Advanced Manufacturing Engineers

College engineering students often obtain additional experience by participating in internships or cooperative education opportunities or working part-time at an engineering firm or advanced manufacturing facility. Apprentices obtain both classroom training and hands-on experience while participating in the program.

Successful engineers must have top-notch communication skills because they frequently work as team members, write and give presentations, and interact with company executives and clients (many of whom do not have technical expertise). They are at the forefront of innovation, so they need ingenuity, creativity, curiosity, and strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills to design and develop new products or manufacturing tools and processes. Other important traits include:

• the ability to work independently when needed
• excellent critical thinking and analytical skills
• strong organizational ability
• good time-management skills

Engineers who work as managers must have strong leadership and financial/budgetary skills if they are responsible for preparing and managing budgets and/or creating project cost estimates for clients.

Employers

Engineers are employed by various companies that use advanced manufacturing processes to create products. Many work for companies in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, electric vehicles, robotics, energy, consumer products, medical devices, information technology, aerospace, and 3–D printing industries. Examples of companies that incorporate advanced manufacturing into their production processes include Desktop Metal (3–D printing systems), Unilever (consumer goods), BASF (chemicals), Biogen (biotechnology), PrecisionHawk (aerial surveying, UAV remote sensing systems), and Samsung (electronics, medical, telecommunications, home appliances). Some engineers are employed by federal agencies—such as the Department of Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science Foundation—that conduct research on advanced manufacturing technologies.

Some experienced engineers with an entrepreneurial mindset open their own consulting firms. Being a business owner increases personal autonomy and the chance to earn more than salaried engineers. On the other hand, becoming an entrepreneur requires a considerable time commitment, and there is no certainty that one’s business will be profitable. Some engineers choose to become college professors, apprenticeship coordinators, or trainers.