<p>Trying to decide if engineering is right for me...</p>
<p>Passion for engineering
Diligence
Attention to detail</p>
<p>Ability to see the forest, the trees, and both the forest and the trees depending on level of zoom. </p>
<p>Attention to detail is over-rated :). If you’re in R&D a demo has to work once or twice in front of the right people, if you’re in production, it has to work, period. Choose well…Some engineers are good for the idea part, some for the execution part. </p>
<p>Ability to learn quickly</p>
<p>Good engineers like problem solving, even when the work is grueling. </p>
<p>For many, surviving the intense engineering academics is the hardest part. Most engineers don’t use all of their coursework, but they have to get through it.</p>
<p>I feel the real sign is when you use obscure engineering knowledge for everyday problem solving. All Industrial Engineers know the pallet stacking problem. Use it the next time you move or when you pack your kid’s college stuff. Or when you tie your computer for hours trying to prove that computer backgammon dice are as random as they should be.</p>
<p>In other words, a successful engineer has to be able and willing to apply engineering problem solving into situations unrelated to work, and do it just because it’s the right thing to do. So, if you’re contemplating engineering, think how you approach every day problems rather than how you approach school homework. </p>
<p>Good engineers do their homework and go home. The real good engineers do their homework but also find ways to use their homework or knowledge as indicated above. </p>
<p>Engineering is something you live everyday, it’s not a 9 to 5 job. The buzzwords here are curiosity and problem solving. You need both, in large quantities.</p>
<p>agree with turbo here. My job is very technical but yet you would rarely use something that you learn from school. In my case I have to use graduate papers and industry standards to formulate my decisions, but I rarely use the materials that i learn in my university years. Instead, you rely on the skills you develop in those years to problem solve ur new problems.</p>