What Can You Do With a Manufacturing Engineering Major?

People with a manufacturing tech degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Industrial Engineering Technicians	0.6%	$55,460

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Manufacturing Engineering?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 89% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of manufacturing tech majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	40
Black or African American	117
Hispanic or Latino	132
White	866
International Students	11
Other Races/Ethnicities	89

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Manufacturing Tech, too. About 0.9% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Manufacturing Engineering Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to manufacturing tech is $58,860. This median refers to all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Manufacturing Engineering

Some careers associated with manufacturing tech require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to manufacturing tech have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	9.7%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	12.0%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	1.3%
Some College Courses	36.9%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	25.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	14.7%

Online Manufacturing Engineering Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	126	2
Certificate (2-4 Years)	6	0
Associate’s Degree	217	3
Bachelor’s Degree	3	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	9	3
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Manufacturing Engineering Worth It?

The median salary for a manufacturing tech grad is $58,860 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 48% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $379,200 after 20 years!

Trades Related to Manufacturing Engineering

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to manufacturing tech.

Major	Number of Grads
Industrial Technology	4,134
Other Industrial Production Technologies	1,752
Welding Engineering Technology	328
Plastics & Polymer Engineering Technology	290
Composite Materials Technology	106
Metallurgical Technology	45
Chemical Engineering Technology	43
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology	3

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By ICAPlants under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.