Careers in Engineering Working Smarter, Playing Harder

1. Careers in EngineeringWorking Smarter, Playing Harder Christopher Rowe Engineering Dean’s Office Dept. of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Vanderbilt University School of Engineering

2. What is Engineering? • What is technology? • What is science? • Aren’t they the same? • Differences in science and technology.

3. Science vs. Technology • Science is the discovery of new concepts and relationships in the natural world. • Technology is the application of scientific concepts to better the quality of life for humans.

4. What does it take to be an Engineer? • Good at math & science? Maybe. • Strong problem solving skills. • Natural inclination for how things work. • Lots of curiosity & creativity. • Willingness to work VERY hard.

5. Education • 4 yrs. at an accredited engineering school • The only 4-year professional degree. • Could take the FE exam & PE exam for professional licensure (big $$) • Highly desirable to go on for Master’s (more $$ & higher starting rank)

6. Jobs • Design • Manufacturing • Sales • Banking • Systems development • Management ($$) • Teaching • Government (FBI, CIA, national labs) • Forensics (professional problem solving) • Medical School or Law School

7. Starting Salaries(the “play harder” part) • Approx. $34,000 - $70,000 • Average = $52,000 • EE, CompE, ChemE – highest $/most numerous • BME – high/not as numerous • ME – med-high/very numerous • CivilE/EnvE – low-med/very numerous (going to require Master’s degree soon - $)

8. Disciplines Great, you’ve showed us the money. Now, what are the choices???

9. Biomedical Engineering • VERY popular with recent biotechnology explosion. Quantifies biological signals and measurements. Applies engineering principles to understanding biological events. • Prosthetics, optics, medical imaging, gene therapy, surgical devices, health care procedures & instruments, and laser guided surgery.

10. Chemical Engineering • Applies concepts of chemistry and physics to solve process control problems. ChemE’s deal with mass production (a.k.a. process engineers) as well as development of new products using highly engineered materials. • development and production of pharmaceuticals and bio-engineered materials, specialty polymers and high strength composites, semiconductors and microelectronic devices, a wide range of ultra-pure fine chemicals.

11. Civil Engineering • Deals with repairing our nation’s decaying infrastructure, using engineered materials for stronger, lighter, more reliable buildings and bridges. Addresses problems with land-use, increasing population, environmental quality, construction management. • Reliability and risk management, infrastructure networks, intelligent transportation systems, soil, air and water contamination, environmental restoration, management of radioactive materials and wastes, industrial eco-compatibility, and life-cycle analysis

12. Electrical Engineering/Computer Engineering/Computer Science • Solely responsible for the information age (the discovery of the semi-conductor). Electricity and computers are requirements for our quality of life and the management of these technologies is essential to the health of our economy. • Artificial Intelligence, neural networks, computer vision, robotics, medical imaging, semi-conductor development/manufacturing, electronics in space, power electronics, communications.

13. Mechanical Engineering • Design, build, and operate engines, machines and devices. Whereas Civil Engineers work with things that don’t move, or move very little. ME’s manage all aspects of how things move. • Applied mechanics and materials research, intelligent mechatronics, ceramics and glass, combustion and propulsion, dynamic systems, encapsulation of living cells, fluid physics, laser diagnostics of combustion, space experimentation, and vibro-acoustics.

14. Websites of Interest • www.nspe.org • www.asce.org • www.asme.org • www.ieee.org • www.bmes.org • www.asee.org

15. The End!