Qualities of an Engineer
As a one-time engineering student, I can tell you that even if you have excellent math and science skills, studying engineering is very difficult. The scope of the profession goes way beyond knowing your math and physics.
The process of building better tools, bridges, buildings and things requires an uncanny, meticulous work ethic to go with uncanny math and science knowledge and skill. You also need to be able to collaborate with people in all stages of the project planning process to get the job done. Becoming an engineer takes a combination of technical skill, communicative ability and work ethic. If you like working with others to finish projects and solve problems, engineering may work for you. If you're great at math and science, engineering may work for you. And if you are a natural hard worker that can push him/herself each and every day to work at high levels and get the job done, engineering may work for you. But it only works for you if you possess all three qualities.
To become an engineer, you need to earn at least a four year Bachelor's of Science degree, though if you're ambitious and want to make the big money, you may need to go to graduate school and earn a Masters in Engineering.
This belies the challenge of just getting into an undergraduate engineering program in the first place. Never mind just knowing your math and science: colleges want to see strong SAT and ACT scores in math and science. They want to see plenty of advanced math and science classes, even AP classes, on your high school transcript. They want to see at least a 3.0 GPA, probably higher. You have to walk in the door at college having shown you can perform at a relatively high level.
From the start, you have to possess not just solid math and science skills, but a strong work ethic and problem solving ability from the moment you start studying engineering in college. The first courses most engineers take involve statics, mechanics and engineering physics. Beginning courses involve intensive calculation methods for obvious reasons: if a bridge's physics is just a hair imbalanced, it falls over or collapses. If a machine is built with one part slightly out of alignment, it will malfunction and may even fall apart. You have to make sure that every part in your structure is perfectly balanced.
The latticework of complex calculations you learn involve calculus and physics equations, plus analytical thinking and problem solving to determine which types of calculations to use when. A simple homework assignment in a 1st level class could take hours of work, with a lot of stumbles and backtracking if any mistakes are made in calculation. And of course, advanced courses require exponentially more work. These are not your typical math and science courses, but more like all your most difficult math and science courses rolled into one.
The work ethic required to finish four to eight years of school is also required to break into the business. Entry level engineers frequently "pay their dues" working 60-90 hour weeks, doing the relative grunt work on project after project in their firms as they work to earn promotion.
You also must be able to work with people to complete projects. A person who likes to work alone probably won't make a good engineer, if he can get promoted at all. Engineering projects require a variety of materials and experts to complete, and you need to possess an understanding of what everyone brings to the table and what they need to bring. To be on the same page, you need to be able to communicate effectively with everyone on a project.
Even with the basic technical skills, the life of the $300K per year top engineer isn't attained without clawing your way up the ladder during your first several years. The work ethic required to withstand this workload without cracking is far greater than you need in most professions. And you not only need to possess the drive and the knowledge, but an ability to communicate with others so that they produce the product you designed as you designed it. Engineers make great money, but for a reason: their job requires a combination of abilities that few lines of work do.
If you are great with math and physics, if you work well with others and you work hard, engineering is a great line of work. But only if.
