Metallurgist Engineer Day in Brazil

This date, April 10th, is also the day of the Metallurgical Engineer (Dia do Engenheiro Metalurgista). Metallurgical Engineering is a branch of Engineering, more precisely of Materials Engineering, which is dedicated to the study of metallic materials, encompassing their structural characterization, mechanical properties, production and processing.

The metallurgical engineer is the professional who develops, executes, and coordinates projects for the treatment and production of metals, is responsible for the entire ore processing process, for its transformation into metallic alloys with physical, chemical, and metallurgical properties adapted to several uses, and studies the use of these metals in the making of machines, structures, and parts. In industry, he determines the chemical composition of metals and their industrialization process. The metallurgical engineer is also responsible for developing new metal alloys, with physical, chemical and metallurgical properties adapted to various uses.

Metallurgical engineers find good chances of employment in companies in the mechanical, non-ferrous metallurgy, automotive, mining, armament, base, and mineral extraction areas. Another promising field is in the aeronautical and steel industries. According to the National Mining Agency (ANM), Brazil is the ninth largest producer and the 13th largest exporter of steel in the world. New investments guarantee positive perspectives for employment in the area for the next ten years. In mining companies, especially those in the aluminum and copper sectors, the professional works in the primary metallurgy area, which includes rolling and casting the products. Employers are concentrated mainly in Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Espírito Santo, Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, Bahia, Pernambuco, Ceará, Pará and Maranhão. Metallurgical engineers are also in demand in public sectors, project and consulting companies, auto parts industries, as well as in banks for project analysis and research centers.