The Field of Engineering is not that easy, you think!
Engineering as a profession or a field of learning has always been the leading one its respective pack. Ever since the term itself was coined, it has stuck around as the most important piece of skill that one needs to know. It is only natural that people flocked towards this as an option for a career. If it is the most sought after career choice, it is obvious that it would also be the one that pays you the most.
Years and decades later; this is no different. Engineering while not the only top dog in the market anymore is still as relevant now as it said 30 years ago. There are still thousands if not millions of people who flock towards engineering as a career choice. Who is to say that it won’t be the same a decade or later from now?
The reason for this is actually very simple. The very nature of engineering is such that it will always be relevant in the future no matter what happens. To ‘engineer’ means to make something out of scratch. No matter what field of work you are in, engineering something is a basic step that needs to be done and fulfilled. As such, it will never be out of relevance no matter where the said field goes towards.
Because of its vast and constant relevance, engineering also ends up providing work to a huge amount of people. Yes, it’s a true fact that learning engineering is one of the hardest things that you can ever do, but the payoff is well worth the effort put in. This is what this field is known for after all. Higher your work ethic, higher is your reward.
The Importance
Now you may be wondering exactly why engineering is held in such high regard by the industry. What about it makes it so alluring that people bust their guts just trying to enter a decent engineering college? Well, there are plenty of things to discuss when it comes to the importance of engineering. Here are some of the most important points to keep in mind.
- Making Something Practical
The work of an engineer is to make something that is usable in the real world by people every single day. Constructing something from scratch is not a very easy thing to do. It requires a huge amount of skill and technical knowledge, something that you need to do a lot of studying for. It is not possible to be good at something like this without working really hard at it.
Look at everything around you. Wherever you look at, there is something that has been made by a human or a group of humans working together. It is especially amazing when it’s something that is really huge in size. Take, for example, any highway or bridge which is used every day on a regular basis. Isn’t it amazing how a bunch of cement and bricks can be stashed together to make something fully functional for decades?
- Helping People Survive
By this, we are referring to the fact that engineering has its influence in the field of medicine as well. After all, medicine is also something that you make from scratch, right? It is actually even more of a miracle compared to buildings and cars and whatnot. Think about it, what is a medicine besides a bunch of chemicals mixed together in varying quantities to make your body feel better?
The engineering of medicine has existed since time immemorial, and it is something that has allowed us to exist and survive for so long. Without the existence of medicine, the human race could never be persisted for so long. We have definitely come a long way and medicine has played a huge role in all of it.
- Industrial Progress
Yet another thing that you will find that engineering contributes to a lot is that of the progress in the industry. How can technology improve if nobody tries to make something completely new? After all, that is what the point of engineering is at the end of the day, right? For making strides in the industry, continuously coming up with a new piece of technology is very important.
That is how progress is made, after all. At this point in time, it has become a competition between various companies to see who can climb to the top of the industry. That is quite possibly the best thing that could have happened to our society in terms of increasing the progress being made. Complex problems are always arising, and no matter what they are, engineering always steps up to get them solved.
- The Environment
While engineering is all about exploring new technologies, let us not forget about the environment around us. Everything is possible because of the natural gifts that Mother Nature has bestowed upon us. Improving the conditions of all the things around us is also something that engineering can do. There is not a single problem in the world that engineering cannot solve.
Environmental engineering is also something that has been on the rise for quite some time now. It is understandable given how much of a danger our environment is in right now. There are new solutions continuously being developed all the time in order to make living conditions better. Stuff like food processing, biotechnology, electronics etc. are all part of the package that makes the entire solution.
How Solutions are Made
Now that you understand the basic things about engineering, you should be aware of the fact that the general idea is to use technical knowledge in a certain field of work in order to come up with innovative and effective solutions to complex problems in the said field. It is prevalent everywhere and if you have the required knowledge, you can also apply it for yourself.
As mentioned before, one thing that you need to keep in mind that you cannot afford to be lazy. With just a bit of hard work and effort, you will find yourself making huge strides of progress and eventually you will be able to think in terms of the practical world, not just the theory behind it all. There have been plenty of different areas for the application of engineering.
- Transportation
- Manufacturing
- Wars
- Technology
These are only some of the places where you might have seen engineering being applied in order to come up with the solution to something really difficult. For instance, we are already developing ways to construct robots that can help us in doing everyday tasks. Who is to say this won’t be the norm for every household in the future?
The idea for solving such problems and coming up with solutions, however, is pretty generalized. Here are the basic steps that you might see being followed:
- Technical Knowledge:
The first requirement for any of this to come into fruition is to have the necessary technical knowledge regarding the field that you are working in. The solution cannot be made to appear out of thin air. It needs to come out of somewhere and that somewhere is your brain. Read up on something that you may not be familiar with in order to give yourself the kind of knowledge that allows you to come up with a solution.
- Application:
Once you get the required amount of knowledge to tackle the situation, it is important to know how you can apply said knowledge to solve the problem. After all, theoretical and practical knowledge are completely different things and you need to be able to differentiate between the two in order to do well for yourself.
- Sustenance:
Once you arrive at the solution and how to apply it in the real world, you need to make sure that the solution itself is sustainable. After all, how does a huge bridge keep standing for decades and sometimes even centuries? The idea is to make sure that the problem is solved for good. No one wants to have to redo everything over and over again.
Types of Courses
So what are the various engineering courses that you can take for yourself? After all, there are plenty of different fields. Which one is best for you? What are even the options that you can choose from? While there is not really any fixed division with respect to the kind of specification you want to make, generally speaking, there are some standard engineering fields that you can select for yourself.
- Mechanical:
Quite possibly the most well-known field of engineering to ever exist, it is also the one that is considered the ‘purest’. This field involves designing and making machines. If that is the kind of thing you are interested in, then this is the kind of engineering for you. Every industry no matter which has a need for mechanical engineers.
- Computer:
This became one of the biggest fields of study ever since computers began to exist and take prominence in everyday work. The work for a computer engineer depends on anything related to computers. Whether it is designing of software or hardware, if it involves computers it counts as engineering. There is a vast amount of complexity here that needs to be mastered really well.
- Electrical:
This field revolves around designing and construction of electronic systems. You will be learning about how such systems function, their internal workings, utilities, functioning and every else related to it. It is quite possibly the most flexible one amongst all the rest given the fact that electronic circuits and systems exist everywhere.
- Architectural:
As you can probably guess by the name, architectural engineering refers to the design of structures such as commercial buildings and even bridges. If you are someone who has a knack of proportions, ratios and balance, then this is the thing for you. There are plenty of options to choose from as well. Whether you want to go into service or business, it is all up to you.
Best Jobs Available
Now that you are aware of the various fields of work involved in engineering, which ones amongst them provide the most in terms of career opportunities? While this is something that always changes on a regular basis, it is still possible to lay out some of the best ones in the industry.
- Data Science/Machine Learning:
Working with data science is something that has grown in popularity by quite a lot in recent times. This is mainly due to the fact that machine learning and artificial intelligence has taken precedence over most things in the computer industry these days. Big data gathered from data science is what is employed in machine learning to make things tick.
- Robotics Engineer:
This involves making machines that are capable of doing repetitive and trivial tasks. Basically, this involves making a robot that can do the work for you. With the kind of advancements made in technology, it is possible to make systems that are capable of doing something really complex.
- Petroleum Engineer:
They work on equipment related to the drilling and extraction of oil. It has been in demand and will always continue to do so given the very nature of this resource. One day, we might find a better alternative for petrol but that day has not yet come. So until that day, petroleum will always be relevant and so will the engineers digging them up.
These are the 3 top dogs in the industry right now. Even if you did not find your own field here, do not worry. As mentioned before, such statistics are subject to change every now and then. So keep working hard towards your field of work and you will definitely be rewarded for it.
Author Bio: Ms Evelyn W. Minnick graduating from the Haas School of Business with an MBA degree is an experienced professional who has been in the industry for more than 6 years now. She knows her thing inside out and also loves to keep up with everything going on in the industry and in the practical world.
