Engineering
enrollment decreases, leaves more job
openings
By Jeff Laban
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
Although enrollment at Cal State Long Beach has increased this year, in the engineering
department has decreased.
“
Enrollment is dropping in the engineering field naturally in the U.S.,” said
the Dean of the College of Engineering Michael K. Mahoney. “It’s
not just Cal State Long Beach.”
This implies there will be more job openings for those in the engineering field.
Mahoney also noted that the physical science field is decreasing.
“
The career counselors for the engineering and physical science departments said
people in the respective fields are in demand,” Mahoney said.
Not only are the jobs available, but the seven applied science degrees also make
up seven of the top 10 majors receiving the highest starting salary, according
to the National Association of Colleges & Employers (NACE) summer 2005 salary
survey.
The top five average salaries are chemical engineering with $53,813; computer
engineering at $52,464; electrical engineering at $51,888; aerospace engineering
with $50,993; and systems engineering at $50,887. Mechanical engineering and
industrial engineering compete at $50,236 and $49,567 respectively while computer
science is at $50,820.
Each area has a wide array of specific jobs, though each can be looked at as
a whole.
Without civil engineers, buildings might collapse unexpectedly and potholes would
be more likely to appear on roads. Civil engineers design and supervise construction
sites, making sure all goes according to plan.
Mechanical engineers work with mechanical devices. They research, design, cultivate,
manufacture and test them. The field of nanotechnology offers new principals
to the design process, something CSULB’s mechanical engineering majors
can look forward to.
Computer software engineering is projected to be one of the fastest growing occupations
over the next six years. However, they must continually strive to build new skills
to adjust to the rapid changes in computer technology and be able to apply the
principles and practices of computer science, engineering and mathematical analysis
to create, test and evaluate the software that allows computers to perform their
many applications.
Aerospace engineers create planes, missiles and rockets such as the rocket that
landed Neil Armstrong on the moon. Skills used in aerospace engineering are also
becoming increasingly valuable in others fields, such as motor manufacturing.
Workers in this field design vehicles that have lower air resistance and thus
increased fuel efficiency.
With global positioning in cell phones, police may be able to find kidnapped
victims and get to emergency situations faster.
Electrical engineers developed this technology. The field of the electrical engineering
includes designing, testing and supervising the creation of electronic equipment-from
the SPA building’s
wiring configuration to robot control systems.
Computer hardware engineers, different from software engineers, research, create
and test computer hardware while supervising its manufacture and installation.
The circuit boards and chips that make Myspace and Beachboard possible came from
workers in this field.
Civil engineers may build the bridges the public walks on, but chemical engineers
build a bridge between science and manufacturing. Equipment is designed and developed
by chemical engineers to process large-scale chemical manufacturing, treat byproducts
and test ways of manufacturing other products. Some chemical engineers may go
into producing electronics, photographic equipment, pulp, paper and even clothing.
Students in Cal State Long Beach’s engineering department have plenty of
job opportunities to look forward to.
“
About 2,500 alumni have gone into Boeing from our school,” Mahoney
said. “We’re the third largest provide of students to Boeing, next
to Washington and Washington State.”
|
