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  • Author Author: JenCooke
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What does being an engineer mean to you?

JenCooke

We’ve got a birthday coming up. The element14 Community will turn five years old soon and this milestone has got us thinking about the big questions. Who we are, why we’re here and what we mean to people, that sort of thing.

 

The element14 Community was created for engineers. So we wanted to spend our birthday week celebrating and recognising you, the people who design, build and maintain the technology in our world today.

 

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We want to really understand what being an engineer means and what drives you all in your engineering endeavours. We’ve put together a few questions and we’d love to know what you think:

 

What characteristics do you feel determine you as an engineer?

 

How did you come to the realisation you wanted to be an engineer?

 

Are there any ‘rites of passage’ an engineer should go through?

 

What advice would you give to any budding engineers?

 

Do you communicate and network with other engineers? How?

 

Do you have any stories to show what being an engineer is all about?

 

Please answer in the comments below!

Parents

  • I always liked to figure out how things worked and applying technology to solve problems, so being an engineer was a natural choice for me.  I initially became an electronics technician, but found that the real fun was doing the planning and design.  I started as an Engineering Physics degree, but then changed to Computer Engineering as a more natural fit.

     

    If you want to be an engineer you have to immerse yourself in the job.  If you think you will make a lot of easy money, then you should not go into engineering.  You have to keep learning everyday, especially with the rate at which the technologies are accelerating.

     

    If you want to be an engineer then you have to really apply yourself in the tasks that matter the most in school.  That includes math, science, and most importantly, COMMUNICATING!  That's right, you need to read and write at a high level and absolutely need to be able to communicate your ideas to your peers and your less technical bosses.  Take a public speaking class, you will greatly advance your career if you do so.

     

    When I began there was no internet.  We communicated with the other engineers at work and at collage.  Remember, I said you have to learn constantly.  Now I used Element 14 and Linked In to communicate with people world wide.  Really fun actually.

     

    Probably the best feeling an engineer can have is when you take your prototype to the field and let the users test the device.  When you see them come back with a grin from ear to ear, then you know that you met or exceeded their wildest expectations.  I have not found many things in life that gives you that feeling of well done.

     

    DAB

Comment

  • I always liked to figure out how things worked and applying technology to solve problems, so being an engineer was a natural choice for me.  I initially became an electronics technician, but found that the real fun was doing the planning and design.  I started as an Engineering Physics degree, but then changed to Computer Engineering as a more natural fit.

     

    If you want to be an engineer you have to immerse yourself in the job.  If you think you will make a lot of easy money, then you should not go into engineering.  You have to keep learning everyday, especially with the rate at which the technologies are accelerating.

     

    If you want to be an engineer then you have to really apply yourself in the tasks that matter the most in school.  That includes math, science, and most importantly, COMMUNICATING!  That's right, you need to read and write at a high level and absolutely need to be able to communicate your ideas to your peers and your less technical bosses.  Take a public speaking class, you will greatly advance your career if you do so.

     

    When I began there was no internet.  We communicated with the other engineers at work and at collage.  Remember, I said you have to learn constantly.  Now I used Element 14 and Linked In to communicate with people world wide.  Really fun actually.

     

    Probably the best feeling an engineer can have is when you take your prototype to the field and let the users test the device.  When you see them come back with a grin from ear to ear, then you know that you met or exceeded their wildest expectations.  I have not found many things in life that gives you that feeling of well done.

     

    DAB

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