Your mother told you to marry a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. Why is engineering such a respected profession, and what does it mean to be an engineer? These days it can mean many things, and each one is potentially fascinating. It might even be the right career for you.
Respected Profession
One reason engineering is so respected is that a person has to be intelligent and disciplined to make any kind of career in any related industry. He probably went to college or university. There is plenty of work for people with the skills of an engineer, either in his chosen field or related ones. He has the gift of being able to understand how things work and often to fix them himself.
Types of Engineering
If a college carries engineering courses, which types of engineering do they teach? Examples include aeronautics, mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering. There are civil, robotics, and chemical engineers. Certain disciplines fall under the category of engineering technology, more specifically.
Besides these degrees, a college might also offer courses in management and consultancy so that you can take your interest in engineering to a new level. Many individuals who already have a career do this sort of thing to experience new challenges or upgrade their salaries. There are post-graduate degrees in these fields available, and one could become an engineering professor at a college or university.
Some professionals get their hands dirty. Lots of these individuals design machines, structures, or systems. They work in offices, inspecting a work site regularly.
Talk to a College Counselor
Before embarking on the second year of your college studies, you should visit the careers counselor for some advice about courses you should take. In fact, consider visiting the careers counselor at high school, although during the first year of university is not too late either. You probably need math and science credits.
This professional will help you decide what classes to enroll in which will satisfy entry requirements into engineering courses. This might mean you end up leaving town to enroll at a different college. You could have to retake some classes to upgrade your marks in certain areas. Start to chart your direction well in advance of your final undergraduate year by which time you might feel pressured financially to finish university and find work.
Resources for Pupils
Engineering schools offer lots of practical advice to students considering entering college to pursue a career in one of the exciting fields associated with their profession. For one thing, they advise pupils to talk with people who have already achieved their degrees and are working in the professions they had hoped to enter.
These are opportunities to ask if a job is what the person expected or less, maybe more. Find out about work hours, pay, intellectual stimulation, and challenges they face. Is the job boring or always changing and challenging? Perhaps an engineer will mention continuing college courses he is taking to further his career opportunities and earn more money.
Another resource is an engineering society. Some of these welcome enquiries for potential students who want to know more about a particular field. They comment on trends in engineering and international study or work opportunities for talented members of the community.
Subscribe to an engineering magazine, or several. These periodicals discuss certain fields in detail, assuming their readership is somewhat educated in technical sciences relating to computers, civil engineering, etc.
College Caveats
Be aware that a college must be accredited, an accepted facility in the engineering community. An unaccredited course might teach you things, but your accomplishments will not be recognized by professionals, associations, or further educational institutions when you seek a Masters in your discipline.
About The Author
William Stevens is a writer who creates informative articles in relation to technology. In this article, he offers information surrounding engineering degrees and aims to encourage further study with an OU Online Engineering Management Degree.
