Conventional engineering specialties, such as electrical, mechanical, chemical, and more, offer many subcategories of careers that engineering professionals may want to consider. In fact, many candidates have the opportunity to consider other unique engineering specialties as they choose the right career path for them.
If you’re a candidate, whether entry-level or otherwise, who wants to work in an engineering field that is a little more unique, read on to learn more about these specialties.
1. Aerospace
Aerospace engineers design, develop, test, and improve aircraft, including airplanes, spacecraft, and other related systems. This may include everything from commercial planes and space exploration vehicles to defense missiles.
There are two primary branches of aerospace engineering:
- Aeronautical: This branch focuses on any aircraft that operates within Earth’s atmosphere.
- Astronautical: This branch focuses on spacecraft or any similar system outside Earth’s atmosphere.
To be successful in their position, aerospace engineers must use physics, math, and other engineering principles to solve complex problems. They are involved in every stage of a vehicle’s life, including design, testing, manufacturing, and even maintenance.
The ultimate goal of an aerospace engineer is to create more advanced, efficient, and safe vehicles and related machines that allow faster and farther-reaching air and space travel. This, in turn, contributes to advancements in technology and exploration both within Earth’s atmosphere and beyond.
2. Agricultural
These types of engineers focus on agricultural processes. This may include water and farm management, farm economics, and food modification.
Because they work on the world’s food and biomaterial supply, agricultural engineers play a large role in ensuring food and farm safety and catering farming practices to the increasing food demand. They also work towards the goal of enhancing efficiency and reducing costs in the agriculture field.
Key responsibilities of this unique engineering field include:
- Designing Equipment: Agricultural engineers help design and develop farm machinery and other equipment, including tractors, crop storage facilities, irrigation systems, and animal housing.
- Optimizing Efficiency and Productivity: Agricultural engineers focus on improving the efficiency and productivity of everyday farm operations, using technology to control certain variables like pest and soil management.
- Ensuring Safe Food Processing: These types of engineers ensure farmers are safely and properly using pesticides and fertilizers to develop hygienic food. At the same time, they work to enhance safety protocols so that they don’t hinder efficient food packaging and production.
In addition to these responsibilities, agricultural engineers work with irrigation systems and rainwater harvesting to ensure proper water management. They also help develop plans for forest conservation.
3. Automotive
As a subcategory of mechanical engineering, automotive engineers design any land vehicle, including cars, trucks, and motorcycles. These engineers must be knowledgeable of engine and transmission design to ensure all vehicles are safe, efficient, and up to quality standards.
Other responsibilities of an automotive engineer include:
- Safety engineering
- Electronic engineering
- Quality management
- Fuel economy and emission management
In addition, automotive engineers work with others in their field to enhance the technical performance, software, and aesthetics of land vehicles. This includes designing new vehicle models and testing software systems.
4. Biomedical
This unique engineering specialty focuses on the development of medical technology. Engineers in this field must research the newest technologies and innovations in the medical and biological fields to enhance the healthcare industry as a whole.
Biomedical engineers can choose different career paths depending on their interests, including:
- Medical Device Design: Engineers in this specialty create medical devices, such as implants, prosthetics, and diagnostic tools.
- Rehabilitation Engineering: In this specialty, engineers apply scientific design processes to solve problems faced by those with disabilities. This may include developing mobility aids or similar technology.
- Clinical Engineering: In this specialty, engineers optimize medical technology and healthcare delivery in hospitals and clinics. Clinical engineers play a key role in improving patient care by ensuring all medical equipment is working properly and developing new technologies.
By combining biology and engineering, biomedical professionals can improve technical processes and bring valuable solutions to the healthcare industry.
5. Environmental
Environmental engineers focus on environmental stability, air and water purity, and reducing hazards like pollution. This includes predicting the effects of pollution and contaminants and ensuring the safe disposal of chemicals and other hazardous waste.
To protect the environment and human health, environmental engineers develop creative strategies to reduce waste, clean polluted areas, and advise policymakers on safe environmental practices. Environmental engineers are needed across multiple industries, including transportation, government, water/sewage, oil, construction, and many more.
6. Robotics
Another unique engineering discipline includes robotics. In this field, engineers design robotic systems that help humans perform tasks they are reluctant or unable to complete. Robotic engineering is especially relevant to the manufacturing industry, where robots are used to develop products for the general public, enhancing safety and efficiency.
Not only do engineers play a pivotal role in designing and building robotic systems, but they also must program the robots to perform specific tasks with minimal human intervention. With advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning, robotic engineering is increasingly about designing systems that can learn from their environments, make decisions, and interact with humans intuitively, shaping the future of automation.
With so many unique engineering specialties, candidates have plenty of opportunities to choose a career they will enjoy and excel in. At Austin Nichols, we place candidates in various engineering specialties. Contact us today to get started.
