What Engineering is All About

To be perfectly honest, during my high school career I had no idea what engineering really was. It was only when I got to my second year at MIT that I started touching the surface of what engineering really entails. Especially this summer, working at my job, doing my UROP, being chair of ESP, working on my own side projects, has taught me more about what engineering really is than any class at MIT.

And I think it can be summed into one sentence: Know your tools and know when to use them.

Of course, there is way more to engineering than this, but the statement serves as a springboard for what it's all about. When you have a project or a goal in mind, the first thing you do is brainstorm ways to accomplish that goal or project. But you can't do that without knowing what tools are available to you. How can you even have clear project goals without knowing what can physically be done? More importantly, good engineers know when to save time by knowing what tools can accomplish their goals as fast as possible.

I mentioned physical possibilities - naturally, we all want to build flying carpets. Maybe this is possible (but I sure don't know anything about flight, so I can't say), but you need to know the basic science behind the physical world to design something for it. You should know that materials undergo deformation when under stress. Engineering it's about "ideal" cases - it's about how the ideal cases from first-year classes can be applied to the real world effectively.

One of the biggest flaws any engineer can have is not knowing when to say "I don't know." You not only risk humiliation when you mess something up, but you risk the integrity of your project. If you don't know something or are unsure, ask someone who does. Go look it up. No one will be judging you for not knowing - in fact, they will respect you for making sure you have your facts straight. How can you be an engineer without good science? You can't. Make sure you know the science - ask the questions when you have the chance.

In short: know your science, know your limits, and know when you don't know something. Happy Engineering!