Materials Engineer (General)

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

A Materials Engineer researches and tests the materials used to make a wide range of products. Develops new substances that have the properties needed for a particular use, or finds new ways to use existing substances. Uses knowledge of the chemical properties of materials, and specializes in one type of material, such as ceramics, metals, or plastics.

Job Outlook

There were 182 Materials Engineer (General) job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 5417 in the United States.

In combination with other careers in the Materials Engineer industry, which includes the Materials Engineer (General) career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:

Salary

Many new Materials Engineer (General) jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.

National

The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $88,048.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $66,502.

Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Materials Engineer (General) postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $63,142.

Education and Experience

Posted Materials Engineer (General) jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.

Education Level	Percentage
Associate's Degree	3.84%
Bachelor's Degree	54.09%
Master's Degree	32.49%
Doctoral Degree	24.88%
Other	12.24%

Posted Materials Engineer (General) jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.

Years of Experience	Percentage
0 to 2 years	31.78%
3 to 5 years	42.22%
6 to 8 years	9.5%
9+ years	16.49%

Skills

Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Materials Engineer (General) positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.

Baseline Skills

A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.

Communication (28.8%)
Research (23.09%)
Management (16.97%)
Problem Solving (15.78%)
Leadership (12.94%)
Writing (12.85%)
Operations (12.65%)
Innovation (11.06%)
Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (9.88%)
Mathematics (9.67%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

Polymer Chemistry (7.73%)
Materials Engineering (36.72%)
Materials Science (39.99%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

Chemistry (24.73%)
ASTM International Standards (7.06%)
Chemical Engineering (18.45%)
Composite Materials (18.67%)
Data Analysis (17.38%)
Mechanical Engineering (17.14%)
Engineering Drawings (4.24%)
Manufacturing Processes (10.21%)
Auditing (5.41%)
New Product Development (12.23%)
Failure Analysis (10.04%)
Process Development (8.73%)
Process Engineering (10.78%)
Aerospace Engineering (3.7%)
Procurement (4.7%)
Project Management (18.98%)
Physics (16.95%)
Metallurgy (10.63%)
Test Planning (6.72%)
Supply Chain (5.41%)
Computer Aided Three-Dimensional Interactive Application (CATIA) (3.15%)

Distinguishing Skills

A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.

Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (3.81%)
Material Characterization (6.22%)

Salary Boosting Skills

A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.

Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (25.85%)
Material Characterization (42.16%)
Polymer Chemistry (52.34%)

Alternative Job Titles

Sometimes employers post jobs with Materials Engineer (General) skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:

Materials Engineer
Materials and Process Engineer
Characterization Engineer
Polymer Engineer
Materials Engineering Technician
Construction Materials Tester
Composites Engineer
Scientist
Construction Materials Testing Technician
Principal Engineer

Similar Occupations

If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.

Common Employers

Here are the employers that have posted the most Materials Engineer (General) jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.

United States

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (213)
Raytheon Technologies (133)
Northrop Grumman (115)
Braun Intertec (91)
Terracon Consultants (86)
Randstad (86)
Lockheed Martin (79)
Actalent (55)
Boeing (55)
Acuren (50)

North Carolina

S&Me (14)
Randstad (12)
CommScope (10)
Honda (8)
Qorvo (8)
On-Board Companies (6)
Fiber Composites (5)
Albemarle (5)
Timmons Group (5)
Fibreworks Composites (5)

NC State Programs Relevant to this Career

If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!

All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.

Engineering