1. 7. Careers in Engineering
By John Marcheggiani

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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)

5. 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

6. 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)

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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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)

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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)

18. 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

19. Careers in Engineering
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