How To Become A Civil Engineer Without A Degree

Last Updated on December 28, 2022

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How to Become an Engineer With Any Background

Two-Engineers-Looking-At-Computer-Screen

You’re considering becoming an engineer, but you didn’t earn an undergraduate degree in engineering. Can you pursue the profession anyway? The short answer is yes, but you will most likely want to go back to school—either for your bachelor’s or master’s—to broaden your engineering career options.

Below, we’ll cover how to become an engineer, no matter your professional or educational background. But before you decide to make a drastic career shift, you should determine if you’re cut out for engineering.

Do you have what it takes to become an engineer?

While specific requirements will vary depending on engineering vertical, role and organization, all engineers must possess certain skills and traits. To succeed as an engineer, you must be proficient in math and science. An example of a few core courses you will see in an undergraduate engineering program include:1

  • Calculus I, II and III
  • Circuits and instrumentation
  • Differential equations
  • Physics
  • Principles of chemistry for engineers

Of course, a role in whichever engineering discipline you choose—for instance, biomedical engineeringsystems and control engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering or mechanical engineering—will require extensive knowledge in that area, which you can learn both in college courses and on the job.

In addition to extensive technical mastery, engineers also need a fair share of soft skills. To solve the world’s problems to the best of their ability, successful engineers boast the following traits in addition to technical knowledge:2

  • Boundless curiosity – a need to know how products and processes work and a desire to fix them or make them better
  • Applied creativity – the ability to apply theory to real-world projects in potentially ground-breaking ways
  • Persistence – doing whatever it takes—and for however long—to solve a tricky problem
  • Teamwork – most engineers work on teams, so listening, communication and teamwork skills are crucial
  • Leadership – the ability to not only execute tasks but guide and lead a team

If you possess some or all of these qualities, you may thrive as an engineer.

What Can I Become If I Study a Bachelor's in Civil Engineering? -  MastersPortal.com

Consider Your Options for Becoming an Engineer

So you’ve made the decision to pursue engineering, and now you have to figure out how to become an engineer. Becoming an engineer later in life can be incredibly rewarding, but you should consider the financial and personal sacrifices you may have to make to change careers. You essentially have two options for becoming an engineer:

  1. Pursue an engineering job that doesn’t require an engineering degree
  2. Go back to school to earn your bachelor’s or master’s in an engineering discipline

1. Pursue an Engineering Job That Doesn’t Require an Engineering Degree

While most engineering jobs require a bachelor’s degree or higher in engineering, certain fields are easier to break into than others without an engineering degree. According to Interesting Engineering, electrical engineering is the easiest field to enter without a formal degree, as you can gain proficiency in the field through self-study, experimentation and hard work.3 Electrical engineering technician jobs, which paid an average of $64,330 in 2018,4 typically don’t require a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, but they do require some formal training (an associate’s degree or vocational training).

Other engineering disciplines to consider include:3

  • Chemical engineering – ideal for those with a background in chemistry, biology or other life sciences
  • Mechanical engineering – ideal for those with a bachelor’s degree in a technical field
  • Civil engineering – one of the more difficult fields to break into without an engineering degree, though it is possible to work up the ranks at a company (i.e. construction worker to foreman to drafter to engineer)

With the right connections and work ethic, you can plausibly find an engineering job without an engineering degree. That said, launching your engineering career will be easier if you earn a degree, which brings us to your second option for becoming an engineer:

2. Earn Your Bachelor’s or Master’s in Engineering

If you want to become an engineer, going back to school to earn an engineering degree is your best option in regards to becoming technically proficient and future career opportunities. Before you begin researching programs, ask yourself a few important questions:

  • Are you leaning toward a specific engineering discipline?
  • Are you able to go back to school full time, or do you need to pursue part-time course work?
  • Do you want to attend classes on campus, or would you prefer the flexibility of an online program?
  • Do you have a solid background in math and science?

If you don’t have a background in advanced math and science, you should consider earning your bachelor’s degree. Most engineering programs offer Bachelor of Science (BS) degrees with a specialization in a particular area of engineering, such as aerospace engineering, electrical engineering or mechanical engineering, among many other disciplines. Some universities offer a Bachelor of Engineering (BE or BEng) degree. Check with admissions advisors at any schools you’re considering to determine if they offer online or part-time courses.

If you can prove proficiency in math and science and you hold a bachelor’s degree, you may be able to pursue a master’s program in engineering. The online engineering graduate programs at Case Western Reserve University, for instance, require students with a non-engineering bachelor’s degree to demonstrate proficiency in calculus and differential equations. (Know that you may need to take prerequisite courses to qualify for a master’s in engineering.) A master’s degree in engineering can help students become technically proficient while imparting valuable leadership and management skills.

Universities typically offer Master of Science (MS), Master of Engineering (ME or MEng) or Master of Technology (MTech) degrees with specializations in a particular engineering subject. Many schools now offer part-time online programs designed to fit the schedules of working professionals, and some employers may even help finance your degree.

How to Become a Civil Engineer in Texas

Your Future in Engineering Awaits

Don’t hesitate. If you’re passionate about engineering, you have the power to make a career change. We want to help you get one step closer to entering a lucrative and fulfilling field. Explore the online engineering master’s programs at the Case School of Engineering:

1. Retrieved on July 26, 2019, from bulletin.case.edu/undergraduatestudies/csedegree/
2. Retrieved on July 26, 2019, from work.chron.com/traits-necessary-engineer-11081.html
3. Retrieved on July 26, 2019, from interestingengineering.com/can-you-become-an-engineer-without-an-engineering-degree
4. Retrieved on July 26, 2019, from www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/electrical-and-electronics-engineering-technicians.htm

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Can You Become an Engineer Without an Engineering Degree?

A degree is often seen as a prerequisite to being an engineer. But, is it possible to become an engineer without an engineering degree?Trevor EnglishBy  Trevor EnglishFeb 25, 2017   Can You Become an Engineer Without an Engineering Degree?InstituteForApprenticeships/FLICKR

Engineering is a time-old field that used to require years of apprenticeship in the industry but now requires years of school just to become licensed. However, could you become an engineer without an engineering degree? 

If we are going to examine this question, we need to set some groundwork for who exactly we consider an engineer. For this endeavor, we will focus on the core of engineering professions: mechanical, civil, chemical, and electrical. Software engineers (in fact, all the students that are doing computer science studies) are engineers, but not in the classical sense – you can also get into this profession without a degree in the field. For these four main categories, we can generally lump the rest of the engineering fields in. Manufacturing engineering can be considered mechanical, geotechnical engineering can be considered civil, etc.

Now that we have our ground rules established, let’s look for the answer to the question!

Can You Become an Engineer Without an Engineering Degree?

Civil Engineering

Focusing first oncivil engineering, this is currently one of the harder fields to enter into without a degree in engineering. Most civil engineers need to be licensed as Professional Engineers (PEs) in order to be allowed to stamp official plans. In order to get this license, at least a bachelor’s in engineering is required. With that said, it is still plausible that you could become a subset of a civil engineer without a degree. Most of these cases are going to require years of hard work at one company that allows you to increase throughout the ranks of the field without formal education. For example, construction worker to foreman to drafter to engineer.  The occurrences of this advancement in civil engineering will be few and far between. The easiest entry to this profession would be simply to get a civil engineering degree. There is a good reason for such a high requirements – a person without appropirate knowledge can cause quite a mess during a construction project. 

Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical engineers aren’t quite as regulated of a profession as civil engineering when it comes to licensing. The quick answer is that you could become a mechanical engineer without a degree in that field, but again, a degree in something technical is usually required. This is a great news for any undergraduate student as it allows you to start working before you finish a university program.  If you wanted to get into mechanical engineering without any college education you would need to demonstrate years of proficiency and skill in the field. Some companies will even encourage promising graduate and undergraduate students to apply for such a job. It will help the development of your skills while the company will get an experienced worker as soon as he or she finishes university courses. Even then, an employer might still require you to get a formal degree as part of the job. Compared to civil engineering, you can get into mechanical engineering without a degree in the field with ease, but the best way is still to get a degree.

Can You Become an Engineer Without an Engineering Degree?

[Image Source: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center via Flickr]

Chemical Engineering

Chemical engineering is perhaps the easiest field to get into without a degree in chemical engineering, but also the hardest degree to get into without a college degree. Part of why chemical engineering is easier without a chemical engineering degree is because of how far-reaching chemistry is. One could become a chemical engineer with a degree in chemistry, biology, or other life sciences. However, if you don’t have some formal education in applied science, becoming a chemical engineer is going to be quite hard. 

Electrical Engineering

Lastly, electrical engineering. We saved this one for last because it is probably the easiest field to get into without a degree at all, assuming you can demonstrate proficiency. Electrical engineering is a field that can largely be learned through hard work and experimentation, to a greater extent than other engineering fields. Someone can get started building various things in their garage and eventually gain enough proficiency to be hired in the field. This isn’t to discount the large advantage that presents itself with having an electrical engineering degree, rather it is to highlight that hard work can get you into this engineering field more than any other. This makes sense given that this specific field is dependent on the creativity of your projects and final technology that you can produce. Unlike other engineering sciences, where the final product has to adhere to certain quality standards, electrical engineering is all about inventing new systems, services, and products. One of the best careers for those who like to tinker but don’t like to study. INSPIRATION

Top 9 Reasons to Become an Engineer

Nowadays, you can find lots of engineering resources online. Many people prefer attaining advanced knowledge by reading content on a site. Even though this may help, some areas will be heavily regulated and will require an academic degree. Those of you who would like to skip the traditional learning process and going to a university (due to lack of free time) have in mind there are numerous accredited programs which you can complete online. Just make sure that your state (or country) recognizes the degree. 

So, can you become an engineer without a degree? Well, yes … but it is by far easier to just go get the degree. Engineers are just people who have honed their critical thinking and problem-solving skills beyond standards. If you want to become an engineer, don’t let having a degree hold you back. Get out there and learn.

Are any of you engineers without a degree? Have you worked in one of these fields? 

Comment below so others can hear your story!ADVERTISEMENTFollow Us on

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