Engineering in general is a very popular career choice at the moment. This is because the field itself provides a variety of excitement and rewards, and it is also one of the best paying career choices of late. More and more people are looking towards becoming an engineer and the colleges are responding by providing relevant programs.

Engineering is a simple concept but can be quite complex as well. It is all about solving problems. Engineers use their technical as well as scientific experience and knowledge, to find ways around problems. Being imaginative as well as having good judgment is one of the finer points of being a good engineer.

Does this sound like an interesting career choice for you? Do you have that creative spark as well as imagination? Are you good at science, physics and math? If so, this career choice may be just perfect for you.

One of the more popular types of engineering being studied is mechanical engineering. This discipline offers a wide variety of career fields once you graduate. According to statistics, mechanical engineering job prospects look very bright, but there are variations within that as well depending on which areas you specialize in.

Going to school and getting an education in mechanical engineering can be quite a costly career investment because a bachelors degree will need to be obtained as a minimum, in order for you to get an entry level position in a firm. However, right off the bat, your starting salary will be quite high compared to other industries. You will also need to be continually learning and studying because of the speed at which technology advances within the industry. You will always need to stay up-to-date on what’s going on with the latest tools, innovations and materials.

There are many colleges out there which offer undergraduate degrees in engineering. Most of them will take five years of schooling to complete. You also have the option of focusing on another major degree in combination, such as civil or electrical engineering. There are just so many variants available for you to choose from. If you want to specialize, you can even go for a PhD, and this can even take you down the route of research as well as academia.

Statistics show that in the year 2000, there were approximately 5,000,000 engineers working in the United States, whereas now they are roughly 20,000,000 people working as engineers (in general). That’s quite a huge number when you come to think of it.

Public engineers will be required to obtain a license and that requires them to sit for two exams. The first is taken immediately after obtaining the degree and the other will be taken during the course of your career. The first one allows you to become an engineer in training. The second makes you a “professional” engineer.