<p>Engineering is a very broad field actually. There are designers, analysts and process engineers. And within these areas it can be further broken down. For instance; analysts can do structural analysis, thermal analysis, loads analysis and so forth. Even more specialization can be found; a fracture mechanics analyst for example. Designers can specialize in a specific kind of part. A process engineer might specialize in welding for instance. All these areas fall under “engineering”.</p>
<p>You’ll find a high degree of specialization within the larger engineering companies. But the large companies also need engineers who can see the forest from the trees and do integration, system design, etc. </p>
<p>Smaller companies typically have less specialization but it depends on their product lines. Some small companies have very specialized products and will therefore have engineers that are tuned to their products. A bellows manufacturer is one such type that comes to mind. In a small company, you may be asked to design a product, analyze it and then aid manufacturing to make it (as a designer, you do need to attuned up front as to how it can be manufactured).</p>
<p>You may start off as one kind of engineer and morph into something somewhat related and then morph again (and again!!) over your career. So don’t think that your education as an engineer stops when you leave college, it is really just beginning. It is that morphing and evolving that kept me excited throughout my career.</p>
<p>A typical high school student hasn’t had exposure to all that an engineer can do. Engineering majors in college get a few more clues but you really do only figure it out once you get into the “real world”. Most fields of engineering are heavy into the math side in learning the basic material and throughout most of college. In practice, the area you choose will dictate how important those math skills are (obviously most analysis areas are heavy into math) but there are some areas that require only basic math skills.</p>
<p>The most important part (IMHO) is that you learn “why” something is the way it is. That way, when something new comes along you can extrapolate your knowledge into the new area. Knowing how to research and study new areas is also an important skill that you will need to develop in college and you will use it throughout your professional career.</p>
<p>Good luck with your choice of major in college and your professional career.</p>
<p>Oh, and by the way. Engineering is a tough major, but a 2.0 GPA won’t cut it. You do need to actually learn the material. Many companies (the one I worked for as one) had a hard minimum GPA of 3.0 and we usually had more than enough college applicants at around the 3.4 to 3.5 and above to make that the unofficial minimum GPA. Other companies (especially the smaller ones) won’t have such tough standards but it is getting dicey with a GPA below 3.0.</p>
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