Engineering has historically been considered a dignified and profession. Engineers can go into public or private industry, or academia. Engineers can work on project teams, as independent consultants, as sales personnel, work in the insurance industry, or work for local, state, or federal governments. The engineering profession has few limits on career path. Engineers can become lawyers and specialize in patent law or the law of intellectual property.
Engineers can go into law enforcement and work as forensic specialists.
Engineers can go on to gain knowledge of economics and finance and evaluate the cost and profitability of new projects or systems. Astronauts, presidents of large corporations, and even Presidents of the United States have received an engineering education. Engineers are also compensated well for the hard work that they do. Typically, Chemical, Petroleum, and Nuclear engineers' starting salaries are slightly higher than the starting salaries of Civil engineers. Mechanical and Electrical engineers' salary typically fall in-between.