What should I do next, Earn or Learn?

2.1. What does an Engineer do?

o Old saying: An engineer can do with one dollar what
any fool can do with two!
o Trained to use science, technology and mathematics to
solve problems in a systematic way.
2.2. What types of Engineers are
there?
o Civil Engineering:
Structural (buildings, bridges, tunnels)
Transportation (highways, railroads, canals)
Environmental (air pollution management)
Water resources (flood control)
Geotechnical (mining)
Surveying & Construction
continued What types of engineer are there?

oMechanical Engineering
Energy (power plants, heating and air
conditioning, alternative energy)
Structures and motion in mechanical
systems (cars, planes, machine tools,
medical systems)
Manufacturing (tools and processes,
automated assembly lines, robotics)
continued What types of engineer are there?

o Chemical Engineering
Design and operate plants involving a
chemical process
Plastics and other petroleum products
Building materials
Food products
Pharmaceuticals
Clothing
Fertilisers
Environmental cleanup
continued What types of engineer are there?
oElectrical Engineering
36 technical societies with broad areas
Electronics (circuits, microchips, lasers)
Communications (cell phones, antennas,
networks, fibre-optics)
Power (transmission and distribution of
power, electric motors, and generators)
Controls (automated control systems,
aerospace control systems)
Instrumentation (test equipment)
continued What types of engineer are there?

oComputer Engineering
Hardware (computers, data storage)
Software (programming, operating
Systems)
Digital systems
Computer architecture
Networks
continued What types of engineer are there?

oIndustrial Engineering
Industrial Engineers determine the most
effective way for an organisation to use its
resources (people, machines, materials,
information and energy)
People oriented engineers
Must know computers and management
practices.
continued What types of engineer are there?
o Other Major Special Types
Aerospace
Materials / Metallurgical (removing metal
from the ore, refining, alloying)
Biomedical Engineering (engineering and
medicine)
Agricultural (genetic engineering)
Mining / Geology
Many - many - many - specialties
How Do You Become an Engineer?
o High School
Study maths, sciences and physics
Learn communications and people skills
(engineers work in teams and must be able to
sell their ideas)
o University
Not all universities are the same
Co-op program offers practical experience
while you study
First two years are common AND
specialization in the third , fourth year, and
fifth .
continued How do you become an Engineer?
o After graduation
Work under supervision as a junior engineer
After two years experience you can write the
professional engineer exam and can practice as
a registered engineer
May take further training (master's degree in
engineering or progress to another degree)
There will be lifelong learning
Many engineers go on to become project
managers and business managers
 2.3. How Does An Engineer Do
Things?
o Client has a problem or sees an opportunity
o The engineer:
Defines the problem and collect
information and data about the problem
Develops alternative designs or solutions
(Usually more than one way to solve the
problem)
Identifies and compares the pros and
cons of each solution
continued How Does An Engineer Do Things?

Helps the client determine the best choice

for the best price
Designs and manufactures the selected
product
Trains others to use and support the new
product
Continues development and
improvement of the product
Finds other uses for the product
What Types of Jobs Would a
Junior Engineer Do?
Normally will be assigned as a member of a project
team
Research (analysing and solving problems using
scientific skills and logic)
Designing (need imagination and creativity)
Testing (lab work, conducting experiments)
Development (improvement or adapting existing
products)
continued What Types of Jobs Would a Junior Engineer
Do?
Sales (must have a very good knowledge of the
product, because the marketing people may not be
engineers)
Management organising and expediting projects
Consulting
Teaching
And almost anything else
o Some engineers that went on to other things:
Neil Armstrong astronaut and politician
Alfred Hitchcock writer and filmmaker
Boris Yeltsin premier of Russia
Lee Lacocca President of Chrysler
Corporation
Yasser Arafat Palestinian Leader
What can you expect from an Engineering
career?
Varied opportunities (opens the door to many areas)
Challenging work (brain exercise)
Social impact (improving our way of life)
Prestige (engineering is a well respected profession)
Lifelong education (always new things to learn
about)
How do they do that (curiosity)
Creative thinking (dreaming)
continued What can you expect from an engineering
career?
o Good Salary (From PEO 2003 survey)
Graduates in 2003 are now making between
$40,000 to $55,620 - average $48,304
Graduates in 2001 are now making between
$43,000 to $60,384 - average $52,396

REMEMBER THAT THERE ARE

THOUSANDS OF OTHER TECHNICAL
CAREER FIELDS IN SCIENCE,
TECHNOLOGY, AND THE TRADES.
-The End-