<p>I know some engineers. They are not boring at all. Maybe in college they are because they are studying all the time?</p>
<p>-we assume a lot
-we iterate (or guess) the answer a lot
-mathematica is the bible</p>
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I often found that my liberal arts knowledge was superior to those who actually were liberal arts majors…</p>
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I don’t know people who go into engineering that don’t enjoy it at least a little bit. It takes a ton of hard work to get the degree and if you truly don’t like at least a little bit that work you’ll fail out.</p>
<p>One characteristic that all engineers possess? We don’t generalize.</p>
<p>A second? We recognize a foolish question for what it is.</p>
<p>And, its much more likely that an engineer is well versed in the liberal arts than a liberal arts major is versed in engineering.</p>
<p>“I often found that my liberal arts knowledge was superior to those who actually were liberal arts majors…”
- Being an interesting person and having knowledge are poorly correlated, in my experience. I suspect the kind of person who would major in liberal arts is, in general, more interesting than the kind of person who would major in engineering. It’s a suspicion.</p>
<p>“I don’t know people who go into engineering that don’t enjoy it at least a little bit.”
- It’s a matter of degrees. I enjoy history “a little bit”, but I wouldn’t major in it.</p>
<p>“It takes a ton of hard work to get the degree and if you truly don’t like at least a little bit that work you’ll fail out.”
- Perhaps, but perhaps not. I’m sure there have been a few people who have tended towards not liking a technical subject who have gotten degrees in the technical major. Liking something is not, in my opinion, a necessary or sufficient condition for doing well in it.</p>
<p>“One characteristic that all engineers possess? We don’t generalize.”
- Ummm… and I don’t make sarcastic remarks.</p>
<p>“And, its much more likely that an engineer is well versed in the liberal arts than a liberal arts major is versed in engineering.”
- Because liberal arts are easier than engineering, right? Right.</p>
<p>"I take offense to reffering to engineers as “sell outs”. Some people become engineers because thats what they actually want to do, and they would do it even if it payed poorly. "
- I understand the argument, but I remain skeptical. My reason? People generally have next to no exposure to engineering until college. By way of comparison, people generally have close to 12 years of math and 12 years of sciences in elementary/middle/high school. If someone decided they wanted, say, math, or physics, or chemistry, etc… that would seem more believable. Engineering (and CS, too, but to a lesser extent since it’s more mathy and kids do program, which is sort of an intro to CS) seems to say to me “if you like science and math but want to make money…” It seems to me that money is the only reason to go into engineering over science/math.</p>
<p>I mean, would you believe a kid who said he wanted to grow up to be an air-traffic controller?</p>
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<p>I can see this arguement. </p>
<p>I worked in a machine shop and I have great talent for working CNC controllers and manaul machines. So much that one of the programmers (CNC, which is not like computer science programming) at least once a week would show me his tooling designs and programs and then he would yell at me to go back to school and study mechanical engineering. About a year after working there I went back to school and started studying mechanical engineering. </p>
<p>Engineering had never crossed my mind before that. All I wanted to do was to get the hell out of school and get a job. (Though if you sweat and break your back on a milling machine for 11 hours a day 6 days a week for crappy pay you’d want to go back to school too, trust me).</p>
<p>3 years later I still work there, in the engineering department, and I love it. Although chosing between a physics degree and an engineering degree after having expsoure to both in college is still tough. Who knows, I get my undergrad in engineering and then go to a physics major for grad school someday.</p>
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<p>:lol: Funny, I like that, and will probably steal it.</p>
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<p>I think kids are getting more exposure to engineering than you think… There are a <em>lot</em> of programs out there that are designed to get high schoolers involved in engineering before college. JETS is one. US FIRST is another. There are countless robotics competitions, and the NSPE sponsors a whole bunch of engineering-related competitions nationwide. The ACE Program is starting to expand… it brings in mentors from the Architecture/Construction/Engineering fields and minority and underprivileged high schoolers and meets once every two weeks throughout the year to explain how a building is designed, and they actually get to do a design project themselves. There are site visits, design presentations, scholarships… All sorts of cool things.</p>
<p>Also, there are actually classes in drafting offered at a lot of the HISD high schools around here, through the CATE program.</p>
<p>I do a bunch of outreach… I’ve hit the entire high school of my old alma mater (and have ended up recruiting some interns and shadowers as a result), and every two years I go back and catch the 7th and 8th graders. I’m constantly giving presentations to local school groups around here… I know a lot of my colleagues are, as well.</p>
<p>At any rate, these things may not be getting to every kid, but there are a lot more opportunities out there than I think you think there are, and they’re becoming open to more and more students, and not just students from the rich-n-snooty side of town.</p>
<p>The MATHCounts competition for middle schoolers is sponsered by the National Society of Professional Engieers. Some states give the winner a full scholarship to study engineering - not bad for an 8th grader.</p>
<p>nerdy, geeky and socially awkward i.e. Howard Wolowitz from Big Bang Theory</p>
<p>Engineers .</p>
<p>OK I cant resist. Lumping us all together some thoughts:</p>
<p>The engineers analytical nature tends to dominate so she may look at human issues from an engineering perspective which is often a recipe for misunderstanding. </p>
<p>Engineers like to divide problems into understandable discrete units. That doesnt work nearly as well with social systems as it does with mechanical ones. </p>
<p>Engineers are taught to ignore trivial variables not always a winning formula in personal relationships.</p>
<p>Engineers are conditioned to use cost analysis as a decision tool, if you can get something better and cheaper, do it spouses are not one of those things.</p>
<p>"The engineer’s analytical nature tends to dominate so she may look at human issues from an engineering perspective – which is often a recipe for misunderstanding. </p>
<p>Engineers like to divide problems into understandable discrete units. That doesn’t work nearly as well with social systems as it does with mechanical ones. </p>
<p>Engineers are taught to ignore trivial variables – not always a winning formula in personal relationships.</p>
<p>Engineers are conditioned to use cost analysis as a decision tool, if you can get something better and cheaper, do it – spouses are not one of those things." </p>
<p>As a wife of an engineer, mother and mother in law of engineers, and youngest son on his way to being an engineer, this made me laugh. As the sole non-engineer in the mix, I have learned a lot, but so have they.</p>
<p>I enjoyed those comments!</p>
<p>"I take offense to reffering to engineers as “sell outs”. Some people become engineers because thats what they actually want to do, and they would do it even if it payed poorly. "
“- I understand the argument, but I remain skeptical. My reason? People generally have next to no exposure to engineering until college. By way of comparison, people generally have close to 12 years of math and 12 years of sciences in elementary/middle/high school. If someone decided they wanted, say, math, or physics, or chemistry, etc… that would seem more believable. Engineering (and CS, too, but to a lesser extent since it’s more mathy and kids do program, which is sort of an intro to CS) seems to say to me “if you like science and math but want to make money…” It seems to me that money is the only reason to go into engineering over science/math”</p>
<p>I agree with the first post, disagree with the second. My son, who is a HS senior this year, was born an engineer, I believe, although he didn’t inherit this talent from either his father or me. He was taking apart and putting together small electronic toys and devices, flashlights, etc, as a toddler and has continued in this vein ever since. He has talent and interest in math and science, and is also a talented musician, but engineering is definitely his number one passion. The fact that it can be a solid, high-paying career is an added bonus.</p>
<p>I continue to suspect that kids who go into engineering over math/science (or liberal arts…) because they think they will like it more are the exception and not the rule.</p>
<p>Yes, it is certainly true that some people go into engineering for the money. This is a shame too, because why waste your one life on money. There are also many who go into engineering because they enjoy it. It presents a challenge that high school math or physics courses can’t encompass. I honestly believe most go into engineering because they enjoy the idea of it. I personally wish to go into chemical engineering. To be honest I had no clue how much they made until I got an email about the highest paying majors out of college. I decided on ChemE because it interested me, I love chemical concepts and want to apply them to real life. Not because of money, but because of a passion.</p>
<p>I always liked math and science, but engineering was not on my radar, even though my dad was an engineering professor! When he jokingly told someone that I was going to be the next engineer in the family, it dawned on me that I LIKED that idea! Being able to APPLY theoretical math and science concepts to design buildings sounded really cool.</p>
<p>I knew I could make more money if I went into medicine, but I wanted to go into something I thought I would enjoy on a daily basis.</p>
<p>If getting a degree in engineering means you are a engineer, then I wouldn’t say all engineers are intelligent. I have friends from school who just got through school, barley and barley met GPA requirements. Worst part about these folks is they forgot or really never retained what was taught. I have numerous friends who couldn’t tell you what a derivative was if asked and they have graduated with engineering degrees.</p>
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<p>A friend of mine has both parents and several uncles/aunts who are air traffic controllers. I daresay he knows ;)</p>
<p>I’m an Engineer. I agree we have a terrible rep with woman. I once did a stand-up comedy routine making fun of myself and the terrible effects on my dating life of saying the phrase “I am an engineer”. Honestly, I’ve gone out with woman and seen thier shoulders slump very noticably when I use the phrase “I’m an engineer”. Clealy, my professsion cancels out my good looks. ;)</p>
<p>The “sell out” thing hurts. I like being an engineer. I like the creative aspects of it. Engineers leave the field if they don’t like it. </p>
<p>To me a “sell out” goes to business school to rob people blind on Wall Street or goes to medical school so that they can inject botox. That is a sell out!</p>