This blog entry is decidedly more personal compared to the other items written in the series. These thoughts were developed while preparing for some tasks I’ll be doing through a professional engineering society as a community outreach. I volunteered to give some brief talks to local area K-12 school classes to encourage the students to consider careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) but especially engineering. What could I say? I assumed the more personal I could make it the better it would be received. I think young people are smart, perceptive and they recognize a “canned”, rosy appeal when they see and hear it. Based on that idea I decided to say what I personally believe not what others might think would be more persuasive or enticing. So here, in summary, are my personal reasons for – why go into engineering:

It can be infinitely interesting – there are so many areas a person can get into, apply basic engineering knowledge and create beneficial products or services. These can range from nano-scale materials and processes, to skyscrapers or hypersonic spacecraft, to efficient energy usage. The only limit is a person’s imagination and willingness to work towards their objective.

The profession benefits people in tangible ways – most engineers put existing knowledge (maybe developed by R&D engineers or scientists) together in new and innovative ways to solve real, human problems. Unlike some other professions, engineers always consider the cost of alternatives and factor that reality into their recommendations. More recently, engineers are emphasizing not just the first cost of a given solution but its complete life-cycle cost, e.g., they might ask, “What are the long-term environmental results or other effects on society of this approach?”

Meeting the challenges is satisfying – the study and application of engineering is not easy. For that same reason it offers great personal satisfaction when done well. If it were easy everyone might do it. That fact creates an honest pride in one’s work that makes the person feel good about their chosen career. Engineering is not unique in this regard but it is one of the demanding and thus satisfying professions. And for that, and other reasons, it is a genuine profession not just a job.

It greatly contributes to our country’s economic vitality – the results of our advanced manufacturing, agricultural, R&D and many other areas of technology can continue to make the United States the most prosperous nation on the planet. Engineers are prime movers in each of these areas – they get it done.

Learning is continual – to be an effective engineer the individual commits to life-time personal development and learning in multiple areas. Some may view this is as a burden. But for many of us that truly enjoy personal growth it is very rewarding. Developing new perspectives and forever learning are fundamental parts of being human. I like this aspect of engineering.         

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