Unconventional Engineering Careers

Welcome back to another blog post! With career fair season in full swing, we’re sure that jobs and internships are something you’re constantly thinking about. Because of that, we wanted to take some time to highlight some potential career options you may not have even thought of while getting your degree in engineering! Hopefully some of these stick out to you as something more interesting than a “standard” engineering role.

Sports Engineer

Who’s to say you can’t do both sports and engineering? Especially if you’re studying mechanical engineering or something similar, sports engineers are involved with researching and developing sports equipment, environments, and facilities. This can range from something as large as a football stadium or as small as the shoes the athletes wear on the field.

Preservation Engineer

If you’re a big lover of history and historical architecture, this job may be for you! This career is focused on structural engineering as a way of preserving historical buildings so that they can last for long periods of time. You could potentially be evaluating historical buildings, consulting on renovations, and ensuring the cost-effectiveness of projects. This job also works a lot in teams, so if you love working with other people, maybe look into this!

Pyrotechnic Engineer

Have you every watched Light Up the Lake and thought, “I would love to have a career working with fireworks”? Well, maybe you can! In this role, you can experiment with materials and combinations that create products and displays to enhance all kinds of performances, such as musicians, sporting events, and even just firework shows.

Fashion Engineer

If you have a love for apparel and design, you may be able to find a career that combines the two! Even if you may not find the specific term “fashion engineer” on job listings, having an engineering degree offers benefits in developing running shoes or creating lightweight, breathable materials. Or, you could even be involved with creating the machines that produce clothing or producing cosmetics and other beauty products.

Race Car Engineer

Have you fallen in love with the world of Formula 1 racing? If so, this may be the career path for you! Race car engineers are responsible for the design, construction, and performance of racing vehicles. This career is great if you work well under pressure and love to travel, as racing season requires teams to compete around the world.

Product Tester

Maybe you don’t want to be involved with the research and development of a product, but rather the testing. Product testing is a real job that engineers could play a unique role in. With an engineering background, you may have some more experience with what might be causing a product to misbehave and offer solutions on ways to improve or advance prototyping and production.

Occupational Health and Safety Manager

If you love the idea of working with policies and procedures, this may be the job for you! This role oversees safety policies, procedures, and evaluations. This includes establishing safety procedures in the event of an accident in the workplace, such as a fire or chemical spill. Health and safety managers often run regular safety programs to keep employees aware of current safety practices. So if you have a love for event planning, this may allow you to flex those skills in a more technical position!

Technical Writer

If you like the writing side of engineering, you may be able to make a career out of it! Technical writers write instruction manuals, operation documents, and informative articles about a range of scientific, mechanical or technological topics. This is a great option for engineers with extensive knowledge of engineering or technology terms and strong writing skills.

I hope this gave you some new ideas regarding what career you want to get into as you progress further in your education! No matter what path you end up taking, I know you’re going to do great things!

— Mallory