7.

Careers in Engineering

By John Marcheggiani
What does an engineer do?

 Old saying “An engineer can do with

one dollar what any fool can do with
two!”
 Trained to use science, technology, and
mathematics to solve problems in a
systematic way
What types of engineer are
there?
 Civil Engineering
 Structural (buildings, bridges, tunnels)
 Transportation (highways, railroads, canals)
 Environmental (air pollution management)
 Water resources (flood control)
 Geotechnical (mining)
 Surveying & Construction
What types of engineer are
there? (continued)
 Mechanical 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)
What types of engineer are
there? (continued)
 Chemical Engineering
 Design and operate any plant that involves a
chemical process
 Plastics and other petroleum products
 Building materials
 Food products
 Pharmaceuticals
 Clothing
 Fertilisers
 Environmental cleanup
What types of engineer are
there? (continued)
 Electrical 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)
What types of engineer are
there? (continued)
 Computer Engineering
 Hardware (computers, data storage)
 Software (programming, operating
Systems)
 Digital systems
 Computer architecture
 Networks
What types of engineer are
there? (continued)
 Industrial 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
What types of engineer are
there? (continued)
 Other Major Special Types
 Aerospace
 Materials / Metallurgical (removing metal from
the ore, refining, alloying)
 Bioengineering (engineering and medicine)
 Agricultural (genetic engineering)
 Mining / Geology
 Many - many - many - specialties
How Do You Become An
Engineer?
 High School
 Study maths, sciences and physics
 Learn communications and people skills
(engineers work in teams and must be able to
sell their ideas)
 University
 Not all universities are the same
 Co-op program offers practical experience
while you study
 First two years are common specialization in
the third and fourth year
How Do You Become An
Engineer? (continued)
 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
How Does An Engineer Do
Things
 Client has a problem or sees an opportunity
 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
How Does An Engineer Do
Things (continued)

 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)
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 …
 Some engineers that went on to other things:
 Neil Armstrong – astronaut and politician
 Alfred Hitchcock – writer and filmmaker
 Boris Yeltsin – premier of Russia
 Lee Iacocca – 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)
What can you expect from
an engineering career?
 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
Careers in Engineering
 WEB Sites
 http://www.peo.on.ca/
 http://www.eir.ca
 http://www.greatachievements.org/
 Questions