People choose careers in engineering for many reasons: they have had a flare for technical gadgets from early childhood; someone they know and admire is an engineer; they have a flare for physical sciences; engineering opens doors to highly-paid employment opportunities, etc. However, relatively few know much more, especially about the types of duties that engineers perform, the many specialization options, or career prospects in the different areas of specialization. The engineering profession evolved just over a hundred years ago in response to an exponential growth in scale of production made possible by availability of energy in commercial quantities, stimulated largely by developments in science which provided fundamental basis for many age-old technologies. The main difference between the engineer and the traditional technologist is the competence in evolving a design from fundamental principles, thereby largely eliminating the costly and dangerous traditional trial-and-error approach. Starting with only a few specialties -military, civil, mechanical and electrical engineering - there are now scores of specialties and sub-specialties and choosing one has become a daunting task for the young aspirant.
This short guide presents important information as concisely as possible on the most prominent specialties and sub-specialties in engineering for the guidance of young students who want to know more about engineering to enable them choose a specialization that best meets their interest, capability and career aspirations. There are many more sub-specialties than covered in this book but selection has been guided by versatility and potential employment opportunities. Particular emphasis is placed on the significant overlap between specialties and the relative ease of conversion from one specialty to another, even after graduation. Fortunately most engineering faculties offer a core program for all specialties for the first one or two years and students have an opportunity to switch from their chosen specialty to another in the light of their performance in the core courses. Hopefully, this guide will help them make informed choices.
Traditionally, engineering has been a male-dominated profession, just like the military, and there are many stereotypes out there that tend to discourage women from choosing a career in engineering. In many traditions, women are discouraged in many ways from receiving education, and when they have the opportunity, they are made to believe that mathematics and science are beyond their capabilities. Another myth is that engineering is too rough for women, but this arises from the confusion about what engineers do and the distinction between engineers, technicians and artisans. An engineer is hardly ever involved in physical processes of production, or equipment installation, operation, and maintenance. The work of the engineer is largely intellectual: design, analysis, project, process and product development, operations planning and supervision, systems design, development, deployment, operation and supervision, and the increasingly digital world has revolutionized the way engineers do their work. This book also discusses the enormous potential career opportunities for women in engineering and the large numbers of women who have excelled in science and engineering.