Careers in Engineering
By ACC Professor Shana Shaw
What do engineers do?
- Simply put, engineers apply technology in useful ways
What kinds of engineers are there?
Aerospace Engineers
- Emphasize aerodynamics, fluid mechanics, structures, heat transfer, hydraulics, control systems
- Design airplanes, rockets, space vehicles, bullet trains, automobiles
- American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA)
Agricultural Engineers
- Emphasize hydrology, soil mechanics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, combustion, climatology, chemistry, biology
- Produce food on a large scale within the earth’s ecosystem
- American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE)
Biomedical Engineers
- Apply modern engineering methods to medicine and human health
- Design medical instrumentation, prostheses, implants, assistive appliances
- Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
Chemical Engineers
- Emphasize chemistry, fluid transfer
- Design manufacturing and production systems involving chemical reactions on a production scale
- American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
Civil Engineers
- Emphasize structures, strength of materials, construction, soil mechanics
- Design infrastructure such as transportation systems, water treatment plants, aquifers
- American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Computer Engineers
- Combines engineering and computer science
- Design hardware, software, digital communication such as processors, personal computers, networks, operating systems, Internet servers
- Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Electrical Engineers
- Emphasize all forms and uses of electricity
- Design information theory, control theory, electronics, television systems, electric power systems, speech processing systems, semiconductors, fiber optics
- Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
Environmental Engineers
- Rely on biology and chemistry to solve environmental issues
- Design systems in pollution control, recycling, waste disposal, ozone depletion
- American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES)
Industrial Engineers
- Concerned with the total lifecycle of a product
- Design robotics, manufacturing systems, fabrication methods, machinery
- Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE)
Materials Engineers
- Use all forms of physical matter on a macroscopic and microscopic scale
- Design composites, fuel cells, metal alloys, ceramics, polymers, biomaterials
- American Society for Metals (ASM)
Mechanical Engineers
- Concerned with designing and building physical structures involving mechanical motion using structures, heat transfer, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, controls, materials, energy conversion
- Design automobiles, turbines, pumps, furniture, engines, computer cases, appliances, toys
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Mechatronics Engineers
- Emphasize mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and robotics
- Design and build automation systems, robotic products, manufacturing systems
- American Institute of Mechatronics Engineers (AIME)
Naval Engineers
- Emphasize materials, structures, water propulsion, dynamics, fluid mechanics
- Design ships, submarines, yachts, shipping docks, coastal navigation facilities
- American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE)
Nuclear Engineers
- Emphasize atomic physics
- Design nuclear reactors, nuclear power plants, nuclear waste facilities
- American Nuclear Society (ANS)
Petroleum Engineers
- Emphasize physics, geology, chemistry, mathematics
- Design oil and gas recovery systems
- Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)
Systems Engineers
- Emphasize information systems, automation, supply-chain management, electronics, logistics
- Design large-scale software and complex engineering systems, communication networks, transportation infrastructure
- International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE)