What is required to become an engineer?
I would really like to become a engineer, but I don't know how to. #engineering #pre-engineering
12 answers
Leslie Finger
Leslie’s Answer
All you need to do is major in engineering in college. That should give you all the skills you need! You don't have to get a graduate degree to be an engineer, but such degrees do exist if you wanted one. Mostly, you just have to take a lot of engineering courses in college and do well in them. Hope that helps!
Eva’s Answer
I would think about what you want to do as an engineer. For example, do you want to build parts for space ships, automate robots to drive, discover some radical new alternative energy, save endangered animals, etc? Engineering can be applied in many different areas. This will help guide you to what type of engineering to focus on.
You may be able to find some internship or research opportunities to help you understand exactly what certain jobs are to try things out and see what interests you.
Juan Carlos Barjuch, PMP, MBA, CLSBB
Juan Carlos Barjuch,’s Answer
First of all..a curious and innovative spirit. Good engineers are always finding new ways to make things better and are always asking questions on how to solve problems in different and simpler ways. Then, look for the type of projects that you would like to build (programs, electrical, mechanical, roads & buildings, etc...) so you can narrow down your interests. Then, choose a good school and work hard in there, and as you move ahead in your career get some financial training as well.
Good luck, and stay in touch! Ah, also, learn a new language...engineering can take you to different parts of the world...
Juan
Lee Lohoefer
Lee’s Answer
I believe you need to have a basic desire to ask the question "how does that work" or "what makes it do that"....In engineering, it's basic ability to question, analyze and understand something. After that most engineering starts with basic build blocks of science and math, you probably have heard of STEM (Science / Technology / Engineering / Math) education. Follow STEM and you'll be in the world of engineering real fast. Have fun, and ask questions.
Frederick’s Answer
Skills in mathematics is essential in almost every field of engineering, so strong math skills will be required to become and Engineer. If you are high school take the maximum numbers of math courses your high school offers.
When you enter college your first year or two will be almost the same subjects for any type of engineer you would like to become so this is where you will know if you really want to be an Engineer. In your junior and senior year you will need to select a field of engineering you would like to concentrate in. I recommend you spend the first two years of college evaluating different types of engineering. You may have a counselor to help you with this or you could talk to professors from the different fields of engineering.
Good luck in the future.
Usman Rahman
Usman’s Answer
It is not hard becoming an engineer at all, specially if you have the passion for it. When I was younger I used to break apart my little brothers toys and take out their components like motors and lights to make other things. That curiosity lead to me creating more things and it gave me an understanding of how things worked. When it actually came down to studying physics etc at school I was pretty good because I could visualise many things that I was being taught in textbooks. I would suggest you study certain things from an easy age like physics and maths. Knowing something well makes it very easy to love and get passionate about. I was never good at chemistry until I learnt it properly and then after that I actually enjoyed it. Its the opposite story for Maths, I always had a good maths teacher. I would suggest putting yourself ahead of the competition early on, using sources like https://www.khanacademy.org very good self teaching tool.
Hope this helps, if you have any questions let me know :)
Gary’s Answer
First you must understand that engineering involves people, processes, and things. Engineers, by and large, do not sit by themselves and create, build, or manage final projects. They are usually part of something that involves many other people with many different skills and experience that are brought together to complete the task. That does not mean that an engineer will not sit by himself/herself and create, design, compute, and do other tasks that will be part of something big or bigger that their work. BUT that now is not the way computer engineering is done - a large number of computer engineers are also inventing at the same time they are computing. Getting a college degree in some type of engineering is a necessity. Many engineers have to take certification exams, etc. to really begin practicing as an engineer. Because there are so many areas of engineering, you need to establish contact with all kinds of practicing engineers and find out just what they do, why the do it, and determine which specific kind of engineer you might want to become. Advanced engineering degrees are not needed, but if you want to teach, consult, or start your own firm which might require many types of engineers, a post graduate degree would be helpful.. Engineering students need math and math and math. It would be helpful if you were also a thinker, dreamer, artisticly minded, and a good well organized person to succeed. Don't forget to learn and follow the advice of Peter Drucker who explained the difference between Efficiency and Effectiveness. He stated "efficiency is doing things RIGHT while effectiveness is doing the RIGHT thing.
Upendra’s Answer
Good engineer required following things:
1. Curiosity: Curiosity to learn and understand.
2. Stronge math and science skill.
3. Ability to think out of box.
4. Good problem solving ability.
5. Real world problem are like zigsaw puzzle. Good engineer know how to bring individual pieces to understand complete picture of these problem and to develop solution.
6. High ethics.
Brian’s Answer
Engineering involves both technical knowledge (math and science) and practical skills. A good engineer likes to build things as much as they like to solve problems using math and science. All engineers are natural-born problem solvers. All engineering requires good math skills, but do not worry too much if the math you learn in school does not interest you. All math is important, but it gets more interesting as you learn how the math is used by taking college-level courses in engineering school. There are many different kinds of engineering. Since engineering involves developing practical applications for science, there is at least one engineering specialty for every science subject. For example, chemical engineering uses chemistry, environmental engineering uses biology, computer science uses math and logic. You need to take enough science courses to decide what specialty appeals to you. There are many career paths in engineering. Engineers with good people skills are valued in sales and management, other engineers like to focus on the technical side of engineering. Engineers learn skills that are valued in many fields outside of engineering, such as finance and medicine.
Adolfo Triviño
Adolfo’s Answer
You will need a high school degree and select the engineering speciality that you like. mechanical moves you to maintenance, operations, design, equipment, piping and general industry, electrical moves you to power plants, electrical companies and many industrial facilities, etc., however with the actual world conditions you'll never know what would be your future. good luck.
Olga’s Answer
The first step in becoming an engineer is to earn a bachelor's degree. Then you can choose some postgraduate study.
As postgraduate study isn't essential for entry into many engineering careers, Masters degrees and PhD study can deepen your knowledge and help you to build sector-specific skills and forge industry connections.
WILLIAM’s Answer
If you want want to know if you would like to be an engineer, ask yourself if you like:
1. problem solving
2. science (physics was best for me)
3. math
4. english (communication skills).