Becoming a Good Engineer - Introduction
18 January, 2006 (17:40) Engineering & Inventorship By: Erik
Becoming a good engineer isn’t something that will happen overnight, some may say you are born with the skills; that may be partly true, but I believe you need to acquire the thought process that engineers have through years of experience. You can speed up the process if you know what to look for and how to handle problem situations.
I have always liked math growing up and once I got to college figured I should go into some sciences. Plus reading wasn’t a big priority for me yet. Engineering seemed like a good fit because it seemed like the most rewarding. Becoming an engineer offers you the opportunity to learn the skills needed to be the designer of things, get patents, get your name written into history books, literally. There are many disciplines to choose from such as mechanical, chemical, electrical, civil, etc. I chose Biomedical because of its being brand new and having the least discoveries. Much easier to get your name in the books. I finished off my degree in BME at the University of Michigan and landed a job at a great startup company in Honolulu, Hawaii.
That’s neither here nor there though. You came here most likely to learn HOW TO BECOME A GOOD ENGINEER, MAYBE EVEN GREAT. Well, I won’t give you any sure fire way but I can begin this category of posts to come with some great tips to get you headed in the right direction. I have learned a lot over the last year and a half, and continue to learn everyday how to become a better engineer.
Problem SolvingFirst off you should want to solve problems. If you don’t like to solve problems you are going to most likely be miserable as an engineer. If you are in classes right now you are probably wondering, as I did, why the heck your professors are making you do problem sets that take 10-15 hours to complete, and make you search several sources (textbooks, computer programs, online resources, even scientific papers) to complete one single problem. Well the answer to this is one they never told me during my years at Michigan, or at least not loud enough it would wake me up.
You do all that problem solving and looking up to train your mind to look at problems from all angles. Of course you’re never going to be asked to solve a mass transfer problem without referencing a formula, but if you know that the formula is there, you can begin to see the problem from that angle before you even know the answer. Think of all those problems you are doing as a way to increase your mental toolbox. Every ME problem you do, or CHE problem allows you another look at a very similar problem. You’ve also more than likely said, “All these problems are the same” in some sort of frustration. When you’re on the job you may only have access to 50% of the tools needed. If you didn’t do problems to prepare yourself you wouldn’t be able to tell your boss, he who signs you paychecks and OKs bonuses, “here’s the answer, if we just go at it from this obscure angle it’s simple.”
Taking things apartA big thing I learned in my last year of undergrad and I continue to notice on the job is that people who take things apart are able to find more solutions. This stems from knowing what’s out there. If you take say a typical desktop computer apart you know that there are a lot of circuit boards, come wiring harnesses, and a fan. That would be one way to look at it. But if you begin to look at each board you see what type of surface mount resistors were used, what processor was used, are there gold leads? Then you look at the wiring harness; what type of connectors were used and why do you think they were used, is the wire stranded or single, can the connectors withstand humidity? Then you look at the fan; where is it placed, why is it in that location, how much power does it consume? Then you begin to look at the whole computer tower and how the parts fit together; why is a board where it is, what about the wiring routes, what looks like it needs the fan the most, will the computer stop running if you place the fan in a different location?
Once you begin to look at the interconnections of each of the pieces you begin to realize why the engineers responsible for it used it. Then, and this can make you some money, you may see a solution to a problem that the current design causes. If you take enough things apart or read enough about how things are made you will have more solutions to the problems you face as an engineer. Good things to take apart are, radios, printers, clocks, TVs, engines, phones, keyboards, computers, speakers, toasters, phones, drills, air tools, and anything else that interests you.
WARNING: Some of the above mentioned items can shock the crap out of you and cause some wicked damage, please be careful and don’t take it apart without consulting someone who knows about it or a super online resource.
Super Online Resources:HowStuffWorks.comAbout.comBill Nye the Science GuyWikipedia.org
Know your toolsIf you want to sit around and do equations all day then go to a big name school that’s completely hands-off. If you want to learn how to engineer things and design great things then don’t say no when someone says you want to get some Machine Shop time. Those really greasy rough looking guys/gals that spend all day turning cranks and programming CNC machines (CNC stands for computer numerically controlled) could probably design circles around some of the A+ engineers that have come out of top schools like Michigan. If you know a person who works as a machinist, pick his or her brain and try to get them to show you around a mill or a lathe for a bit. It will be the most informative Saturday afternoon you could have.
Don’t be afraid of the tools that are out there. Even if you don’t pick on up know what they are, how they work, and how best to design for them. When I first arrived at Tissue Genesis, Inc I was told to redesign a plastic molded piece that used a heat staker and a sonic welder. I had no idea what these machines were let alone how to design for them. Then I began calling companies, asking for design tips, sheets that showed design tips, googling everything I could, and basically asking as many questions as possible. In the end I was able to redesign the piece (actually 10 down to 7 main pieces) sonic weld 2 pieces onto a larger one and save $15 a disposable in the heat staking procedure. That was all from just asking a lot of questions and learning about all the tools that are out there.
Some great catalogs to get you started are:McMaster CarrMSC Industrial Tools
Be Curious
Lastly I am going to say be curious. Be curious about problems, be curious about solutions, and be curious about all those tools (equations, connectors, and machine tools) that will help you find solutions to problems. If you let your mind just sit waiting for a solution to easily manifest itself, it won’t. You have to be curious and be active about wanting to become a better engineer.
I plan on posting a lot of the things I have learned during my first few years as an engineer within this blog category. I am trying to remain open to new solutions everyday and not believe that what I learned in college will get me through tomorrow. I hope to learn ten times the amount about processes that are out there within the next year and another 10 times that the next. Only then will I begin to easily see creative solutions to some of those most difficult problems.
Other Interesting Articles and Categories:Become Good at Everything - A How-toStarting a BusinessSetting Intermediate Goals
