How do you know if becoming an engineer is the right career field? What signs give assurance?
I am truly in love with math and science. Both of these topics come natural to me and I would like to pursue a career that uses both of these areas. I feel that engineering encompasses these two things, but I am unsure if it is right for me. My mom is an electrical engineer for both Consumers Energy and the military. When I asked her when she knew she wanted to be an engineer, she gave me a specific moment. I just want to know if and what this moment will be for me. #college #engineering #college-bound #stem-education #decision-making #signs #undecided
3 answers
Peter’s Answer
Riki:
I can't think of a specific moment where I suddenly knew I would be happy and satisfied in a career as an engineer. Engineering involves exploring a problem and using your background and experience to develop one or more solutions. You then apply a systematic process using engineering methods to solve the problem in a practical and cost-effective manner. So if you can take on a challenge and enjoy doing detailed analytical work to solve that problem, engineering can be a personally rewarding career. I am a Civil Engineer and I have always found great satisfaction in working on projects that directly benefit communities and the environment.
I hope this helps, Pete Sturtevant, Pete Sturtevant, PE
Derek’s Answer
Shawn’s Answer
I'm not sure if it was a particular moment for me but something I reflected on that made me realize I enjoy engineering, particularly software engineering. For me I love making, I love learning code and tech, I love solving problems. I get so much joy from building solutions and making things work, both for personal project like making a simple video game to solving large multi-year projects for huge organizations. For me, engineering is a state of being. If you love to tinker, if you love to solve problems, if you love dig in a figure out how something works, wether its software, mechanical, biological, art, technological, etc. You are probably an engineer.
One great book I recently read was by the Mythbuster Adam Savage called "Every Tool's a Hammer: Life is What You Make It" (https://www.amazon.com/Every-Tools-Hammer-Life-What/dp/1982113472). It is a fun read or, if you like to hear Adam talk, get the audio book and listen while you work on something. If you get excited and/or can relate to anything he talks about, you are probably an engineer.
Stay curious and passionate about what you do.
Regards,
Shawn Recinto