• Question: Why did you study Engineering

    Asked by moose4 to Usaid, Becky, Carrie, Kelly, Robin on 15 Mar 2012. This question was also asked by bhirani, pride423.
    • Photo: Usaid Rauf

      Usaid Rauf answered on 13 Mar 2012:

      I’m going to try and relate to you as I answer your question. Picture this: you’re sitting in class trying hard to listen to your teacher go on about some strange science or mathematics that you can almost understand. Then, you think to yourself, “why is s/he teaching me this? I’m never going to use algebra or refract light in my job.” I used algebra and light refraction as two examples, please change as you would see fit.

      I decided to study engineering because it is the one field that takes all of this abstract science and mathematics and applies it to the real world we live in day by day. To me, engineering made sense of everything I learnt at school. Engineering let me take what I learnt in the classroom, which was just bits of stuff, and apply this knowledge to the real world in a way that made much more sense. Science and mathematics are two subjects with loads of rules and laws. Engineering adds a little creativity and lets you bend these rules just a little bit.

    • Photo: Becky Selwyn

      Becky Selwyn answered on 14 Mar 2012:

      I picked engineering for similar reasons to Usaid. I always enjoyed school more when we were learning about something that I could picture being used in the real world. Learning equations for the sake of it didn’t make sense, so I always tried to look at what the equation was trying to explain in real life. Once I knew what it was explaining, it made it easier to remember the equation. I have always learnt like that, so using theory and applying it to real things in engineering suited me perfectly.

    • Photo: Robin Stafford Allen

      Robin Stafford Allen answered on 15 Mar 2012:

      This is the same answer that I have given to others, but I was growing up during the moon-landings. These and Concorde are the projects that I thought were fantastic and greatly encouraged me to do engineering, which I rather regards in my case of being paid for having fun most of the time!
      I had the most amazing father who was an aeronautical engineer (designs aeroplanes) and was a flight engineer in the RAF in the war. He used to encourage me to take the lawnmower or the rotovator to bits and repair them, and then I had a small motorbike (BSA) and my first car when I was 12, which of course could only be driven about 50 yards as it was not, of course, allowed on the roads (it was too old and i was too young!), but I could take it to bits and put it back together to keep it going. Regards Robin

    • Photo: Caroline Roberts Haritonov

      Caroline Roberts Haritonov answered on 20 Mar 2012:

      My best subjects at school were maths and physics. I related to the logic and language of maths and science but was also excited by the way these subjects opened up my understanding of the world and how things work. Engineering was the opportunity to apply the principles and logic of maths and science to solve problems and challenges and improve the world in which we live.

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