Matthew Nitkiewicz
Materials engineering is a broad field that supports many other fields. They apply math, physics, and chemistry to change the microscopic properties of a material to alter the macroscopic possibilities and design the processes to make said material. Engineering requires the ability to problem solve, being confident in your answers, and knowing where or who to go to for help since we cant be experts on everything [4]. Materials engineers go into all different fields of work because of how far reaching their work applies. It is always new materials that open the door to new technologies, whether they are in civil, chemical, construction, nuclear, aeronautical, agricultural, mechanical, biomedical, or electrical engineering, as stated by the Perdue University [5]. This reach allows a greater job placement rate and the ability to focus, or lack thereof, on what kind of materials you want to work on. At the Freshman Career Conference that was put on by the University of Pittsburgh, engineers from the area came in and talked about what they do. The keynote speaker, James McCaffrey, gave an overall address about engineering. He shared his story about how with any other career, engineering is a jungle gym to success. Sometimes it takes many different jobs to find the right one for you. Even then you need to look at the things outside of your academics to determine your career. His daughter, Alex, went on to reinforce this. She talked about how the world is now a global economy so that where you start may not be in line with where you end. You need to find what youre really looking for in life to find your career [3]. I also had the pleasure of listening to and sitting in on Dr. C. J. Wu from US Steel give a lecture on materials science. He has been in metallurgical engineering for twenty four years now. He works in the research department and showed us just how much a materials engineer can do in his field. His job, research, mainly involves people with advanced degrees. However, entry level wise, there are still a lot of opportunities. In steel making, the entire process is what a materials engineers work is. There are computer models that model blast furnace design and use, physical models to take samples from, and casting computer models. Everything from the intake of ore to the export of the steel can be handled or supervised by a materials engineer. With the technology boom, computer models are being implemented to better predict anything that can be done in the steel industry [2]. After listening to both McCaffreys and Wus speeches, I felt inspired to continue my path of engineering. The day to day workings of a materials engineer is hard to define. Since we cover so many fields, there are limitless jobs we will be doing. However, there are two main types that materials engineers do. First, they can oversee production at a plant like Dr. Wu explained to us. However, most go on to further their education and move into the research field. They are employed to develop materials to make products already in mind not only possible, but economical. Many of
the researched materials are never seen again after research. It takes many tries to make a successful material [1]. Since most of the higher paying research positions require advanced degrees, materials science appeals to me even more. I would like to try to continue my education as much as possible. There is always something new being discovered. I came to the University of Pittsburgh specifically for the materials engineering program, along with the campus. Whether or not I stay here for graduate research or to go elsewhere for a more advanced degree is too early yet to tell.
REFERENCES
[1] American Chemical Society. (2013). Materials Science. American Chemical Society. (Online Article). http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/careers/whatchemistsdo/c areers/materials-science.html
Matthew Nitkiewicz
[2] Dr. C. J. Wu. (2013). Speech on Materials Engineering. University of Pittsburgh. (Speech) [3] J. McCaffrey & A. McCaffrey. (2013) Keynote Speaker. University of Pittsburgh. (Speech) [4] L. A. Schwope. (2012) Words from the Wise. My Cool Job. (Online Article). http://mycooljob.org/wise/materials_engineer.php [5] Perdue University. (2013). What is Materials Engineering? Perdue University Website. (Online Article). https://engineering.purdue.edu/MSE/AboutUs/WhatsMateria ls/index.html [6] U.S. Department of Labor. (2012). Materials Engineers. Occupational Outlook Handbook. (Online Article). http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-andengineering/materials-engineers.htm [7] University of British Columbia. (2013). About Materials Engineering. University of British Columbia Undergraduate Programs. (Online Article). http://www.mmat.ubc.ca/prospective_students/undergraduat e/
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like Jason McCullough for teaching me more about this field of engineering and sparking my interest. I would also like to thank my roommate for going home early and letting me work on this paper in silence and alone all night the night before it is due.