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Asked by katrinarowan0511 to Alex, Claire, Kate, Marcus, Neil on 20 Jun 2014.
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Claire Brockett answered on 20 Jun 2014:
hi katrinarowan0511
It very much depends on what your job is.
At the moment I don’t spend much time designing things – although I do have to design holders and fittings for our test machines so I can do my experiments.
In the future, I am hoping to be involved with designing some new implants for the ankle – but I will work with others to get those designs made.
At the university, I also supervise some of our students (see my profile for more details) they are product designers – so are studying a mixture of engineering and design. I’m always amazed by how good their designs are!
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Alex Lyness answered on 20 Jun 2014:
Hey katrinarown0511,
Like Claire said, it depends which type of Engineer you are. Some guys write a lot of code, whilst others do a lot of calculations and formulas.
I picked the Product Design Engineering degree at Loughborough University and that means that I’ve always been designing things all the time whilst being an Engineer. Being good at drawing and CAD are helpful and I’m currently doing a lot of 3D printing of different devices and parts.
Designing solutions are part of the job, but don’t worry if you struggle at stuff like that because we work in project teams and everyone has slightly different skills that help solve problems together.
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Kate Niehaus answered on 21 Jun 2014:
In terms of design of products, as the others have said, some engineers spend most of their time on design. Others may not – it all depends on your role.
I spend a lot of my time designing experiments to test different models, but I have a feeling that this may not be the type of “design” that you are asking about 🙂
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Marcus Johns answered on 23 Jun 2014:
Although it heavily depends on the exact engineering field that you go into, engineers aren’t generally involved in the design that you learn about in school. Whilst some vehicles such as cars and aircraft are designed by engineers for the best aerodynamic performance, most companies use a team of dedicated designers to develop the smooth curves on a sports car or ensure that the handle of your toothbrush fits your hand well. It’s then up to the engineers to come up with a way to produce the design at an appropriate scale – be it 50 limited edition cars or millions of toothbrushes – and there are many discussions with the designers in order to ensure that the item can be produced at a reasonable price and reach safety standards.
Engineers are much more involved with other types of design – such as the best shape for an implant or vessel; the most energy efficient way to link the different parts of a factory together; the best way to build a bridge, or how best to find out the best material to use for a project. But again, this depends on where you work and what type of engineering you decide to pursue.
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