· 4.Intellectual
Development
An engineering education will "exercise" your brain, developing your
ability to think logically and to solve problems. These are skills that will be
valuable throughout your life—and not only when you are solving engineering
problems. For example, your problem-solving skills can help you undertake tasks
such as planning a vacation, finding a job, organizing a fund-raiser,
purchasing a house, or writing a book.
· 5.Potential to Benefit
Society
Depending upon your value system, you may not view all things that engineers do
as benefiting people. For example, engineers design military equipment like
missiles, tanks, bombs, artillery, and fighter airplanes. Engineers are also
involved in the production of pesticides, cigarettes, liquor, fluorocarbons,
and asbestos.
As an engineer, however, you can choose to work on projects that clearly
benefit society, such as cleaning up the environment, developing prosthetic
aids for disabled persons, developing clean and efficient transportation
systems, finding new sources of energy, alleviating the world’s hunger problems,
and increasing the standard of living in underdeveloped countries.
· 6.Financial Security
While financial security should not be your only reason for choosing a career
in engineering, if you decide to become an engineer you will be well paid. Engineering
graduates receive the highest starting salary of any discipline.
· 7.Prestige
Engineers play a primary role in sustaining our nation’s international
competitiveness, maintaining our standard of living, ensuring a strong national
security, and protecting public safety. Furthermore, most people know that
engineering requires hard work and strong technical skills. As a member of such
a respected profession, you will receive a high amount of prestige.
· 8.Professional
Environment
As an engineer, you will work in a professional environment in which you will
be treated with respect and have a certain amount of freedom in choosing your
work. You will also be in a position to influence what happens at your company.
You will have the opportunity to learn and grow through both on-the-job
training and formal training. Often, your immediate supervisor will closely
mentor you and help you tackle progressively more challenging tasks. You will
learn from experienced engineers in your organization and will be offered
seminars and short courses to increase your knowledge. Most likely, your
employer will have an educational reimbursement program that will pay for you
to take classes toward a graduate degree or for professional development.
As a professional, you will receive liberal benefits, which will typically
include a retirement plan, life insurance, health insurance, sick leave, paid
vacation, holidays, and savings or profit-sharing plans.
· 9.Technological and
Scientific Discovery
Do you know why golf balls have
dimples on them? Do you understand how the loads are transmitted to the
supports on a suspension bridge? Do you know what a laser is or how a computer
works? When you drive on a mountain road, do you look at the guard rails and
understand why they were designed the way they were? Do you know why
split-level houses experience more damage in earthquakes? An engineering
education can help you understand how these, and many other things in the
world, work.
Furthermore, an understanding of technology will provide you with a better
understanding of many issues facing our society. For example: Why don’t we have
zero-emission electric vehicles rather than highly polluting cars powered by
internal combustion engines? Should we have stopped building nuclear reactors?
What will we
use for energy when oil runs out? Is it technically feasible to develop a
"Star Wars" defense system that will protect us against nuclear
attack? Can we produce enough food to eliminate world hunger? Do high-voltage
power lines cause cancer in people who live or play near them?
