Careers in Engineering
There is a very simple test to tell if becoming an engineer is the right career choice for you. Do you want a career and a life that delivers endless exciting possibilities? Do you wonder how things work? Then you have passed the test!
I achieved my degree in engineering at a time when the US was involved in the race to reach the moon, the international cold war, arms race and the serious inclusion of safety and emissions restrictions on the products of the automotive industry. I have flown model airplanes, become a pilot, rebuilt cars and engines, designed convertible roofs, designed racing cars - and so many more magical things! Your opportunities today make my experiences seem dull and old-fashioned.
My career started at a time when we learned how to use a slide rule to perform calculations. Computers were only available for use by submitting stacks of punch-cards for batch runs. In this primitive world, I worked in a supersonic wind tunnel on the latest air superiority fighter airplane (the F-15) and the first real space station, the Skylab. I also worked on the very beginnings of the space shuttle. This all happened before 1973; 36 years ago! Through the following years, I have worked on trucks, Corvettes, convertible roofs, and many other things. Now I am working on making military vehicles safer and better for our soldiers. That F-15 I worked on so long ago - this week they announced that new versions offer the latest stealth technology available. Engineers are still working every day to make it better and better!
Today, engineering students are using tools for analysis and calculation that were not imagined only a few years ago. Some engineers find their joy by helping develop those computer tools. Others use those and other tools to improve the climate, produce clean energy, study medical devices to improve the quality of life for young and old, and study other parts of the universe to seek knowledge wherever it can be found.
What does an engineer do when they go to work? Some study ways to make the seats in your car more comfortable. Some study new ideas for gathering more electricity from nature without creating pollution or causing competition and wars between nations who are fighting over the same fuels. Other engineers are working on ways to protect the lives of soldiers who are fighting those wars; and developing treatments and devices to help those who are injured in those wars. Also, honestly, there are some whose job it is to develop the tools and weapons that are used against our enemies.
Look around you, in hour house, school and bed-room. Have you ever wondered how something was made, or what made someone think about a problem and figure out how to make things easier? From vinyl records to tapes to CD's to iPods; from TV rabbit ears to cable to digital to HD and beyond - engineers are looking at tomorrow as something that they can make better than today through their occupation.
Please, I offer, anyone who wonders if this world is theirs as well; or wishes to ask their questions of me; use this site as a means to contact me. I will try to simply and honestly tell you why I believe that engineering is the most exciting way to journy through our universe as a passenger on this Spaceship we call Earth; and beyond!
