• Question: What would you say is the most interesting type of engineer?

    Asked by AT-FK on 29 Nov 2021.
    • Photo: Charlie Boswell

      Charlie Boswell answered on 29 Nov 2021:

      I argue with my engineer friends about this sometimes 🙂 We all think we are the most interesting type of engineer! Mechanical engineers sometimes work on really big machines which is very cool if you like big powerful things. But, Civil engineers build even bigger bridges, dams and buildings.

      I’m an electrical engineer and I think it’s cool for the opposite reason: some things I work with are so tiny and fast that you can’t believe it. I’ve seen computers as big as your toenail. I recently heard someone complain that a piece of electronics they made was too slow, and so wouldn’t work… but it only took 0.000 000 004 seconds (4ns) to do its job!

      There are lots of other engineers too: Systems engineers that plan out the whole project, chemical engineers that make special materials and computer engineers that write code. They’re all cool in their own way, it depends on which one you like the most.

    • Photo: Hermione Salter

      Hermione Salter answered on 7 Dec 2021:

      There are so many types of engineering, you just need to find something that you personally think is cool! What interests you most? For me it was fusion, so I found a way to get involved with that. Others really like designing buildings (civil engineers), or aeroplanes, or rockets (aerospace engineering).

      Most things you can think of have an engineer or two poking their nose in somewhere, so if there is something you think is cool, try to find out what sort of engineers work on it and go train up as one of them! 🙂

    • Photo: Helena Livesey

      Helena Livesey answered on 10 Dec 2021:

      That’s a tough one!

      Civil engineers get to build massive structures like bridges and skyscrapers. Aerospace engineers are literally rocket scientists. Software engineers can build AI and VR. Mechatronics engineers get to make robots.

      But in my (slightly biased) opinion, mechanical engineers are the best because they get involved in all sorts of projects because our skills are some of the broadest and apply to lots of different fields! From hoovers to cars to fusion reactors.

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