Entry Level Jobs Engineering
In the field of engineering, there are many different entry level jobs available. These include the following:
- Engineering Assistant: This position requires an individual to perform a wide range of tasks, ranging from simple clerical duties to more complex research and computer-based tasks. In this role, you will learn how to use design software, perform research on new technologies, and write reports about your findings. This position also includes working with other departments such as marketing or human resources on projects. Most engineering assistants require at least a bachelor’s degree in engineering or another related field; however this is not always the case depending on where you work.
- Engineering Technician: In this role, you will be responsible for performing specific technical tasks within a company such as testing prototypes or creating drawings based on specifications provided by engineers or other technicians within your organization. You will often work closely with other technicians and engineers who have more experience than yourself which can help provide invaluable insight into what it takes to succeed in this field over time if you stick around long enough! Many engineering technicians require some sort of certification before they are hired into their current position so make sure that you ask about any requirements upfront before accepting any offer
Entry Level Jobs Engineering
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limitations imposed by practicality, regulation, safety and cost.[1][2] The word engineer (Latin ingeniator[3]) is derived from the Latin words ingeniare (“to contrive, devise”) and ingenium (“cleverness”).[4][5] The foundational qualifications of an engineer typically include a four-year bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline, or in some jurisdictions, a master’s degree in an engineering discipline plus four to six years of peer-reviewed professional practice (culminating in a project report or thesis) and passage of engineering board examinations.
The work of engineers forms the link between scientific discoveries and their subsequent applications to human and business needs and quality of life.[1]
Contents
- 1Definition
- 2Roles and expertise
- 3Types of engineers
- 4Ethics
- 5Education
- 6Regulation
- 7Perception
- 8See also
- 9References
- 10External links
Definition[edit]
In 1961, the Conference of Engineering Societies of Western Europe and the United States of America defined “professional engineer” as follows:[6]
A professional engineer is competent by virtue of his/her fundamental education and training to apply the scientific method and outlook to the analysis and solution of engineering problems. He/she is able to assume personal responsibility for the development and application of engineering science and knowledge, notably in research, design, construction, manufacturing, superintending, managing and in the education of the engineer. His/her work is predominantly intellectual and varied and not of a routine mental or physical character. It requires the exercise of original thought and judgement and the ability to supervise the technical and administrative work of others. His/her education will have been such as to make him/her capable of closely and continuously following progress in his/her branch of engineering science by consulting newly published works on a worldwide basis, assimilating such information and applying it independently. He/she is thus placed in a position to make contributions to the development of engineering science or its applications. His/her education and training will have been such that he/she will have acquired a broad and general appreciation of the engineering sciences as well as thorough insight into the special features of his/her own branch. In due time he/she will be able to give authoritative technical advice and to assume responsibility for the direction of important tasks in his/her branch.
Roles and expertise[edit]
Design[edit]
Engineers develop new technological solutions. During the engineering design process, the responsibilities of the engineer may include defining problems, conducting and narrowing research, analyzing criteria, finding and analyzing solutions, and making decisions. Much of an engineer’s time is spent on researching, locating, applying, and transferring information.[7] Indeed, research suggests engineers spend 56% of their time engaged in various information behaviours, including 14% actively searching for information.[8]
Engineers must weigh different design choices on their merits and choose the solution that best matches the requirements and needs. Their crucial and unique task is to identify, understand, and interpret the constraints on a design in order to produce a successful result.
Analysis[edit]
Engineers conferring on prototype design, 1954
Engineers apply techniques of engineering analysis in testing, production, or maintenance. Analytical engineers may supervise production in factories and elsewhere, determine the causes of a process failure, and test output to maintain quality. They also estimate the time and cost required to complete projects. Supervisory engineers are responsible for major components or entire projects. Engineering analysis involves the application of scientific analytic principles and processes to reveal the properties and state of the system, device or mechanism under study. Engineering analysis proceeds by separating the engineering design into the mechanisms of operation or failure, analyzing or estimating each component of the operation or failure mechanism in isolation, and recombining the components. They may analyze risk.[9][10][11][12]
Many engineers use computers to produce and analyze designs, to simulate and test how a machine, structure, or system operates, to generate specifications for parts, to monitor the quality of products, and to control the efficiency of processes.
Specialization and management[edit]
NASA Launch Control Center Firing Room 2 as it appeared in the Apollo era
Most engineers specialize in one or more engineering disciplines.[1] Numerous specialties are recognized by professional societies, and each of the major branches of engineering has numerous subdivisions. Civil engineering, for example, includes structural and transportation engineering and materials engineering include ceramic, metallurgical, and polymer engineering. Mechanical engineering cuts across just about every discipline since its core essence is applied physics. Engineers also may specialize in one industry, such as motor vehicles, or in one type of technology, such as turbines or semiconductor materials.[1]
Several recent studies have investigated how engineers spend their time; that is, the work tasks they perform and how their time is distributed among these. Research[8][13] suggests that there are several key themes present in engineers’ work: technical work (i.e., the application of science to product development), social work (i.e., interactive communication between people), computer-based work and information behaviours. Among other more detailed findings, a recent work sampling study[13] found that engineers spend 62.92% of their time engaged in technical work, 40.37% in social work, and 49.66% in computer-based work. Furthermore, there was considerable overlap between these different types of work, with engineers spending 24.96% of their time engaged in technical and social work, 37.97% in technical and non-social, 15.42% in non-technical and social, and 21.66% in non-technical and non-social.
Engineering is also an information-intensive field, with research finding that engineers spend 55.8% of their time engaged in various different information behaviours, including 14.2% actively information from other people (7.8%) and information repositories such as documents and databases (6.4%).[8]
The time engineers spend engaged in such activities is also reflected in the competencies required in engineering roles. In addition to engineers’ core technical competence, research has also demonstrated the critical nature of their personal attributes, project management skills, and cognitive abilities to success in the role.[14]
Types of engineers[edit]
Main article: List of engineering branches
There are many branches of engineering, each of which specializes in specific technologies and products. Typically, engineers will have deep knowledge in one area and basic knowledge in related areas. For example, mechanical engineering curricula typically include introductory courses in electrical engineering, computer science, materials science, metallurgy, mathematics, and software engineering.
An engineer may either be hired for a firm that requires engineers on a continuous basis, or may belong to an engineering firm that provides engineering consulting services to other firms.
When developing a product, engineers typically work in interdisciplinary teams. For example, when building robots an engineering team will typically have at least three types of engineers. A mechanical engineer would design the body and actuators. An electrical engineer would design the power systems, sensors, electronics, embedded software in electronics, and control circuitry. Finally, a software engineer would develop the software that makes the robot behave properly. Engineers that aspire to management engage in further study in business administration, project management and organizational or business psychology. Often engineers move up the management hierarchy from managing projects, functional departments, divisions and eventually CEOs of a multi-national corporation.
