Advanced Manufacturing Engineers

The manufacturing sector has played a vital role in the U.S. economy since the late 1700s. In those days, most manufacturing was done by hand or via basic machinery, but each decade brought more automated processes to the manufacturing process. In the 1970s, industrial robots were introduced, which increased efficiency and production levels but also caused a long decline in employment in the field.

Manufacturing employment peaked at about 19.5 million workers in June 1979 and declined gradually from the mid-1980s to 2000. Technological advances and continuing efforts to offshore manufacturing to foreign countries created significant employment declines from 2000 to 2010. Employment slowly increased from June 2010 until April 2020 (when the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to 1.4 million workers losing their jobs). Since then, the industry has gradually bounced back. In June 2021, an estimated 12.3 million people worked in manufacturing. Today, there are fewer opportunities for workers with only a high school diploma. Workers with at least an associate’s degree and knowledge of cutting-edge technology have the best job prospects.

The ongoing transition to advanced manufacturing processes and techniques is creating renewed demand for skilled workers—including engineers. “Manufacturing, which shed nearly a third of its workforce between 2000 and 2010, is rebounding as a solid path to the middle class,” according to an article about the rebirth of manufacturing careers from The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization.