Acquiring an education in engineering can be a difficult but rewarding endeavor, both professionally and personally. Here we look at some of the top schools for those interested in entering an engineering field.

Whether it has reached the level of a full-blown crisis or not, engineering education is becoming an increasing concern for the future of the industrial sector and the competitiveness of the United States economy as a whole.

Companies across many industries have reported moderate to severe skills shortages, particularly in science and engineering fields. According to a 2009 survey from staffing research firm Manpower, engineering jobs were the hardest jobs to fill for the second year in a row. Recent stimulus funding efforts for nationwide infrastructure projects and sustainable energy development have further increased already rising demand for engineers, Forbes.com reports.

This need for more engineering professionals is expected to become more pronounced as experienced engineers continue to leave the workforce.

“Companies are looking to replace more than half of their engineers over the next eight years, because baby boomers are retiring,” Larry Jacobson, executive director of the National Society of Engineers, told Forbes. “When you have 80,000 engineers working for you, as Lockheed Martin does, that’s a lot of jobs.”

Jacobson estimated that if every single seat in every engineering school in the country were filled, it would only amount to 75,000 engineers trained annually, which is far short of the projected demand for these occupations.

For those looking to further their education toward a career that can provide lifelong skills, the following are U.S. News & World Report’s 2010 top 10 undergraduate engineering schools (not offering engineering Ph.D.s):

1. Harvey Mudd College
2. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
3. Cooper Union
4. United States Military Academy
5. United States Naval Academy
6. California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo
7. United States Air Force Academy
8. Bucknell University
9. Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
10. Milwaukee School of Engineering

For those interested in pursuing an undergraduate degree and possibly progressing onward toward a master’s or a doctorate, here are U.S. News & World Report’s top 10 graduate engineering schools (offering Ph.D.s):

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2. Stanford University
3. University of California – Berkeley
4. Georgia Institute of Technology
5. University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign
6. Carnegie Mellon University
7. California Institute of Technology
8. University of Southern California (Viterbi)
9. University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
10. University of Texas – Austin (Cockrell)

Finally, here is a list of the top engineering schools according to earning potential in terms of initial and mid-career salaries, as compiled by PayScale:

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Harvey Mudd College
• Stanford University
• Bucknell University
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• California Institute of Technology
• Polytechnic Institute of New York University
• Lehigh University
• Carnegie Mellon University
• University of California – Berkeley

A recent survey of the highest-paying undergraduate degrees in the U.S, based on starting and mid-career salaries, concluded that eight of the top 10 highest-paying degrees were in engineering fields. Graduates who majored in aerospace engineering had the top median mid-career salary of $109,000, as well as a median starting salary of $59,600, compensation research firm PayScale found.

The highest median starting salary was for chemical engineering majors, at $65,700, with computer engineering and mechanical engineering following closely behind. Mechanical engineering took the seventh spot, while industrial engineering and environmental engineering ranked ninth and 10th, respectively.

Earlier

Has Engineering Education Failed?

Engineering, Science and Tech for the Pros

Resources

Hardest Jobs to Fill
Manpower, May 28, 2009

Engineering Image Problem Could Fuel Shortage
ASQ (American Society for Quality), Jan. 22, 2010

Satisfaction
by Lisa Frehill
Mechanical Engineering, January 2010

The 10 Hardest Jobs to Fill in America
by Tara Weiss
Forbes.com, June 3, 2009

Best Engineering Colleges by Salary Potential
PayScale, 2009

Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs
U.S. News & World Report

Best Engineering Schools — Graduate Schools
U.S. News & World Report

Best Undergrad College Degrees by Salary
PayScale, July 20, 2009