The Different Fields of Engineering

Through different interviews I have conducted, the conclusion that I have came up with is; the average person thinks that an engineer just designs buildings. There are many more things that engineers design. There are nine different disciplines within the engineering realm that work on other forms of engineering aside from designing buildings. The engineering field has many jobs within it that create and produce products that we see and use from day to day. Engineers of today are moving our society into the future and make our lives easier by creating useful products that help improve our way of life.

The first field of engineering is Aerospace Engineering, which covers the “design, development, and testing of aircrafts, spacecrafts, missiles and the supervision of the manufacturing of these products.” (Engineering Majors, para.1.) The research in this field has created; the airplanes that we fly from state to state on, the space shuttle that put the first man on the moon, and missiles that we can fire from naval vessels that are located miles from the target that they are set to destroy. Where would we be if we did not have airplanes to travel from state to state or overseas? Our travel time would more than double or triple to get from one point to another. These engineers are hired in at a salary of $58, 130 per year. (Occupational, section 17-2011.)

The next field of engineering is Chemical Engineering which deals with production and creation of “pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, food processing, polymers, and environmental health.” (Engineering Majors, para. 4.) It is our Chemical Engineers that come up with inventions like; new cures for allergies, vaccines for the latest virus strands. They have also found ways to recycle our paper and plastic products so they will not clutter our streets with trash, new ways to re-create food so that we can coax our kids into eating healthy food, like string cheese, V-8 fruit drinks, and chewable, good tasting vitamins. These engineers are hired in at $53,730 per year. (Occupational, section 17-2041.)

“Civil Engineers design our buildings, bridges, power plants, roads, railroads, airports, harbors, channels, dams, irrigation projects, pipelines, water and sewage, waste disposal units, and dams.” (Occupational, section 17-2051.) Civil Engineers have designed magnificent structures like the Empire State building , the Golden Gate Bridge, and power plants that provide the electricity to our houses so that we can watch our favorite television shows, cook food on our electric stoves, and take showers from our electric water heaters. They have also designed the river ways, and culverts that carry the rain water away from our homes and businesses during heavy rainfall. These engineers are hired in at a salary of $48, 140 per year. (Occupational, section 17-2051.)

How do we get electricity from the power plants to our houses? That’s the jobs that our Electrical Engineers do. They design lines that move the electricity from one point to another without damaging anything. They also “helped invent the computer, DSL, cellular phones, microchips and solar panel.” (Engineering Majors, para. 8.) Where would we be if we did not have computers? There would not be any online classes, or online universities. We would still be writing letters by hand probably delivering them by hand also. Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) improved the internet by transferring information digitally, which is fifty times faster than the old analog system everyone used to have when the internet first came out. Almost every household in America has at least one or two cell phones. I depend on my phone so much that I can not leave home without it, and when I do, I feel like I am missing some clothing. These engineers are hired in at a salary of $52,990 per year. (Occupational, section 17-2071.)

Environmental Engineering helps keep our environment safe by studying “water and air pollution control, recycling, waste disposal, and public health issues.” (Engineering Majors, para. 9.) If it were not for Environmental Engineers, we would not have policies in place to protect our ozone layer, our water supply, and the amount of land we use for land fills. This policy protects our planet from manufactures producing too much air pollution from factories, by creating automobile engines that expel less pollutants in the air that break down the Earth’s ozone layer, creating new methods of keeping our water safe to drink, and producing ways to recycle plastic, water, and other goods that could clutter our land fills with more garbage. These engineers are hired in at a salary of $45,310 per year. (Occupational, section 17-2081.)

Mechanical Engineers help our society by producing “machines and devices of all types.” (Engineering Majors, para. 13.) Mechanical Engineers design engines for our automobiles, planes, and ships. They design vehicles for our nation’s military that protect our borders from terrorists, farm equipment for the farmers that grow our fruits and vegetables, defense equipment for our emergency agencies, as well as security forces. They design tools for our mechanics, carpenters, masons, and wood workers so they can repair and build our houses, vehicles, and brick structures. These engineers are hired in at a salary of $47,900 per year. (Occupational, section 17-2141.)

Industrial Engineering involves the process of “determining the most effective ways to use the basic factors of production.” (Engineering Majors, para. 10.) Industrial Engineers help streamline the process in which products are manufactured, and assembled. They study the process used to produce products from humans, or machines, and finds ways to improve them, and speed them up so that the process is operating as efficient as possible. If one vehicle took a month to produce, then we would probably be put on a waiting list for a year, just to get the vehicle we want. These engineers are hired in at a salary of $47,720 per year. (Occupational, section 17-2112.)

Software Engineering involves “evaluation of the software and systems that enable computers to perform their many applications.” (Engineering Majors, para. 16.) They keep our networks running so that we can communicate through e-mail, and transfer files to each other. They also create programs that give us short cuts to help us get our jobs done a little faster. They write software that runs formulas to calculate formulas for us, programs that check the spelling and grammar in our writing assignments, programs that protect our homes and vehicles through security systems, and programs that update themselves at designated times of the day. These engineers are hired in at a salary of $59,170 per year. (Occupational, section 17-2061.)

Biomedical Engineers “develop devices and procedures that solve medical and health-related problems by combining their knowledge of biology and medicine with engineering principles and practices.” (Occupational, section Nature of Work.) These engineers develop artificial body parts to replace missing or damaged body parts. People that have pace makers in their body, and those that have prosthetic arms, legs, or other body parts can live a more normal life because of these engineers. They also create medical equipment /devices used in medical treatment and operations. These engineers are hired in at a salary of $47,640 per year. (Occupational, section 17-2031.)
Engineers have pushed our society into the future through the products that they have designed to improve our way of life. These people not only design structures, equipment, power, tools, programs, and processes, but they also design ways to save our natural resources.

References
Dhulipala, S. (2007, February 12.) Engineering Classified. Various Fields of Engineering. Retrieved October 12, 2009, from http://engineering.suite101.com/article.cfm/engineering_defined
Engineering Majors. Retrieved October 5, 2009, from http://www.tryengineering.org/become.php?page=majors_eng
Occupational Employment and Wages (May 2008.) Retrieved October 26, 2009, from

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm

What is Engineering? Retrieved October 9, 2009, from http://www.engineeringk12.org/students/What_Is_Engineering/Engineering_Alph abet/default.php