What does an Engineer do?
Have you ever been required to take one of those career assessments during school to see what you could be when you grew up? Maybe it was in elementary school or just before high school? The older you were, the more often they were coupled with reports and “simulations” in holding a monthly budget based on the salary of your destined career.
And every single time I did one of these assessments, they always resulted in: most likely to be an engineer.
But, what does it mean to be an engineer? What does an engineer do during the day?
I commonly would hear from other students: “oh, my dad is an engineer,” but when pressed with what do they actually do, the answer was almost always, “I don’t know.”
Fast forward to present day, and I can confidently say that those career assessments were correct. As an engineer working in the aerospace industry, many of my daily tasks and projects definitely suit my interests and personality.
So if you are in a similar situation, perhaps wondering which electives to take in high school, or beginning to think about a career you might want to pursue, I hope these 3 descriptions can shed some light on what an engineer actually does.
🔭 Solves Problems with Science
In a nutshell, an engineer is someone who applies science knowledge to solve problems. A number of technical skills might be required to solve certain problems faster (like using CAD software for 3D modeling, coding for data analysis, etc.), but those skills must be supplemented with actual science knowledge.
👥 Team Member
Engineers almost always work as part of a team. Most of the time, teams of engineers are focused on developing solutions to complex problems, where most problems are a part of larger systems. Being a contributing member of a multi-disciplined and diverse team is key to solving hard, technical problems. This involves having technical knowledge to solve your part of the problem and also the communication skills to contribute to the larger team effort.
💡 Proves a Solution
In the end, engineers must prove that their solution to a particular problem is feasible. Most of the time, this must be done prior to physically testing a design through the use of modeling (using science and math to determine feasibility). Using modeling to demonstrate that a design works is actually very cost effective compared to making prototype after prototype. Constantly making changes and testing a physical article is almost always more expensive.
So how does this relate to physical tasks during the day?
The best way for me to explain this is to use myself as an example. In my current role, I am a mechanical engineer on a project that develops electronic systems chassis. These are typically comprised of one or more circuit boards that live in a metal housing.
On this project team, I am responsible for ensuring that the design of the chassis can withstand any thermal and vibrational loading that it might see. This typically includes sitting at my desk on my computer, using a CAD program like CREO to create a 3D model of the circuitboard, it’s components, and the metal chassis parts and then using a modeling tool like ANSYS to develop thermal and vibration simulations. These results are normally presented in the form of a peer review and further summarized in a design review presentation.
Another important point is that in a larger company, you might be considered for a “lead” role for a particular discipline in a design or project. In my example above, I was considered the “lead” mechanical engineer as I had a design drafter assigned to my project that would develop the 3D models in CREO and produce the mechanical drawings to produce each of the parts. This is fairly common on larger project teams at larger companies that have more people in the engineering organization.
Summary
In summary, an engineer utilizes modern modeling tools and their scientific knowledge from their education to help solve problems. They commonly do so in a team environment, where each member of the team brings their own expertise to the table, thus creating a diverse, and multi-disciplined group that is more capable in solving more difficult problems.
So the next time someone says that they are an engineer, perhaps ask which discipline they specialize in to learn more.
After all, engineers love talking about what they do 😅
