The majority of engineers work in office buildings, laboratories or industrial plants. A few spend the bulk of their time in the great outdoors, often at construction sites, mines and oil and gas exploration locations. In 1996 engineers held roughly 1,382,000 jobs. Fifty percent of engineering jobs were in manufacturing. Examples include companies that design and produce electrical equipment, aircraft and aircraft parts, motor vehicles, chemicals, and military hardware.
Many engineers currently work in non-manufacturing settings.
These are primarily engineering and architectural, research and testing, and business services. Another segment of engineers work for the federal, state and local governments. The federal government mainly employs engineers in the Departments of Defense, Transportation, Agriculture, Interior, and Energy. Those engineers employed by state and local government agencies primarily work in highway and public works departments. The remaining engineers are self-employed, often as consultants.