What Is Engineering?

1. One who operates a railroad engine.

2. One who creatively applies science and technology to solve real world problems.

OK, let's get one thing straight. We don't know very much about driving trains. That's not our kind of engineering. But we do know something about applying science and technology to solve real world problems. That's what we do, and that's the kind of engineering we'd like you to consider for a life's career. Increasingly, we live in a technical world where virtually everything depends in some degree on what engineers do. That's why engineers are in such demand. They're needed to create, design, build, and improve the machines and products we use in all asepects of our lives. But more than that, engineers are needed to guide, manage, and lead an increasing number of commercial and government activities, organizations, and agencies. That's why so many corporate presidents and CEOs are engineers.

Engineering provides the skills necessary to apply technology and solve problems, and it also provides an outstanding background for those who want to manage and lead in the modern business environment. Why? Well, think about it. We couldn't travel anywhere today without cars, boats, and planes, all of which were designed by engineers using materials and systems developed by engineers--and often built and sold by companies headed by engineers. Today engineers design, build, test, and improve the roads we drive on, the canals we sail through, or the air traffic control systems that let us fly safely. Engineers allow us to share information at the speed of light using computers and networks, converse over wireless phones from anywhere in the world, and conduct a wide range of business activities in "cyberspace." Engineers now enhance our physical health and wellbeing with sophisticated medical systems that image, analyze, diagnose, and even treat ailments with drugs and other therapies–often with technology that we couldn't even conceive of a few years ago. Engineers are responsible for the buildings we live in, the fabric in the clothes we wear, the electricity that powers our lives, and the devices that protect our environment. If it weren't for engineers, we wouldn't have food in our stomachs, clothes on our backs, heat in our homes, much less video games, shopping malls, and DVD movies.

It's no wonder that engineering represents a highly marketable skill that virtually guarantees one a secure, lucrative future in either technology or management. But engineering is much more than that. It's the excitement of understanding how things work. And it's the reward of making things better, and in the process, helping others improve their lives. Engineering is a powerful creative outlet where the engineer's "creations" may be a safer car, a cleaner engine, a more efficient workstation, or a home entertainment system that can access any movie ever made at any time over a microscopic strand of fiber optic cable.