Definition of an Engineer 26

[Ashereng]

I recently brought my little ones to my office, to see where I work.

They have only seen me "colour" my drawing, and working on my computer at home, and seem to think that engineering consists of:
1) drinking a lot of coffee (yes, I am cutting back)
2) colouring (I do a lot of back checking and review)
3) surfing the web (I do a lot of design and sizing on my computer)

However, this descripton aside, how would you describe/define engineering to a group of Grade 10s? I don't mean the specific type of engineers, like a piping engineer works on a project to bring oil from Alaska to Texas, but more generic

What does an "engineer" do?

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[rhodie]

An engineer is somebody who can have an empassioned arguement about the proper placement, ommission, alternative, and origin of a degree symbol:

http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=152378

or, "professional nerds" if you'd prefer...

 

[rb1957]

hey, rhodie, ... i think there were more of us who looked in on that thread, thought "good grief", and got on with our lives (and our jobs).

to me, scientists delve into the universe looking for truth, engineers use 1/2 truths (we still use newtonian physics) to make things that we need.

 

[PsionSaint]

"Scientists dream about doing great things. Engineers do them." -- James A. Michener

Another version I've seen is that scientists are searching for the truth - engineers are searching for what works.

My personal favorite definition for an engineer is someone who will go through any amount of effort to avoid unnecessary work.

 

[Ashereng]

My personal favorite definition for an engineer is someone who will go through any amount of effort to avoid unnecessary work.

Well ... that encompass' a lot of people I know. Don't know if I would call them all engineers though. Hee Hee



"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[rday]

Engineers improve the quality of life

 

[epoisses]

so do bakers

I like BJC's definition "An engineer is someone who can do for a dollar what anyone else can do for two."
In my line of business there are lots of people who think they can be engineers by suggesting to connect randomly sized vessels by randomly sized pieces of pipe of randomly selected material and move liquid and gas around by randomly sized pumps and compressors... in the end it may or may not work, but in any case it will cost a fortune.
The difference between chemical engineers and other people that work in a chemical facility is that engineers can quantify.

 

[UcfSE]

"...engineers can quantify." That sounds very good epoisses, as does the quote about engineers doing for a dollar what anyone else can do for two. According to my net search that's attributed to Arthur M. Wellington.

Here's another I like that seems to define engineering: "Engineering is the art of modelling materials we do not wholly understand, into shapes we cannot precisely analyze so as to withstand forces we cannot properly assess, in such a way that the public has no reason to suspect the extent of our ignorance."
- Dr AR Dykes
British Institution of Structural Engineers, 1976.

 

[TheBlacksmith]

An engineer spends far more time figuring out how to do the $2 job for $1 than it ever would have taken to do it for $2. When one of my engineer friends and I team up on a household project, our wives automatically know to quadruple the time it should have taken to do the project.

 

[epoisses]

Certainly... and by doing so he enables other people to do a thousand of those jobs for $1.

 

[GunT]

A serious defnition:

An Engineer either designs a new system or improves an existing system to solve a technological problem (s) utilizing available resources under some constraints.

Growing Population: Sociological Problem not a technological one.
Growing Traffic: Technological Problem
Widening the road: Improving an existing system ( A system can be a road, an automobile, a reactor etc.)
Building a new road: Designing a new system
Available resources: Workforce, materials etc.
Constraints: Available space, budget etc.

More humorous one:

Engineering is a child born out of the wedlock between Science and Economics.

Regards,

 

[SnTMan]

GunT, I like that last one.

Mike

 

[BitTwiddler]

GunT wrote:

"Engineering is a child born out of the wedlock between Science and Economics."

Are you SURE that they got married beforehand?

This is my pithy definition of an engineer:

"Someone who figures out how to build stuff."

 

[arto]

".....they don't let me drive the engine,
they don't let me ring the bell,
but when the damn thing jumps the track,
guess who catches hell!!"

 

[GunT]

Are you SURE that they got married beforehand?

Definitely. And what a long and torturous marriage that has been between the "Mars based Science" and "Venus based Economics" which left the "Earth base Engineering" completely bewildered!!

Mike: I am glad that you liked it.

 

[SnTMan]

Maybe a shotgun wedding

Mike

 

[TheBlacksmith]

How did they make the shotgun without an engineer to sign off on the design? Risky business, someone could get hurt.

 

[Ashereng]

The military can grant their own "Military Engineer" designation outside of the engineering association.

Someone in another thread mentioned this.

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[25362]

Engineering is a branch of knowledge and as such is usually considered a science. The science by which the properties of matter and the sources of power in nature are made useful to mankind in structures, machines, goods and services.

An engineer would then be an individual specializing in one of the branches of engineering.

For those interested in a quasi-contradictory meaning: engineering time is the nonproductive time of a computer, devoted to maintenance and servicing.

 

[GregLocock]

Pah. Engineering is no science. We live and dream on the ragged boundary between art, science and utility.

I like the Dyke's quote, myself.

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[25362]

I'm well aware of the dialectic around the concepts of science and the scientific methods. However, there are branches of engineering that are no doubt very close to the most exacting definitions of science.

For example: the deliberate modification or "engineering" of the gene structure, as in breeding improved plants or animal strains aka genetic engineering. Or the application of biology to engineering and electronics especially of brain functions to computers bionic engineering. Or, BTW, ergonomics and biotechnology.

GregLocock, any comment?