Engineer Career Guide and Counseling

Question: What type of engineer creates space shuttles/modules to send to space for the purpose of studying? I'm looking to become an engineer when I grow up (currently 14 years old). And I want to work for NASA so I can create mechanisms designed to study planets and orbital objects. The problem is, out of many engineering professions, I don't know which one does that. It would really help so I can read on it and prepare for my freshman engineering class.

Answer: There are several engineers involved. Electrical, mechanical. There are astronomers, physicists. Even computer programmers. Telecommunication engineers. But according to your demand "study planets and orbital objects" You need to be an astronomer. A hard field. And not everyone succeeds.

Question: Does a computer engineer play a important role in designing an aircraft ? I have a great interest in computer and aircrafts, especially military aircrafts. I am planning to do computer engineering and be involved in the designing of military aircrafts (aircraft's computer). I need to know whether the US Air Force needs computer engineers and if yes, will a computer engineer be wearing uniform and do they have military ranks ?

Answer: Compared to an aeronautical, mechanical and electrical engineer, no. No idea about the military's policies.

Question: How much free time do engineers and engineer technicians have away from work? I am thinking about being an engineer or engineering technician for either mechanical or electronics, but I am afraid I won't have much free time away from work. When I get out of the office (or site/plant) at the end of my shift, I want to do other things besides work. I don't want to be at home reviewing charts or doing research for a project at work. I want to do other things like spending time with family/friends and exercising and playing sports. I would greatly appreciate any input. Thanks very much.

Answer: As a technician you have little to fear - techs generally have nothing to take home. There is a possibility of travel, night shifts, overtime, and the like, but you will generally get compensated for those and can usually leave those jobs to the ones who want them. As an engineer it depends a lot on your specific role and temperament. I know guys who live their job, and others who clock out and check out at the end of the day. For most of us it is a 9-5 kind of job, with occasional bursts of overtime or take-home work. But realize that just about everything in engineering these days happens on a computer, and most companies are unwilling to pay for high-end laptops. As such, expect any unusual hours to occur AT work - when you are home you are done, have a beer. Please note that as you advance as an engineer, especially into managerial roles, your hours, travel, and "take-home" work increase. If you stay the strict technical path things usually stay the same.

Question: What type of Engineering would you have to start with in order to become a Rehabilitation Engineer? I want to become an Engineer, but specifically to help develop certain technologies to help disable people to have a higher quality of life.

Answer: I have never heard of that title. It must be new. Some schools have "biomedical engineering" as a major, and this sounds right up your alley. This snippet on biomedical engineering is quoted from the University of Minnesota's webpage: "Biomedical engineers apply the fundamentals of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology to solve medically-relevant problems. Examples of biomedical engineering activities include medical device design, fabrication and testing, prosthesis fabrication, ergonomics and human factors, physiological function monitoring, home health care technology development, biomedical informatics, functional imaging and tomography, biomaterial development and biocompatibility, artificial tissue and organ fabrication, cell- and biomolecule-based sensors and therapeutics, gene therapy development, and biomedical microsystems."

Question: What type of engineer is the easiest one to become? I narrowed down my career choice to engineering and im not sure what type of engineer to become so i was wondering which type is the easiest one to become. Thanks for the help.

Answer: Engineering is a serious business. Normally, Engineers have a trend and drive to the field they are pursuing. With your attitude , looking for the easiest, then you may well be advised to keep a way from Engineering.

Question: What kind of Engineer deals with coming up with new ways to use renewable energy? When i say renewable energy i mean like solar power, wind power, hydroelectric power . Is there a certain type of engineer who works in these areas? Where is a good place to go to school for this type of Engineering.

Answer: Renewable energy is a specialized area of engineering. There is no engineering degree that focuses solely on renewable energy. The closest ones that I can think of are Chemical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. The principles of chemical reactions are important in the study of energy. But to design and construct the harnessing devices requires knowledge of mechanical engineering. Every engineer is taught the basics of every engineering discipline so even Computer Engineers can qualify if they specialize beyond their undergraduate education. If you live in the Philippines, the best school to go to is of course the University of the Philippines. Among private universities, De La Salle University - Manila is best, followed by MAPUA. Ateneo De Manila's engineering is handled by the Physics department as I have been told so I would be hesitant towards that school. The University of Sto. Tomas seems to have strong engineering background as well, but I have no certainty about that. In choosing the right school, accreditation of the engineering department and not just the school accreditation is important.

Question: How can I keep an engineer entertained during a train trip? Hubby and I are going to be seeing England via train next week. No problem for me: I can read, draw, knit, sew, etc. But hubby doesn't have any hobbies like that and fears he will be bored senseless. I've already downloaded a bunch of engineer jokes, and I plan on bringing a deck of cards and some puzzles. What else can I do? I feel a little like I'm entertaining a little kid. *lol* Only this kid is really really picky.

Answer: Introduce him to the train engineer. Maybe he'll get some kind of tour.

Question: What is the hardest year in college for an Engineer and why (Particularly Biomedical Engineer)? This question is particularly for Biomedical Engineers but feel free to answer if you are in a different field of engineering. I'm a freshman who is planning on doing BME. Juts let me know what type of engineer you are/ are studying to be. Also list any classes that you feel were especially hard and any advice you have. Thanks!

Answer: It really depends on the school. Best to talk to people in upper years to get their opinions. I personally found they got more difficult each year, but the type of work seemed to change a bit from just assignments to more involved projects.

Question: Will a bachelors in nanotechnology and masters in chemical engineering allow me to work as a chemical engineer? Ive done 2 years of a 4 year nanotechnology course. If I do a masters in chemical engineering which is 1.5 years long, will I be able to work as a chemical engineer afterwards? Or should i just change my course to chemical engineering now and almost start from scratch?

Answer: Of course you must finish first the Chemical Engineering degree in order to be qualified to work as a Chemical Engineer. Only a plus factor for you is your nanotechnology studies, despite you have not yet completed the course. Please note that only you can be called Engineer and work as a Chemical Engineer if you have that degree, or else you will only be called laboratory technician if without finishing an engineering degree. Proceeding to Masters Degree after a Bachelors Degree will be a very good choice to ensure your place to land a better job. Good luck.

Question: What Combat Engineer units are at Bliss and which units are deploying? I've got permanent orders for Bliss at the end of Feb and have been trying to find out what Engineer units are there. I know that 1-1 Armor has Engineers and that there is another unit that's currently in NTC prepping to deploy that has engineers, just not sure who they are. Someone also mentioned AETF (Army Evaluation Task Force) having Engineers. Anyone know which units are there and their current deployment status? I'm not scared of deployment, I've got some combat time under these stripes. My biggest worry is that a stop loss will put a stop to my whole SF packet until I return. I'm worried about my career not my hide. PCS orders do show you the unit you will be assigned to, however I'm prior service so I won't figure that out until I arrive at the retention.

Answer: http://www.bliss.army.mil Click on the Command tab on the left side of the page.

Question: Where to find a professional engineer to review ASME Section VIII calculations in Texas? For a project my company is working on, we need to have a Professional Engineer review and sign off on our calculation package. Does anyone know of any Engineering Firms in the Houston region that have PE's that could do this?

Answer: Look in the yellow pages for engineering contractors. There are several in Houston.There are also several pressure vessel fabricators who should have qualified engineers who can do this. I have purchased 1000's of pressure vessels. I have always had the pressure vessel vendor provide certified drawings and calculations as a part of their fabrication package.

Question: unemployed electronic engineer willing to work in a retirement community.how to apply? iam an electronics engineer .i haven't worked in a job for the past 5 years & now iam willing to work in a retirement community.is it possible?how to apply for this?suggest some other jobs suitable for my qualification.

Answer: For your skills, you might also want to look at computer programming, project management, marketing, and sales type jobs in your product area of expertise. If you want to work in a retirement community, I would recommend looking of someplace like Monster.com to find out the types of jobs there are in a retirement community. Then you can look into what you need to get a job that looks good to you.

Question: What type of engineer creates computer parts? I want to be a electrical engineer working for big companies such as intel, nvidia, dell, etc. What type of engineers do they hire most of the time? Who makes motherboards and graphic cards, Electrical Engineer or Hardware Computer Engineers?

Answer: The title of my bachelor was "Electrical and Computer engineering", and I can do both. However it depends on which parts of the computer you are talking about, if you want to get into processor design then microelectronic engineering is a course that covers IC and processor design, which I don't have experience with. There are so many types of engineering, I would say hardware computer engineer though as straight electrical tends to more focus on AC/DC machines, power generation, control systems and high power electronics. At least all of the pure electrical related subjects in my course did.

Question: What is the difference between an engineer and a scientist? I'm in year 12, I enjoy physics and chemistry & also maths But I don't know whether to continue these as an engineer or a scientist. What is the difference? How did you engineers or scientists know which path to take? Thank you!

Answer: engineers are scientists. so are chemists, physicists, biologists, etc... Scientists is a generic term for people who are knowlegable in an one or more areas of science. ie nature... So I suppose a better question would be what do engineers do vs what do chemists, biologists and physicists do? but that's really not a simple question because there are specialities in all three fields and there are different degrees.....bachelors, masters, and PhD.... If I were to generalize about the jobs, I'd say this.... Engineers with BA/BS, MS, or PhD's typically have more options and are paid better. They can work in research groups, business management, sales, or process or product management. usually advance faster in the companies. And have a better job marketability. This is because they are trained to think both analytically and strategically. I don't mean that to sound arrogant but we engineers actually take classes that are based on business management and growth during our undergraduate studies and are then given more opportunities to manage at work. Chemists with BA/BS degrees usually work in labs analyzing substances. Although this doesn't really seem fair, it's the way the job market is. Chemists with MS or PhD's usually work in a research group and are given some flexibilty on what work they are doing. A person with an Ms degree in chemistry is treated about the same as a person with a BA/BS in chemical engineering. Physicists with BA/BS. good luck... masters and PhD's again ususally work in research groups or manage companies. I have worked for two guys with PhD's in physics that were VP's of research and development.... So my recommendation to you is this... I assume you are interested in doing research by your question.... And you like math, physics, chemistry. So... get a PhD in chemical engineering....many opportunities there....

Question: What does an engineer have to do to obtain his license? What do an engineer have to go through to obtain his license? I mean his engineering license, not a drivers license.

Answer: In the United States (its different in other countries), the process is this: Graduate from an ABET accredited university. Pass the Fundamentals of Engineering exam (FE) after college (typically taken your senior year) Work for a specified amount of time performing engineering tasks under the supervision of a licensed engineer (the amount of time is specified by the state you live in, as is the definition of "engineering tasks") Pass the Professional Engineering licensing exam (PE)

Question: What kind of engineer would design a valve for an artificial heart? I want to be an engineer when I grow up, but I just learned that there are so many fields and it's quite overwhelming. So I'll start with this!

Answer: A team of medical engineers would would design the whole heart, sometimes called 'bio' engineers. Each will have their own specialism such as mechanical, electrical or materials, the mechanical engineering specialist would oversee the design of the mechanical aspect of the valve and any other mechanical moving parts.