So You Want to Be an Engineer?
Filed Under Professions, Tips |
This is the first article in my planned “So You Want to Be A …” series. In this series, I’ll take a look at different professions and outline what it takes to get started in it, from both an educational and personal perspective. I’ve started with engineering since this most closely fits my own area of study.
Is Engineering for You?
This is the first question you need to be asking yourself. Ignoring every other pro and con of engineering, the simple fact is that if you don’t like it, you shouldn’t do it. No matter how much money you might one day make, you’re not going to be able to motivate yourself through hours of differential equations homework unless you actually want to do this. That being said, if you have a strong desire to create new things, and have solid math and science skills, you might find engineering to be your dream job.
The biggest single factor, in my opinion, that determines whether or not someone will make a good engineer is whether or not they are fascinated by the way things work, and have a strong desire to create similar items themselves. I can say for myself that whenever I see an amazingly well engineered system, I have an immediate urge to learn how and why it works. I feel an urge to create something as elegant and useful myself. Channeling this urge leads to the profession of engineering.
Why It Rocks
As stated above, if you have the drive to create technology, engineering will allow you to fulfill this directly. You will get to work with some of the brightest minds in the world, and create technology that will aid the daily lives of thousands. You will get to play with cool toys, work in amazing labs, and see your finished product in action. Every time you see it, you will have the satisfaction of being able to say “I built that.”
Of course, I would be remiss in not mentioning that engineering jobs are fairly easy to come by, and that they pay quite well. However, none of this matters if you don’t enjoy the work, as you will not be able to make it otherwise.
Why It Sucks
Of course, no professions is without its downfalls. One of the biggest suck factors for engineering is the education. Engineering school is long, tedious, and can take up an incredible amount of time. May of your nights will be spent huddling over textbooks, trying to complete large problem sets before morning. The grading can be tough, and the environment of an engineering department or school is quite different for the normal college environment. The majority of your classmates will be male (whether this is good or bad depends on your preferences, but it important to know) and tend towards the antisocial side.
You go through all this pain in school to develop the skills, discipline, and problem solving skills you will need to succeed in the real world. However, when you’re in the midst of it, it can seem tedious and soul sucking, so you need to be extremely motivated and optimistic to keep going. This isn’t to say that its all bad, but you need to be willing to stick out some pretty tough schooling to become an engineer.
How To Do It
Engineers are slightly unique among high end professionals in that many do not have graduate degrees. Many engineers simply attend a four year program in engineering, graduate, get jobs, and have great careers. Since the process of becoming a professional engineer does not require you get any extra education beyond your job, a Bachelor’s degree can get you a long way.
If you’re interested in becoming an engineer, you should start about by finding either an engineering college, or a university with a solid engineering department. Be sure to do all the normal homework on the school, and see if its a good fit for you. In the case of engineering schools, having a low faculty to student ratio is key, since having the instructor available for personal attention can be a lifesaver at times. Also, look out for nice lab facilities, since you’ll likely be using them a lot.
Another consideration is what type of engineering you want to go into. Civil, mechanical, chemical, and electrical are the most common types, but there are many, many other disciplines you can go into for undergraduate engineering. Be sure to check out all the options. It likely you won’t have to decide which specialty you’re doing right away, but its important to be thinking about.
Once you’re in school, work hard, but try not to stress out too much. Though it may seem like school is the most important thing going on in your life, keeping a balanced perspective is important. Join clubs, play sports, and have a good time. Try hard to find good internships (fairly easy to do in the engineering field) by talking to potential employers. Always be making connections, pass your classes, and you will do well.
Conclusions
This isn’t by any means a comprehensive guide on becoming an engineer, but I hope I’ve at least set you off on the right path. Read around the site to get more tips on choosing the right college, subscribe to my feed, and be sure to comment if you have any questions.
Comments
2 Responses to “So You Want to Be an Engineer?”
Leave a Reply
My son is going to be an engineer. he will be a junior next year. Chemical or Mechanical I think.
Thats cool, I have quite a few friends doing those myself. It’s hard work, but worth it if love creating techy things as much as I do.