“Engineering is not only a study of 45 subjects but it is a moral study of intellectual life”
A group of engineering student were asked, are engineers born or are made? 50% said the latter while the other 50% said the first. So, therefore, let me ask you as an engineer, were you made to be an engineer or were you born to be one? Research has shown that successful skilled persons have shown passion and interest in whatever field they are right from birth. In some cases, you tend to see children prone to be engineers try to repair equipment from childhood and finding solutions to home appliances problems from mechanical to electrical and therefore as they grow they seem to derive joy from technical issues.
To the question posed, is education the basis for preparation to be an engineer? Yes only if the person of question has the zeal and passion for it. But there are other influencing factors that may lead to the choice of engineering as a career which we will be looking at. Moreover, engineering goes beyond the classroom, it is beyond the books you read, it is a test to create a solution and plan of improving on the solution given. It is not for the lazy minds but the responsible minds. So do you think you are ready to be one? Well, there are many options to choose
However, wanting to make a career in engineering is not just to obtain a Bachelors degree or masters degree, it takes a lot of courage, teamwork, creative and critical thinking, lots of research, planning and consistency. Moreover, the education you will need goes beyond the classroom to being trained on the job. The engineer must possess the zeal, earn the experience, be creative and thorough with imaginative skill.
- FACTORS INFLUENCING CHOICE OF ENGINEERING AS A CAREER:
Apart from education, other bases affect the choice of one being an engineer and these are;
▪Economy
▪ Information
▪Educational system
▪Need for change
ECONOMY:
Every society as well as its educational system has a way of moulding its citizens into a certain thought trend. Schools teach you that the main disciplines out there are medicine, engineering, architecture, law……you know the list (until recently. I hear schools have started breaking this norm, and good for the new generation too) and that if you’re not on this table, you’re irrelevant in the scheme of things and your earning power in life will be poor.
This again is a fallacy.
INFORMATION:
The generation of parents who raised us (a great number of them) bought into the assumption above and because of lack of exposure to better information, trained us to believe that too. In light of recent developments and advancement in the world, we know better or rather, more people know better.
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM:
It is a common belief that once a child shows a high cognitive ability; he or she is considered would do well in certain professions. This is a wrong assumption. Every child should have a choice in whatever profession he wants irrespective of his prowess in subject areas. Failing or excelling in a subject could be based on the inadequacy or adequacy of learning materials, relationship and competency of the teacher. Also, there is a special recognition given to students who study sciences in some societies and so it has served and affected the choice of some who want to be an engineer.
THE NEED FOR CHANGE:
This deals with the personal experiences of a person and the need for the person to grow ambitious and develop a vision to want to make changes in the system or society. Sometimes it is borne out of the need to address an unwholesome situation. This may prompt a child to want to make a career in engineering.
Career choice should be based on passion and love for it. However, choosing a career on anticipated economic wellbeing alone may spell doom at the end of the day because there are consistency and persistency of joy in doing what one’s love.
