Careers in Engineering Working Smarter, Playing Harder

							Careers in Engineering
Working Smarter, Playing Harder
Christopher Rowe
Engineering Dean’s Office
Dept. of Electrical Engineering & Computer
Science

Vanderbilt University School of Engineering
What is Engineering?
  What is technology?

  What is science?

  Aren’t they the same?

  Differences in science and technology.
Science vs. Technology
  Science is the discovery of new
  concepts and relationships in the
  natural world.

  Technology is the application of
  scientific concepts to better the quality
  of life for humans.
What does it take to be an Engineer?

  Good at math & science? Maybe.
  Strong problem solving skills.
  Natural inclination for how things work.
  Lots of curiosity & creativity.
  Willingness to work VERY hard.
Education
  4 yrs. at an accredited engineering school
  The only 4-year professional degree.
  Could take the FE exam & PE exam for
  professional licensure (big $$)
  Highly desirable to go on for Master’s
  (more $$ & higher starting rank)
Jobs
 Design
 Manufacturing
 Sales
 Banking
 Systems development
 Management ($$)
 Teaching
 Government (FBI, CIA, national labs)
 Forensics (professional problem solving)
 Medical School or Law School
Starting Salaries
(the “play harder” part)
  Approx. $34,000 - $70,000
  Average = $52,000
  EE, CompE, ChemE – highest $/most
  numerous
  BME – high/not as numerous
  ME – med-high/very numerous
  CivilE/EnvE – low-med/very numerous (going
  to require Master’s degree soon - $)
Disciplines

   Great, you’ve showed us the money.
      Now, what are the choices???
Biomedical Engineering
  VERY popular with recent biotechnology
  explosion. Quantifies biological signals and
  measurements. Applies engineering
  principles to understanding biological events.
  Prosthetics, optics, medical imaging, gene
  therapy, surgical devices, health care
  procedures & instruments, and laser guided
  surgery.
Chemical Engineering
  Applies concepts of chemistry and physics to
  solve process control problems. ChemE’s
  deal with mass production (a.k.a. process
  engineers) as well as development of new
  products using highly engineered materials.
  development and production of
  pharmaceuticals and bio-engineered
  materials, specialty polymers and high
  strength composites, semiconductors and
  microelectronic devices, a wide range of
  ultra-pure fine chemicals.
Civil Engineering
 Deals with repairing our nation’s decaying
 infrastructure, using engineered materials for
 stronger, lighter, more reliable buildings and
 bridges. Addresses problems with land-use,
 increasing population, environmental quality,
 construction management.
 Reliability and risk management,
 infrastructure networks, intelligent
 transportation systems, soil, air and water
 contamination, environmental restoration,
 management of radioactive materials and
 wastes, industrial eco-compatibility, and life-
 cycle analysis
Electrical Engineering/Computer
Engineering/Computer Science
  Solely responsible for the information age
  (the discovery of the semi-conductor).
  Electricity and computers are requirements
  for our quality of life and the management of
  these technologies is essential to the health
  of our economy.
  Artificial Intelligence, neural networks,
  computer vision, robotics, medical imaging,
  semi-conductor development/manufacturing,
  electronics in space, power electronics,
  communications.
Mechanical Engineering
  Design, build, and operate engines, machines
  and devices. Whereas Civil Engineers work
  with things that don’t move, or move very
  little. ME’s manage all aspects of how things
  move.
  Applied mechanics and materials research,
  intelligent mechatronics, ceramics and glass,
  combustion and propulsion, dynamic systems,
  encapsulation of living cells, fluid physics,
  laser diagnostics of combustion, space
  experimentation, and vibro-acoustics.
Websites of Interest
  www.nspe.org
  www.asce.org
  www.asme.org
  www.ieee.org
  www.bmes.org
  www.asee.org
The End!