• Question: What would you say to someone who is considering pursuing a career in engineering?

    Asked by Darcey to Fran, Peppe, Greg, Petros, Rumman, Pooja on 4 Nov 2017. This question was also asked by mm.stem.
    • Photo: Petros Papapanagiotou

      Petros Papapanagiotou answered on 4 Nov 2017:

      I think the most important thing I would say is “don’t wait”. Don’t wait to finish school. Don’t wait to study engineering (in Uni or wherever). Don’t wait for people to ask you to engineer stuff for them.

      Do it now! Try to build something that is useful to you. Learn by trying and doing and failing and doing again. No school or university or job can teach you how to be a good engineer better than your own experience and your own passion to build things. “Get your hands dirty” so to speak.

      Especially if you think about software engineering, there is nothing stopping you from starting right now. All you need is a computer! Any person you can bother with questions as they come up (the Internet can be very helpful, even for experienced engineers like us) will also help you progress. Start with simple ideas that you think are going to be useful to yourself and try building them.

      Don’t wait! Start now! It’s fun!

    • Photo: Greg Chance

      Greg Chance answered on 5 Nov 2017:

      If you love science and engineering above the other subjects that you study then this could be the career for you! It is hard at times but fun and rewarding if you get with a company or organisation that you get along with.

      If you are naturally inquisitive (always wondering how things work?) and are excited by technology and its applications then you may find this type of work rewarding. The great thing about science and engineering is that it is always evolving. If you are a banker, pastry chef or accountant then you might find that your first day on the job is very similar to the last! In this career it’s unlikely to be that way. We are living in the age of technology and information and this career will enable you to be a part of that.

    • Photo: Fran Zuch

      Fran Zuch answered on 6 Nov 2017:

      Hi there

      I think it is important to figure out if you actually like it or not. Fortunately, there are great programs out there for you to try it out. In Bath, the BRLSI (Bath Royal Literature and Scientific Institute) run workshops for kids who are interested in science and engineering. Universities do that as well, especially during the summer – I know CERN in Geneva do (which is an awesome place to see and visit). Also, companies might offer work placements, so the most important thing is to figure out what might be interesting to you, which area, in particular, you would like to explore and go for it. The most important thing is, go with what you like, go with what you are passionate about. There is no point in pursuing anything just because someone else thinks it might be a good idea – trust me.

    • Photo: Giuseppe Cotugno

      Giuseppe Cotugno answered on 8 Nov 2017:

      If you wish to became an engineer, be prepared to study a lot of math, especially in the beginning. It is possible to catch up on math if you are not very good at it, but you will need to study harder in the beginning. That said, engineers need to study a lot of other things: how computer works, digital electronics, computer science, telecommunication, mechanics, physics, chemistry, economics…. It depends on the type of engineering you want to pursue but you will need to study a few of the above on top of math. In engineering math is like a toolbox, you need tools to assemble a furniture but you don’t really worry on making new tools, you just want something that works well for you. Engineers tend to be practical people, if you like to understand how things work and you’ve always wanted to disassemble dad’s TV or hack an Xbox it might be good for you, if you enjoy more understanding everything about a specific thing (how all chemical substances work, what is the fastest ever algorithm to go from A to B) you might rather go to a X-Science subject (Chemical Science, Computer Science, Earth Science etc.). The last point does not apply to PhD and scientific career (i.e. researcher) which follows different rules than engineering and X-sciences

Comments

  • Photo: Pooja

    Pooja commented on :

    Hi there.. Thanks for the question..

    It’s very important in today’s changing technology scene, for someone who wants to be an engineer, to keep an eye on the new technology that’s coming up everyday. So the best way to prepare yourself to be an engineer, is to keep an eye on what’s happening in your area of study. This can be done by reading techcrunch.com, wired.com, nextbigfuture.com, etc. That’s my best piece of advice.