What do Engineers do
Engineer is a nebulous term. Everyone from sanitation workers to the guy who plumbed your high school's toilet (Building Engineer) had engineer in their job title. So what is an engineer? Is an architect an engineer? Is a fire protection engineer an engineer?
These are all typical questions asked by the public at large and persons considering engineering. The truth is everyone mentioned, even a sanitation engineer working at a sewage plant, is an engineer of sorts. The trick is to match your personal gifts, interests and situation to the occupation best fitting your needs. The truth is engineering is a big tent with room for highly creative people, communicative people and even the stereotypical reticent introvert. You just have to be ready for a tremendous amount of work.
Traditional Engineering
The most academically demanding engineering jobs are the traditional engineering disciplines like Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Environmental, Material and Computer. A job in any of these fields will require advanced calculus and an enormous amount of academic study and work. A traditional student in one of these fields can expect to spend 80 or more hours a week in class and studying during their four years of undergraduate study.
Persons with degrees in these fields may work as designers of machines, buildings, roads or computer architecture. A bachelor's degree in these fields can also set up a student for advanced technical graduate degrees. A person with a doctoral degree in materials science and engineering might work doing research designing new synthetic fabrics or maybe designing solar cell roofing tiles.
Civil, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineers can work in a wide array of fields. However, a large portion of persons with will work designing and constructing items relating to infrastructure like roads, manufacturing plants, power plants and commercial buildings. A smaller percentage may end up working on aerospace projects and design of various mechanisms. Jobs in these disciplines often require professional registration and licensure.
So, you might imagine the work environment for the traditional engineer to be an enormous cubical farm with guys in black rimmed glasses "ground hogging" over cubicle walls. There is a certain amount of that out there, but if that is not for you, there are plenty of options. Engineers can spend a large portion of their time in the field surveying and inspecting construction and projects or on a shop floor examining manufacturing and processes.
There are also countless engineering jobs requiring almost no design work. Technical salespersons are often engineers. Engineers who work as contract managers spend most of their time managing personnel, negotiating business deals, and planning engineering projects. These jobs work on the periphery of engineering, so a solid technical acumen is required to understand the processes and products, but it does not directly require engineering knowledge to perform the day to day management, business and sales tasks. To enhance their career, this type of engineer may pursue an advanced degree in business or engineering management.
Other types of professions related to engineering
Many engineering disciplines do not require a deep understanding of mathematics and technical subjects. If you are not the best at calculus or if you want something more creative than the offerings of the traditional engineering disciplines, these fields may be something to consider. Beware, though, many cousin professions of engineering do not have the prestige or the pay of a traditional engineer.
These fields and degrees might have titles like "engineering technology" or "architectural draftsman." A person with a engineering technology degree might work as a power plant operator, in a computer chip manufacturing plant, or as an architect's assistant.
Things to consider
Evaluate your aptitudes, likes and dislikes. This can be a great starting point for you when deciding what path to take.
For example, if you love doing linear algebra, writing PHP code and find yourself staying up late at night troubleshooting bugs with the program you are writing in machine code, it is likely you are a good fit for computer science. On the other hand, if you understand PHP, get more of a kick out of designing visually dazzling websites and could care less about memory architecture, you may be more driven by the visually creative field of web design; a profession that is not exactly engineering, but technical in nature.
These examples are true for traditional engineering as well. If you are more communicative and expressive, but have no trouble with complex calculus and algebra, a career in engineering sales or civil engineering is something to consider. These fields, while technical, require extensive interactions and negotiations with clients and business partners.
If you understand calculus and advanced algebraic concepts, but hate public speaking, a more cerebral' design and research intense form of engineering may suit you. As a note, good presentation and communication skills is critical for success in nearly every field. These jobs might include nuclear engineering, aerospace, chemical, bioengineering and materials science. A person with these degrees might consider going on to get PhD and perform research in fields like renewable energy, materials, medicine and bioengineering.
The best course of action is to brainstorm about what jobs you would like to do and then seek out someone doing that job. Interview them and ask about their daily schedule and the amount of education it took to get where they are. It helps if the person is in your immediate or extended family, but if you do not have anyone like that around, ask your relatives and teachers if they know somebody. In general, people are willing to help someone with an honest curiosity. Who knows? Maybe you will even get a letter of recommendation to a college out of the encounter.
What if I don't like math, but still like designing stuff?
Well, a degree in architecture usually requires a little less math than engineering degrees do. That does not mean it requires less work. If you ask any architect about their senior design project, they will often recount horrifying stories involving very little sleep and a massive amount of time creating their design. Another added benefit of being an architect: They are often the boss of the project. Because of their eclectic liberal arts and technical background, they will often be placed at the head of a design team over the engineers working in their individual disciplines.
However, do not expect to be the boss right away as an architect. You will need to work many years gaining the requisite skills and the professional reputation needed to be placed at the head of a large design project.
What about technical careers?
There is an engineering element to a myriad of professions from machinist to electrician to plumber. Working in these fields can be highly rewarding and very challenging. While there is some basic math required to do these jobs, it is often not a requisite skill. To do these jobs well, you must be a person who likes to work with their hands. People who enter these professions will often make less money than persons with an advanced degree in a technical field. However, there are highly paid technical occupations like specialized auto mechanic, airplane mechanic, machinist, and small business owner/operator. Think about the guys who own the "Orange County Choppers" shop on the Discovery Channel show or even a person who owns an HVAC company in your hometown. These people have enjoyed fantastic success by simply doing what they love to do.
Getting into the school of your choice
After you have decided the career path you think you might like, you need to choose a school. This is a vast subject that Kaplan and the Princeton Review have printed forests and forests of books exploring; so this will be brief.
Essentially, your high school transcripts, your test scores and your recommendations will determine what schools are on your lists of options. Check out a college guide from your local library, and talk to your guidance counselor and your parents; They are all critical players in this decision.
If you are considering science, engineering or a technical occupation, chances are there was a profession touched on in this article that interests you. There is a wide spectrum of exciting occupations represented under the umbrella of "engineering." Good luck on finding the engineering career best suited to your talents and tastes!
