• Question: do all different types engineers work together on the same project or do they have to work on different ones?

    Asked by megannewman to Matthew, Neil, Paula, Pete, Philippa on 9 Mar 2015.
    • Photo: Matthew Gall

      Matthew Gall answered on 9 Mar 2015:

      Engineers work together all the time. In my role, I consult with engineers who are specialists in code, some who are specialists in internet protocols, others who just have amazing ideas!

      Working together, or collaboration is a massive part of not just my daily work, but also, how the fundamental foundations of the internet were laid.

    • Photo: Pete Symons

      Pete Symons answered on 9 Mar 2015:

      All of the projects I have worked on has demanded a number of different types of engineer to work on the projects. This mostly because you need all different types of expertise. An aircraft for example will require aerodynamic engineers, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, structural engineers, systems engineers etc. not one of these engineers would have a deep enough knowledge (or time!) to do it all.

    • Photo: Neil Taylor

      Neil Taylor answered on 9 Mar 2015:

      Speaking from my own experience, it depends on the project. For smaller pieces of work that are quite specific, I think it’s common for engineers from the same discipline to be working together. For larger projects that have multiple aspects (especially designing things), there tends to be a number of engineers involved.

      So, to answer your question – a bit of both!

    • Photo: Philippa Jefferis

      Philippa Jefferis answered on 9 Mar 2015:

      Engineering has lots of overlaps, and it’s getting closer all the time. We all need to work together as a team to achieve the same goal. Some of my projects only need one or two types of engineers, but other more complex projects will involve all sorts of specialists.

      I know that a lot of work is going in to integrating sensors into buildings to monitor them more closely – so as a civil engineer, it is likely I will work very closely with an electrical engineer and perhaps a computer scientist too. It is one of the great things about my job, getting to work with lots of very interesting and clever people.

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