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Why Engineering?
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Turning Ideas Into Reality
What Do Engineers Do?
The Booming Job Market
Starting Salaries (by field)
Famous Engineers
Links to more information about Engineering
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Turning Ideas Into Reality!
That's what engineers do, in a nutshell! L. Sprague DeCamp said of
engineers, "The story of civilization is, in a sense, the
story of engineering - that long and arduous struggle to make the
forces of nature work for man's good."
The first engineers focused on military technology, designing
weapons, such as sword and catapults, and sturdy medieval
castles. Later engineers designed roads, bridges, dams,
electric lights, internal combustion engines, computers -- the
conveniences of our modern lives. The engineers of today are
solving the problems of the 21st Century, cleaning
the environment with plants and microbes, developing biofuels
for cars and trucks, designing the cars and trucks that we drive
to work and school, and enhancing the world in which we live. |
You may be wondering about the
difference between engineers and scientists. Perhaps Albert
Einstein put it best when he said, "Scientists investigate
that which already is; engineers create that which has never
been." Students in Biosystems Engineering turn their
ideas into reality in their freshman year. The University of
Tennessee's innovative freshman engineering sequence, ENGAGE,
introduces students to the fundamentals of engineering in the
classroom, while teaming them with our students on design
projects. Projects from past years have included wooden
bridges, cardboard chairs, catapults, and rubber band-powered
cars! A sophomore in Biosystems Engineering is pictured
above with the expandable bale mover he designed in the 3-D modeling
package Mechanical Desktop.
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What Do Engineers Do?
The
best answer to this question may be "What don't engineers
do?" The engineers of today are solving tomorrows
problems, but in a variety of fields and ways. Some engineers
create new products like combines, computers, and food
products. Others conduct scientific research, working in
laboratories or outdoors, perhaps monitoring water quality or
developing safer food handling techniques. Other engineers
test and evaluate new systems; a graduate student in Biosystems
Engineering is shown at the right evaluating spray patterns from
nozzles using the latest laser technology.
Some engineers choose to attend medical school or law school. Others
enter the technical marketing arena, utilizing their engineering background
to help sell products or educate others on the merits of a particular
product. Many of the CEOs of major companies actually have engineering
degrees.
In our increasingly high-tech society, the profession of
engineering offers plentiful job opportunities, superior salaries
and a high rate of professional satisfaction. A degree in
engineering opens the door to a world of opportunity!
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The Booming Job Market For Engineers
While
the demand for engineers is on the rise, the number of bachelor's
degrees awarded in engineering has declined since 1986. The
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that employment
opportunities for engineers are expected to be excellent at least
through 2008.
Competitive pressures and advancing technology are forcing
companies to improve and update products designs more and more
frequently. Employers are also relying on engineers to
increase productivity. Another key growth area is in the
environmental engineering field, as engineers are called upon to
correct the environmental mistakes of past generations. The
photo at left shows two Biosystems Engineering students collecting
water samples from a well. |
While a small proportion of engineers leave the profession each
year (a testament to the rewarding nature of engineering
careers!), many job openings are arising from replacement
needs. Most of the replacement openings are created by
engineers promoted to management, sales, or other professional specialty
occupations. Clearly, engineers don't move out of a company,
they move up! The demand for starting engineers exceeds the
number of graduating engineers, generating a excellent
opportunity.
Source: US
BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook |
Starting Salaries
The
starting salaries for engineers are typically significantly higher
than those of college graduates in other fields. JobTrak.com
reports the average starting salary for engineers in 2000 to be
$47,001, while the average for all majors was $36,259. The
graph below shows the average starting salaries by profession for
1999, as
reported by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: |
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Famous Engineers
The list of famous engineers is an impressive one, including
former U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Herbert Hoover, along with astronaut
Neil Armstrong. Speaking of astronauts, did you know that 72 of the
107 active U.S. astronauts (as of 1998) have engineering degrees?!
Here is a list of more
famous engineers. |
Engineering Information Links
The American Society for Engineering Education
Discover Engineering Online
(Excellent site...games & lots of info)
JETS (Junior Engineering Technical Society)
Biological and Agricultural Engineering Info
Agilent Technologies Info for the Prospective Engineer
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