Materials Engineers
Materials Engineer,
Materials Research Engineer,
Metallurgical Engineer,
Metallurgist
What they do: Evaluate materials and develop machinery and processes to manufacture materials for use in products that must meet specialized design and performance specifications. Develop new uses for known materials. Includes those engineers working with composite materials or specializing in one type of material, such as graphite, metal and metal alloys, ceramics and glass, plastics and polymers, and naturally occurring materials. Includes metallurgists and metallurgical engineers, ceramic engineers, and welding engineers.
- DemandNeutral
- state Avg. Salary $$$$$$95,470Download Career Flyer
What do they typically do on the job?
- Analyze product failure data and laboratory test results to determine causes of problems and develop solutions.
- Design and direct the testing or control of processing procedures.
- Monitor material performance, and evaluate its deterioration.
Personality
Interests
Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.
Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz
Abilities
Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.
Verbal
Communicate by speaking
Listen and understand what people say
Ideas and Logic
Group things in different ways
Make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
Math
Choose the right type of math to solve a problem
Add, subtract, multiply, or divide
Visual Understanding
Quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things
Skills
People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.
Basic Skills
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Reading work related information
Problem Solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
People and Technology Systems
Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it
Does this sound like something you'd like to do?
1. Do some research
- Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
- Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
- Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career
2. Plan your next move
- Talk to your college and career counselor or school admissions staff
- Visit Idaho Launch
- Search for available Materials Engineers jobs on Idaho Works
Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop