CATEGORY | Career Planning

The field of engineering has grown drastically in the past couple of decades, as has the overall demand for engineers in the workplace. Well over 100,000 students graduate with a degree in engineering each year, according to ASEE – that’s in the US and Canada alone. Engineers are sought after by many companies for their problem solving abilities, discipline and technical backgrounds. There is a caveat worth mentioning, though – many of these companies aren’t engineering firms. Statistics vary, but I’ve heard as many as ~50% of all engineering degree holders are not actually working as engineers. Supply and demand dictates that the more engineers there are in the workplace, there’s less of a demand for them all, and the job market gets more saturated as the pace of supply outruns the pace of demand. If you’re an engineering graduate, it’s a coin toss chance as to whether you’ll work as an engineer or not. There are, however, many alternative careers that engineers are a good fit for. Onto the main focus of this article: can an engineer become a project manager? Let’s explore it.