Career Communities
ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
Explore potential careers and develop industry-specific skills for success in the Engineering & Technology Community. The Career Center offers individual counseling, job and internship resources, networking events and professional development opportunities to help students succeed. Below is a quick snapshot of relevant industries, career outlooks, community-specific resources and related Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) to help direct students along their career path in the Engineering & Technology Community. The possible engineering career pathways can be divided into five major categories, as engineers design and implement many of the systems we take for granted in our daily lives: technical, biological, environmental, industrial, and energy.
OCCUPATIONS & BROAD INDUSTRIES:
- App Development
- Aeronautical Engineering
- Aerospace Engineering
- Agricultural Engineering
- Architectural Engineering
- Automotive Engineering
- Biomechanical Engineering
- Biomedical Engineering
- Ceramics Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Coding
- Computer Engineering
- Computer Science
- Construction Engineering
- Cybersecurity
- Data & Analytics
- Database Architecture & Administration
- Electrical Engineering
- Electronics Engineering
- Energy & Nuclear Engineering
- Engineering Physics
- Environmental Engineering
- Game Design
- Geological Engineering
- Graphic Design
- Industrial Engineering
- Information Technology
- Manufacturing Engineering
- Marine Engineering
- Materials Science & Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Mechatronics Engineering
- Metallurgical Engineering
- Microelectronic Engineering
- Mining Engineering
- Nanotechnology Engineering
- Network Engineering & Administration
- Nuclear Engineering
- Ocean Engineering
- Paper Engineering
- Petroleum Engineering
- Photonics Engineering
- Process Engineering
- Project Engineering
- Robotics Engineering
- Software Development & Engineering
- Structural Engineering
- Sustainability Design
- Systems Analysis & Administration
- Technical Support
- Web Design & Development
GENERAL RESOURCES:
- Biospace: Life Sciences Industry News & Career Hub
- Career Cornerstone Center
- Computing Research Association
- EngineerJobs.com
- National Science Foundation Funding Opportunities
- NIH: Office of Intramural Training & Education
- Pathwaystoscience.org: Summer Research Opportunities
- Revelry
- Science Careers
- Firsthand
- Washington Internships for Students of Engineering (WISE)
- Zippia.com
TECHNOLOGY:
BIOMEDICAL:
MECHANICAL:
ELECTRICAL:
CIVIL/ENVIRONMENTAL:
- American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Career Connections
- CEEcareers.com
- Environmental Career Opportunities (access via Handshake)
CHEMICAL:
Opportunities at UD
- Summer Scholars - Usual application deadline: Check website (usually March 1)
- Summer Fellows - Usual application deadline: Check website (usually April 30)
- INBRE (IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence) - Application deadline: Check website (March 1)
Typical components of REU applications:
- CV/Resume
Prepare a good, well-crafted CV or resume. Receive feedback from the Career Center through Drop-In Hours and by uploading your resume for approval on Handshake. Please don’t hesitate in asking for an appointment with a faculty member to get some feedback on your CV/resume.
Suggestion: Every semester, plan on adding at least one bullet point to your CV or resume. Volunteer to do some research even if it is only for an hour per week. Eventually, this will grow and give you content for publications and presentations.
- An essay (or a research statement)
If needed for the process, read the position advertisement that you wish to apply for carefully, and identify if they are looking for anything specific in the essay or statement. If no instructions are given, you may consider covering the following:
- Why do you want to apply for the position, or what do you wish to accomplish from participating in the research program? (Typical answers: prepare for graduate school, solve scientifically important problems, apply knowledge gained from coursework to solve real-world problems or simply to gain research experience.)
- What prior experience do you have on research? This is where you will find it important to get involved with research (at least to some level) with a faculty member so that you have some content to build a few sentences or paragraph on.
- What are your research interests? If you already have some research interests, describe it (try to make a connection to any particular research topics mentioned in the position description). It may be a good idea to be a bit flexible in describing research interests so that you maximize your chances of getting the position and give yourself an opportunity to learn new things. You may consider seeking advice from a faculty member in your department.
Note: For the essay for the UD Summer Scholar or Fellow positions, you should contact a professor (who you want to work with) to discuss a research topic. You would need a letter from that professor to support your application. It won’t hurt to reach out to multiple professors and see who have projects available.
- Recommendation letter
This is an important component of the application. Typically, students collect letters from course teachers. To stand out among the applicants, it may be very helpful to have something in your letter written on your research experience. To provide substance on this for your letter writers, consider getting involved with research with a faculty member (you may want to offer to do some volunteer research if needed). If you did not interact with a faculty member yet, start contacting them as soon as you can, and see if they have any research work that you could contribute to. Exposure to small research tasks may eventually lead to journal publications, and more importantly, may open up a new career path for you.
- Aero Society of Automotive Engineers (ASAE)
- Alpha Omega Epsilon (AOE)
- American Concrete Institute (ACI)
- American Institute of Steel Construction
- American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
- American Society of Highway Engineers (ASHE)
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
- Assistive Medical Technologies (AMT)
- Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
- Association for Computing Machinery-Women (ACM-W)
- Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
- Chi Epsilon
- CS + Social Good
- Deep Roots STEM Outreach
- Engineers Without Borders
- Environmental Engineering Student Association (EESA)
- Eta Kappa Nu
- Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- Institute of Transportation Engineers
- Linux Users Group (LUG)
- National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
- Resilient Builds
- Sigma Phi Delta (SPD - COE Fraternity)
- Society for the Advancement of Material & Process Engineering (SAMPE)
- Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE)
- Society of Automotive Engineers
- Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
- Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
- Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honors Society
- Women in ECE
To find out more about these RSOs and how to get involved, visit Student Central.
- American Academy of Environmental Engineers
- American Association of Engineering Societies
- American Chemical Society
- American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
- American Institute of Chemical Engineers
- American Railroad Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association
- American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
- Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
- Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
- The Computing Research Association on Widening Participation in Computing Research (CRA-WP)
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- Institute of Industrial Engineers
- Materials Research Society
- National Society of Black Engineers
- National Society of Professional Engineers
- Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (oSTEM)
- Society of Automotive Engineer
- Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
- Society of Women Engineers
Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam
The FE exam is generally your first step in the process to becoming a professional licensed engineer (P.E.). It is designed for recent graduates and students who are close to finishing an undergraduate engineering degree from an EAC/ABET-accredited program.
The FE exam is administered year-round at NCEES-approved Pearson VUE test centers, and is computer-based. Click here to learn about alternative item types (AITs).
The FE Exam includes 110 questions, is six hours long and includes:
- Non-disclosure agreement (2 minutes)
- Tutorial (8 minutes)
- Exam (5 hours and 20 minutes)
- Scheduled break (25 minutes)
Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) Exam
The Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam tests for a minimum level of competency in a particular engineering discipline. It is designed for engineers who have gained a minimum of four years’ post-college work experience in their chosen engineering discipline.
CONNECT WITH YOUR COMMUNITY TODAY
- Log in to your Handshake account.
- Choose "Personalize Handshake" at the top of your home screen.
- Choose from 8 different industry-focused communities.
- Start learning about jobs, internships, and events that interest you.
TOP TEN EMPLOYERS:
- AECOM
- Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.
- DuPont
- ExxonMobil
- JPMorgan Chase & Co.
- Merck & Co., Inc.
- Pennoni Associates, Inc.
- Siemens Healthineers
- The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.
- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
The UD Career Center is part of the Division of Student Life, which advances equity and inclusion, deepens student learning and drives holistic development through education, experiences and communities.