Engineering is the application of science and mathematics to problem solving. Engineers figure out how things operate and use scientific discoveries in practical ways. Scientists and inventors are frequently credited with inventions that improve the human condition, but it is engineers who are responsible for making such innovations available to the rest of the world.
Engineering history is intertwined with the history of human civilization. Today, the Pyramids of Giza, Stonehenge, the Parthenon, and the Eiffel Tower remain as testaments to our engineering history. Engineers nowadays are not only creating massive constructions like the International Space Station, but they are also creating maps of the human genome and better, smaller computer chips.
Engineering is one of the pillars of STEM education, which is an interdisciplinary curriculum meant to inspire students to study about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
What does an engineer do?
Engineers are responsible for the design, evaluation, development, testing, modification, installation, inspection, and maintenance of a wide range of goods and systems. At addition, they suggest and specify materials and procedures, oversee production and construction, perform failure analysis, give consulting services, and teach engineering courses in colleges and universities.
The discipline of engineering is split into many specializations:
Mechanical engineering
It entails the design, manufacture, inspection, and maintenance of machinery, equipment, and components, as well as the development of control systems and instruments for monitoring their condition and performance. Vehicles, construction and farm machinery, industrial facilities, and a wide range of tools and gadgets are all included.
Electrical engineering
Design, testing, manufacture, building, control, monitoring, and inspection of electrical and electronic equipment, machines, and systems are all part of the job. From tiny circuits to national power generating and transmission networks, the size of these systems varies.
Civil engineering
It includes the planning, design, building, operation, and maintenance of big infrastructure projects such as highways, railways, bridges, tunnels, dams, and airports.
Aerospace engineering
It entails the design, manufacture, and testing of aero planes and spacecraft, as well as the parts and components that go with them, including as airframes, power plants, control and guidance systems, electrical and electronic systems, and communication and navigation systems.
Nuclear engineering
It entails the design, manufacture, installation, operation, and testing of nuclear radiation-producing equipment, systems, and processes. Particle accelerators and nuclear reactors for electric power plants and ships, as well as radioisotope manufacturing and research, are examples of these systems. Nuclear engineering also includes the monitoring and protection of individuals from possible hazardous radiation impacts.
Structural engineering
It includes the planning, design, and construction of load-bearing structures such as major commercial buildings, bridges, and industrial infrastructure.
Biomedical engineering
It is the process of creating systems, equipment, and technologies for use in medical practice. It also entails collaborating closely with medical practitioners, such as physicians, nurses, technicians, therapists, and researchers, to assess, comprehend, and satisfy their needs for systems, equipment, and technologies.
Chemical engineering
It is the activity of developing equipment, methods, and procedures for refining raw materials as well as combining, compounding, and processing chemicals to create useful products.
Environmental engineering
It is the process of avoiding, mitigating, and removing pollution sources in the air, water, and land. It also includes detecting and monitoring pollution levels, finding pollution sources, cleaning up and restoring contaminated places, and assuring compliance with local, state, and federal legislation.
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Trends in the Engineering Industry
There is frequently significant overlap between the various specializations. As a result, engineers must have a basic grasp of numerous fields of engineering in addition to their specialty. A civil engineer, for example, must grasp structural engineering ideas, an aerospace engineer must use mechanical engineering principles, and nuclear engineers must have a working knowledge of electrical engineering.
Following are some of the main trends in the engineering industry:
Autonomy Everywhere
The next decade is likely to be defined by artificial intelligence. It has already begun to expand its presence in engineering software, where generative design programs improve CAD drawings to best match the functional specification of a part—including how it will be produced. There will be more to come.
AI solutions are also being developed by software providers to assist engineers on material selection and compliance. Meanwhile, robotic process automation (RPA) software allows bots to automate clerical engineering tasks like as reviewing change requests, maintaining bills of materials, and looking for opportunities to standardize parts across various products.
AI will get smarter, quicker, and considerably more precise over the next decade. But first, it must overcome a formidable obstacle: trust. It will take the better part of a decade before anybody trusts a highway full of self-driving cars or a multimillion-dollar business that makes its own judgments without human intervention.
Plug-and-Play World
AI, IoT, big data, 5G, autonomous robotics, and blockchain are currently stand-alone solutions. It is not an easy effort to ensure that a range of IoT sensors can communicate with a factory execution system, which can then communicate with a cloud-based data analytics package. That leaves producers with two options: locate a vendor who bundles all of these features together, but doing so may bind them to a single, sometimes expensive proprietary system. Alternatively, if businesses want to mix and match best-of-breed applications, they must pay programmers to integrate devices and software so that data formats are interoperable across the system.
This is changing, and big engineering and industrial software firms are prepared for it. We are witnessing a rise in standardization, interoperability, and quicker deployments.
More Complex Products
People want more from their products, and information technology enables them to do so. Automobiles are the most visible manifestation of this tendency. Consider safety systems in addition to consumer amenities such as voice-controlled phones, music systems, and internet hubs.
When an automobile begins to slide or gets too near to the vehicle in front of it, modern vehicles frequently take over braking. They alert drivers when they leave their lane or when another vehicle enters their blind area. Some have completely autonomous highway driving, while others can self-park. If they believe a collision is imminent, they may tighten seat belts and reposition the seat.
Resilient Systems
Complexity is unstable by definition. That makes logical, because the more degrees of freedom there are in a system, the more likely something may go wrong. This is true for global supply chains, manufacturing complexes, telecommunications networks, and the electrical grid, which is becoming increasingly complex as it expands to handle intermittent sources of green power like solar and wind.
These inherent instabilities are exacerbated by two reasons. The first is a changing climate, which increases the likelihood of extreme weather occurrences. As a result, infrastructure and other sorts of facilities are vulnerable to floods and wind damage. The second issue is the collapse of trade treaties and alliances, which endangers global supply networks. Engineers will increasingly have to factor disruption into their planning.
Old Industries Are New Again
In many cases, these new firms have merged new business models with new technology, such as batteries capable of powering a vehicle and 3D printing to drastically reduce part count in rockets.
Today, entrepreneurs may begin development with a shopping cart full of off-the-shelf sensors and mechanical parts, then add drop-in AI robot operating system (ROS), sensing, and mapping software. This explains why hundreds of firms are already introducing self-driving robots for niche applications ranging from heat exchanger cleaning to hospital medicine distribution. As AI becomes more affordable and standardized, expect much more disruption—and opportunities—in other sectors.
A Changing Profession
Engineers have always held personal responsibility for the projects on which they worked. As products have become more sophisticated, engineers are increasingly working in interdisciplinary teams.
Mechanical engineers must work with electrical and electronic engineers to add embedded capabilities, manufacturing engineers to optimize design for production, and buying and marketing experts to guarantee that the product fulfils cost, service, and functional requirements. Design is becoming more democratic as a result, but it may also undermine an engineer’s feeling of personal responsibility.
Jobs and Careers in Engineering
Engineering has a wide range of career possibilities and specialties. We’ve compiled a list of specializations for you to peruse. With each specialty, we look at the definition and nature of the work, the specializations employment patterns, and potential career progression prospects, in the hopes that it will help you decide whether or not the vocation is appropriate for you.
Following is the list of careers in engineering:Â
- Aerospace Engineer
- Agricultural Engineer
- Automotive Engineer
- Biomedical Engineer
- Chemical Engineer
- Civil Engineer
- Computer Engineer
- Data Engineer
- Drafting and Design Engineer
- Electrical Engineer
- Environmental Engineer
- Geological Engineer
- Marine Engineer
- Mechanical Engineer
- Petroleum Engineer
- Software Engineer