How do I tell if I'm into engineering?

Hi Jazmyn,

Thanks for your question. My initial reaction is “How could ANYONE NOT love engineering?” I know that I’m biased, so I sat down and considered the question for a while.

When we talk about the things that we feel strongly about, those people or things that we love, there’s a kind of consensus that we’ll “know love when we find it.” One way that clicked with me is the idea that we can be interested, curious about something or someone, but often there’s a fear that holds us back. Whether it’s fear of rejection, fear of failure, or whatever, I believe that love requires that the interest, the curiosity, be strong enough to overcome our fears. Only then do we have the opportunity to express love. It’s the difference between loving AT something, and loving IT, the interaction, the ability to change it, and to be changed by it. Some people are afraid of the mathematics required of engineering study. If you, or anyone’s curiosity is strong enough to push you past that obstacle, then you might just LOVE engineering.

One of the few features that I’ve observed in every engineer that I’ve met or worked with is a strong curiosity. Engineers in general want to understand how things work, to figure out ways to make those things work better, whether it’s faster, cheaper, stronger, lighter, whatever the particular challenge is with that thing. Sometimes my brother will tell me about how he used “engineering” at home (he’s not a degreed engineer) by using a kitchen or household tool in a unique way to solve a problem, having seen me do the same many times. The field of engineering studies builds in each of us ways to express, to utilize that curiosity to build things, to fix them, to make them better. I will occasionally pause before carrying a group of objects upstairs to consider what the end placement of each thing is, and plan out the path of my steps to deliver the items in the most efficient order. Or I might plan several errands to make the circuit of my driving shorter, or more efficient. I’m not always specifically deciding to “engineer” solutions, it’s just that the study and practice of engineering have changed how I perceive the world. I can just enjoy it if I want, but I can also be an agent of change to make it better, sometimes in the smallest of ways, sometimes much bigger.

As you consider engineering as a potential path of study, or vocation, know that every engineer isn’t necessarily “super” brainy, or knows how to design and run complicated computer programs or models (although LOTS do). Engineers work hand in hand with people in every field or industry, understanding their problems, and helping craft and implement solutions. If agriculture is your thing, engineers work to design equipment and systems to deliver, plant, grow, feed, water, and harvest those crops. If medicine is your passion, engineers work with clinicians to create organ replacements or augmentations, imaging technologies and delivery systems. Engineers sell products or ideas. Engineers manage people, or systems. Some engineers test things, some invent them, build them, or analyze them.

The opportunities are virtually endless. So if you find yourself curious about engineering, check it out, give it a chance. And know that you needn’t be afraid. But even if you are, let yourself be curious enough to try.