Ask an Engineer

It really depends on the type of engineering role you get, and the industry. There are a lot of different job types for engineers - design, stress, test, manufacturing, research, specialty analysis (aero, thermal), quality, project. 

For example, a ...

Hello there!
Engineering is very broad, and there are all types of jobs! I spent my first 5 years in design, every day. As you progress in your career, you may choose to get more into project management than design all day! 
I found that I was losing my ...

Depending on the type of engineering, math is often the most important tool we have for making sure buildings, machines, and products are safe to use. Think about it—so much of what’s around us has to work without breaking or hurting anyone!

Take a car, ...

I am a civil engineering professor, studying the transportation-related choices that people make (for example, the choice to telework or not, the choice of how to get to work or school, where to live, etc.). To do that, I design surveys, collect data on ...

Like so many things in life and learning, fundamentals build to the next level of learning and application. You first learn letters to write, then you learn words, then sentences, then paragraphs, essays, etc. Perhaps you decide to be an author of a ...

Hi Rowyn, so sorry for the late reply, I didn't see the notification that you had asked a question.  
My favorite thing in my career is that everyday is different, there's always a challenge, and there's always something fun to look forward to.  I ...

This is a tough question for those of us who have spent our entire career in engineering related fields. Naturally, there are some areas which I loved more than others. In school, I struggled with thermodynamics but excelled at heat transfer which ...

Engineering is a very broad field so if you study engineering you can choose from a huge variety of jobs which all have pros and cons. I have had some engineering jobs that I didn't enjoy so much and others that I have found very fulfilling! I will never ...

Hello! What a great question. First and foremost, I applaud you for understanding your likes and contemplating career choices while in high school. It will be important in college and class selections.

Secondly, I wanted to answer your question, “have ...

As an engineer you are creating the future.  WIthout engineers we would not have new products, services.  

Think of "failing" as just an opportunity to learn.  But you must learn from the situation so that you will not repeat the same mistake.  Then, just brush it off, get up and try again.  Always think that you can do this, and try harder in another way.  ...

When you fail, which will happen at some point in your career, the most important thing to do is learn from it! Give yourself time to process what happened and what went wrong, then brainstorm ways to mitigate failure in the future. If we treat failure ...

I think failure depends on your definition. If you tried something new and it didn’t work – that is not failure. That is exploration or design iteration or learning. There are times that you fail an exam or a course or have a paper rejected. My approach ...

My favorite engineering project was associated with my graduate research. I was trying to improve the accuracy of aircraft models under failure conditions (like if one of the control surfaces on the airplane would get stuck and no longer be able to ...

From aircrafts to spaceships, I’ve been fortunate to work on various projects throughout my career. My favorite engineering project has been designing the cabin and crew windows for Virgin Galactic’s next-generation Delta spaceships. From early concepts, ...

A favorite engineering project of mine was trying to figure out how to use a biodegradable polymer (plastic) that my company produced in biodegradable packaging peanuts. My company’s polymer was a biproduct for a main product produced and my team was ...

I became an engineer because I like to think -- a lot -- about a problem. Because I think, I sometimes dream about it too. But I have other interests that I try not to think of work after work hours. I have a creativity gene in me, so I enjoy designing ...

I enjoy the life my engineering career has given me, it’s opened the doors for lots of opportunities. I would say there have been times when my hours are more than others, but I’ve always been able to find balance. I’ve been working now for over 15 ...

I think any profession, including engineering, will require long hours and deep commitment at points during your career. There will be times that you need to make sacrifices to achieve a project goal by a given deadline, but that is true for anything ...

Helping people is the reason I became an engineer! I’m an acoustical engineer. Some of the things I’ve worked on:

• Microphones so people with hearing aids can hear a phone conversation even in a noisy room
• Wall & ceiling design so you don’t hear your ...

There are so many ways to help people as an engineer. You can go into areas in which the end users is a person that may need assistance, think devices such as prosthetics or hearing aids or other medical devices, the list goes on. You can work in areas ...

Engineering is a profession that will open doors to many opportunities to help people both directly and indirectly.  Like any degree program you learn three things:  1) background information specific to your major, but also 2) how to find and organize ...

Challenges are going to be part of all our lives, and while I can’t say what challenges you yourself may face, I will say that with every challenge comes an opportunity as long as we flip it on its head.

When I was in middle school my guidance counselor ...

CHALLENGE! That is a milestone or achievement for an engineer. Having a problem set in front of you and devising a solution. Many times there are several remedies to that challenge, some more effective than others.

As a female engineer, whether working ...

Some of the key challenges include being one of few women and having very difficult technical challenges to work through. These same challenges can be considered opportunities!

Being one of a few women automatically makes you more visible, so when you ...