They design, develop, monitor, and operate nuclear plants to generate electrical power. They work in many different capacities include the nuclear fuel cycle—the production, handling, and use of nuclear fuel, and the the safe disposal and storage of nuclear waste. They also work on  the development of fusion energy. Some specialize in the development of nuclear power for naval vessels or spacecraft; others work on the industrial and medical uses for radioactive materials.

Currently there are about 15,000 nuclear engineers in the United States today. Depending upon weather the government backs nuclear energy, that number could could grow at a moderate rate or accelerate at much faster pace if the country turns to nuclear energy to nuclear energy to stave off it's dependence upon foreign oil. In the worst case scenario. The number of nuclear engineers needed over the next decade will grow about as fast as the need for all other industries. Nuclear engineers earn an median amount of $90,220 per year. The highest 10% of engineers earn over $124,000 and the lowest 10% earn just over $65,220. Education does pay off. Those nuclear engineers who hold a bachelor's degree earn about $56,587 or a or a master's degree, $59,167

Most job growth for nuclear engineers is expected to be for research and development or for engineering services. While no commercial nuclear plants have been built in the United States for decades, nuclear engineers are needed to operate existing plants. Defense-related areas is another sector in need of nuclear engineers.

Overall, nuclear engineers should expect good employment opportunities because the small number of nuclear engineering graduates is likely to be in rough balance with the number of job openings.

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Aerospace engineers design, develop, and test spacecraft, aircraft, and missiles. They supervise the manufacturing of these products. If you are an aircraft engineer, you are called an aeronautical engineers, and spacecraft engineers are called astronautical engineers.

Aerospace engineers develop new technologies and improve current technological systems for such industries as aviation, defense, and space. Some specializations include structural design, guidance systems, navigation and control systems, instrumentation and communication systems, or production methods.

Specializations can cut across other verticals as commercial aircraft, military fighter jets, helicopters, spacecraft, or missiles and rockets, and may become experts in aerodynamics, thermodynamics, celestial mechanics, propulsion, acoustics, or guidance and control systems.

Employment Situation

Currently there are about 90,000 engineers employed in the United States. They are expected to have about a 10 percent growth rate in employment over the next decade. That is about average for almost all occupations. The employment outlook for aerospace engineers does appear favorable.

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Education Outlook

Unfortunately, the number of degrees granted in aerospace engineering has declined for many years because there is a perceived lack of opportunities in the field.

Many new graduates continue to be needed to replace those aerospace engineers who retire or leave the occupation for other reasons.

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Salary Expectations Aerospace Engineers

Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineers make about $53,408 with a Bachelor Degree, $62,459 with a Master's Degree, and $73,814 with a Ph.D degree. Find all Engineering Jobs.

Related Links

• The BLS on Engineering
• Aerospace Engineering Jobs
• Engineering School, Online School, Degree, or Certificate

Pay for software engineers varies according to the number of years in the field, level of education, and geographic location of the job. For example, new graduates from a top university in California may receive starting pay totaling between $45,000 and $60,000 annually. Performance bonuses are also common in the industry, as are profit sharing plans and stock-purchase programs. Stock is often used in place of base salary in a new start-up company.

Software engineers may advance to the position of Software Architect. This individual is responsible for breaking down a complicated application into smaller and more manageable pieces during the design phase. The software architect needs to understand the function of each component, the interactions and relationships between components, and then be able to communicate these elements to developers.

One major difference between a coder and a software engineer is the amount of paperwork associated with the engineer position. Individuals currently working as software engineers report that about 70 percent of the job is paperwork – chiefly getting all software designs approved by various managers and technical authorities throughout a company is the source of the amount of paperwork needed.

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They are many factors that go into the design process such as construction costs, structural longevity, maintenance costs along with government regulations and environmental considerations such as earthquakes and hurricanes.

Civil engineers are one of the oldest engineering disciplines, encompasses many specialties. The major ones are structural, water resources, construction, environmental, transportation, and geotechnical engineering.

Many civil engineers hold supervisory or administrative positions, from supervisor of a construction site to city engineer. Others may work in design, construction, research, and teaching.

Currently there are 256,000 civil engineers in the United States. The need for new civil engineers is expected to grow about 18% over the decade. That is faster than the average for all other occupations followed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This is due to the need to improve our nations infrastructure including transportation, water, supply, pollution control systems along with buildings and other civil projects. There is a continuing and growing need to repair and replace existing roads, bridges, levies, tunnels and other public structures.

The lowest 10% of civil engineers make $44,810, and the highest 10% make about $104,420. The median amount that Civil Engineers make is about $70,000. If you have a bachelor's degrees, earnings are on average about $48,509, a master's degree is about $48,280, and if you have a Ph.D. degree, average earnings are about $62,275.

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