Molecular Engineering Degrees and Careers
By the All Engineering Schools career research team—Your source for Engineering Degree news, trends and programs.
What You'll Do in a Molecular Engineering Career
Imagine a tiny device that pilots through the body and identifies and blots out small clusters of cancer cells before they can spread. What if the entire Library of Congress could be contained in a box the size of a sugar cube?
According to the U.S. National Science Foundation, these types of extraordinary accomplishments are fast becoming a part of our reality. Welcome to the world of molecular engineering—sometimes called nanotechnology or molecular manufacturing—which involves the engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale. With a degree in molecular engineering or a related field such as bio-molecular engineering, you’ll be part of a futuristic scenario that has the capacity to drastically improve the quality of people’s lives.
Molecular Engineering Job Opportunities
Molecular engineers work in virtually every industry, including pharmaceutical research, materials science, robotics, mechanical engineering and biotechnology. Because molecular engineering is considered a “general-purpose technology,” it has the potential to impact almost all industries and areas of society. Molecular engineering will create durable, smart products for the medical, transportation and agriculture industries, opening doors to careers in these, and other, in-demand fields.
The Future of Molecular Engineering
The future of molecular engineering is limitless, and career prospects are promising. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that job opportunities are excellent in certain related fields, such as biomedical engineering. However there is significant debate on the implications of nanotechnology because it raises the same issues as any new technology: what is its impact upon the environment, and what are the prospects for global disaster?
Molecular Engineering Degree Programs
Colleges and universities across the U.S. offer degree programs in related fields of engineering, such as chemical engineering, environmental and bio-molecular engineering at the bachelor’s, masters and doctoral level. Because it is an emerging field, degree programs focusing entirely on molecular engineering are often considered special track programs and are only offered in tandem with other engineering degree programs. Doctoral-level students can enter the molecular engineering career path by earning a PhD in Molecular Biophysics, Biomedical Engineering, or Energy and Chemical Engineering.
K. Eric Drexler, PhD, a researcher and author whose work focuses on advanced nanotechnologies, advises students interested in entering the field to broaden their studies to include fundamental courses in mathematics, mechanics, chemistry, thermodynamics and electromagnetics in order to fully
thrive in a career in molecular engineering.
Online Degree Options for Molecular Engineers
Online degree programs in molecular engineering are most often available under a bio-molecular engineering or chemical engineering program. Online Bachelor of Science degrees in chemical engineering are readily available, as are online programs in molecular biology, which include bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral-level courses.
Molecular Engineer Salary
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2009 report states that engineers in related careers, such as chemical engineering, earn between $53,730 and $130,240 annually. The employment site SimplyHired.com estimates that the average salary for a molecular engineer rests at $70,000 per year while NanotechBuzz records an annual estimate of $97,978 for nanotechnologists working in the U.S.
Sources: Metamodern.com/2010/02/24/how-to-study-for-a-career-in-nanotechnology/; crnano.org/whatis.htm; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009
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Did You Know?
- Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman introduced the idea of molecular engineering in his 1959 talk, “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom.” He predicted it would, in time, be possible to manipulate atoms and molecules and create nano-scale machines.
- In his 1986 book, Engines of Creation, K. Eric Drexler praised nanotechnology, saying it can help life “spread beyond earth, it can let our minds renew and remake our bodies.” But he also warned about the possible perils that accompany this type of technology. Drexler called it “gray goo,” a fusion of nanobots capable of reproducing autonomously that would devour everything in the universe in order to survive.
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