Ask an Engineer

Hey! It's awesome that you're interested in engineering and that you're strong in math and science – that's a fantastic foundation! Seriously, those skills are super important for becoming an engineer, so you're already on a great track.

Your sister does ...

I won't lie to you: the better you are with words (reading and writing), the stronger your impact as an engineer will be! I cannot imagine an engineering job in which you won't need to communicate your ideas, plans, and accomplishments to other people. ...

You do not have to be good at every subject. I would encourage you to look for STEM in subjects that you aren’t great at. You’d be surprised how much STEM plays a role in history, and you can find books related to your interests or find STEM in the books ...

Hi Evan,

Engineering isn't as scary as some might think. It does require focus and dedication to your studies but it is also cool to solve problems and create new innovative solutions. If you love computer stuff and exploring how things work I would ...

Let me start by acknowledging that changing schools is tough. It seems simple on the outside, but it takes time to resettle yourself and find your groove.
Mathematics is an underlying component to nearly all of engineering. There are many types of math ...

I also attended a small high school, and I felt excluded by the boys in my engineering classes and clubs. But I was ECSTATIC when I went to college and found other female students who were just as excited about engineering as I was. We stuck together ...

Learn to connect with individuals of the team at a personal level. Establish first relationship/friendships based on common likes, it is so much easier to have ‘friends’ or supporters in a team. That has always worked for me.

Depending on the industry ...

Inclusion is a big hurdle in society in any realm of your life. The good news is that dealing with personalities, bias, and general stereotypes is more openly talked about and recognized in today's society.

A school club should have a teacher or other ...

First and foremost, not all engineering majors lean heavily into a coding environment. However, it will benefit you greatly to take the time to pick up these skills on your own. As the world continues to move towards more automation, the more you know ...

There are some basics that will help you in almost any endeavor you take on:

• Create a community for support and networking: this helps socially, but also when you need to brainstorm on a special project or a tough problem or decision.
• Have an empowered ...

There are some soft skills that will help you not only throughout an engineering career, but also through just about anything else you tackle in life going forward. There are traits/skills I look for when hiring: integrity, honesty and reliability are ...

Hello Jennifer! Thank you for your question. 

We do use math everyday but the intensity and detail of the math we use to solve our problems varies day by day. Sometimes we might use known functions, often solved by programing or machines and other times ...

Any professional career path you take will require good communication skills. You will be communicating technical details and status to your team, your manager, and your customers. This is as much verbal as written communication, so I recommend getting ...

Writing is important…as in, let’s get you into some courses to strengthen that skillset early on! :-)

That’s great that you enjoy Math and Science, however, if you are not able to relay what you have created, discovered, engineered, resolved (in a ...

This is a great question! A lot of engineers joke about not being great at English or spelling. However, writing and communication skills are still required in engineering. Different types of jobs require different types of writing and communication ...

For me, starting in High school taking Engineering classes, I was one of 3 girls in the room. However for me this was never a deterrent, I saw it as a challenge. I wanted to prove myself that I can do anything and just as well if not better than the guys.

Not only in college classes, but also the work environment did I find myself as the only female working/teamed up with only male counterparts. When we learn to view others for the person, the talents, the traits, the contributions they bring to a ...

I have been the only woman in the room before, but luckily it is become more rare as more women pursue STEM. It can alienating when this happens, but it's less about standing out (because you already do if you're the only woman) and more about making ...

I was lucky in that I never felt much pressure to pretend that I didn’t like science or math, or pretend that I wasn’t good at it. There was a year or two where I was pretty lonely, at the beginning of middle school, because other kids made fun of me for ...

Unfortunately yes. This problem never goes away and can happen right in your own family. Here is my advice:

• Stop hiding your intelligence immediately. You don’t have to play dumb. Sometimes you can just refrain from engaging directly in those ...

Hello Frint,

This is a great question to be thinking about.  Soft skills are extremely valuable, and are often overlooked.  

My top soft skills that I use are below:

Public Speaking - you might give a lot of presentations as an engineer ...