Design Engineer

Answer 1

Design engineering is a field that many people are seeking to enter. While the market and demand for engineers fluctuates, design engineers tend to make a good living and have a job that certainly earns respect. The term design engineer can cover a variety of specialities within the discipline such as: mechanical, electric, civil and architectural engineering. There are many opportunities and many directions to take for one interested in training to be a design engineer.

A design engineer usually works alongside a team of other professionals, or uses one of many software programs, in developing plans for prototyping or building a product or sometimes a construction project. These plans or drawings are blueprints as to how a product is to be put together. They would be focused on the inner workings on the project rather than aesthetic design, in most cases. In construction, this would be the very core and foundation of the house or building. Once the plans are completed, a prototype is built for testing and further analysis.

One of the fascinating parts of being a design engineer is that often times this engineer will be forever tied with the product he or she designs. This is not a monotonous type of a job, but one that people invest parts of themselves into in a real sense. A design engineer must be creative, mathematically-minded and incredibly detailed. Once a project is underway, it has the specific fingerprint of the designer all over it and that can last for the lifetime of the product.

Salary of a design engineer depends both on years of experience and location. On average, an entry-level salary would be no less than $48,000 a year. On the other hand, seasoned and experienced design engineers can make up to $128,000 or more depending on speciality. Electrical engineers tend to make more on average than mechanical or civil engineers.

Design engineers must go through schooling and the certification process before entering the workforce. While the training may seem expensive and lengthy, the reward is a very good salary doing a job that is creative and interesting. It is worth the journey.