Materials engineers held about 25,300 jobs in 2014. The industries that employed the most materials engineers were as follows:
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing
13%
Engineering services
11
Primary metal manufacturing
10
Computer and electronic product manufacturing
10
Research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences
8
They often work in offices where they have access to computers and design equipment. Others work in factories or research and development laboratories. Materials engineers may work in teams with scientists and engineers from other backgrounds.
Work Schedules
Materials engineers generally work full time. About 1 out of 3 materials engineers worked more than 40 hours per week in 2014.