How to Determine if Engineering is right for you
When I was a child, our family doctor who later became one of the leading cardiologists in Los Angeles, told my parents that he had started out to become an electrical engineer but that it was too hard.
Indeed, it is "hard" to become an engineer which is why the field is lucrative for those who succeed. It's not enough to be a bright kid who likes to take things apart although that is a desirable quality as long as you can put them back together again. The prospective engineer must have superior:
1. Academics
2. Work ethics
3. Motivation
4. People skills
5. Creativity
The academic requirements for engineering vary in college depending upon the specialty selected. Aerospace, architectural, bioengineering, chemical, civil, computer science, electrical, environmental, industrial, manufacturing, materials, mechanical, nuclear each has a subset of specialized coursework but all engineering students need a high school background in Advanced Algebra, Biology, Calculus, Chemistry, Computer Science, Language Arts (because engineers have to write!), Physics, Foreign Language, and Trigonometry. Doing well in these subjects in high school will be an indication of both aptitude and study habits needed for college.
Prospective engineers should spend their summers either as volunteers or interns in engineering fields. Job shadowing real engineers will give the student an idea of whether or not this is the correct field of choice. My brother, an electronic interference specialist, waited until he was a junior in college to find out for sure he was in the right field. Our father was an audio engineer and so electronics was a table conversation. Everything in the house was wired and unwired on a daily basis. An oscilloscope was the prized Christmas present; room privacy was guaranteed with a Ford coil wired to the door knob.
My brother had done quite well his freshman year, but then the classes got much harder. Suddenly, he was floundering and because math and science had always been "easy" for him, he had never had to develop real study skills. He was so upset that he dropped out and that is when he discovered: motivation. He went to work for a friend's father in an engineering factory where he built filters and wound coils. He liked the work and suddenly it all made sense. So he saved enough money to buy a blue Volkswagon and went back to school where he completed his engineering degree with a high grade point average. Today, he travels all over the world making sure electronic signals on everything from military aircraft to hospital equipment don't interfere with other electronic signals.
Even design engineers work with one another so the ability to communicate with good people skills is essential. Clients and engineers must understand one another. Engineers must be able to write reports and give presentations. They must be able to convince and assure their clients of the viability of new designs.
Engineers are known for being creative. In each of them is a little bit of the MacGyver personality that allows them to find unusual solutions to ordinary problems. They never give up; they just step back and look at the problem in a new way. They are living examples of "thinking outside the box." Engineers are the scientists who have put men on the moon and working on a space station. Engineers are the ones who design highways and bridges and tall buildings and microscopic surgical instruments. They design new ways to mine the earth's resources and new ways to conserve it. They are the "can do" people who when presented with a previously insolvable problem say, "Let me think about that." And then they do, and then they find a solution.
If the idea of engineering appeals to you but you're not completely sure, visit theTry Engineeringwebsite.
You'll find links to various engineering societies in your area that may lead to summer jobs and engineers who will be able to give you a look inside their world. And if your hunch about your aptitudes is right, you may soon be studying to become an engineer yourself.
