What are your Job Prospects after a Masters in Mechanical Engineering

In the last post, we mentioned the advantages of pursuing a Masters in Mechanical Engineering. This blog will ponder upon the job prospects of a Mechanical Engineer for international and national candidates who pursue an MS in Mechanical Engineering in the US.

So let's start off with some numbers,

• The Overall jobs for Mechanical Engineers with a BE degree in 2015 in the US = 278,340
• Mean Annual wage = $88,190
• Median Annual wage (50th percentile) = $83,590

The above data considers the overall US market for Mechanical Engineers who finished their Bachelors's in the year 2015. The data is independent of the student's nationality. But you might be more concerned about job opportunities for international students.

If we dig deep and take a look at the number of jobs for International students who need an H1B visa, here is the story

• No. of jobs for international students pursuing Mechanical Engineering degree (in 2017) = 9,616 – Note: This is in the year 2017 alone
• Mean Annual wage = $51,796

Do not be misled by the lower annual wage, if you are pursuing a Masters in the top 100 universities, our data shows your annual average pay is bound to be above $70,000.

So, if you are me – you will be like, this is great but, what are the top-paying industries. That is exactly what we are seeing next, Here are the top-paying industries for Mechanical Engineering graduates in the US (irrespective of nationality). Guess what is the highest paying industry?

It is the Oil and gas industry that tops the list of companies that provide the highest pay for Mechanical Engineers. Now that we know who pays the highest, something that will be useful is, which industry recruits the most.

From all these numbers something you as an international student might be interested in knowing is the recruiter who recruits a higher number of international students. Here are the top 7 recruiters who recruit international students.

From the data we collect and from personal experience Cummins has been recruiting a high number of Indians and international in the last few years, now Tesla with its high demands is becoming one of the highest recruiters of international students.

To give you an idea of how much a Masters at a very good university can pay you, let's see the top employers who pay the highest annual package

There are more than 100 companies that sponsor H1B visa for international students with an MS degree. We have tabulated the top 100 companies, take a look at them by downloading this excel sheet.

Now that you might have a clear picture of the opportunities present, the desire for Masters might have popped in. But what is more important in your decision is from which university you get your Masters. You might have heard how location matters, and let me give you an idea of the job market with respect to each state.

Here is how each state's fare when it comes to Mechanical Engineering jobs, As expected Mid-West (Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana) has the most concentration of Mechanical Engineering jobs, for most of the automotive manufacturers, have their presence in and around that area. The other notable spots are California and Texas. So whenever choosing your university keep in mind this picture.

Here is a deeper insight into the job scenario with respect to locality (cities).

Now that you have a clear view of what you gain post a Masters and which area you need to target. I think you are all set to dive deep into the application process.

In the next post, I will explain the different domains present in Mechanical Engineering and how you can choose your specific domain.

Reference:

1.http://www.myvisajobs.com/

2.https://www.bls.gov/home.htm

3.edxengine.com/services/MyUniversity/