First Day of Engineering 101: The High School Years

Naturally everybody's experience is different;nevertheless I became an engineer for a variety of reasons including the fact that I built simple radios as a kid had a fair, not great, ability in math, and was drawn to learning in general and to how things work in particular and the starting salary was attractive. I believe this was a fairly typical background for the passing generation of engineers.

Nevertheless ,in general I am sorry I became an engineer because I see how my lovely profession has dishonored the intellectual process in the name of "economy", has stifled innovation throughout its history - indeed has held on to a "wisdom of our ancestor " mentality. Almost invariability when there is a major accident what are exposed are major deficiencies in engineering (not so incidentally including the human factor so that engineers in their taught ignorance for instance call car warning lights "idiot lights" not seeing that these lights are great solutions to the problems of effectiveness and economy).

The ACE Mentor program well intentioned as it is does not impress me for it does not inculcate critical attitudes in kids nor impress them with the fact that much of what we are doing is wrong and that much of what they find difficult in learning is difficult because it just doesn't really make sense. Even 100 years ago we should have been teaching kids shorthand, simplified spelling, and logical multiplication, multiplying left to right and dropping off the insignificant figures for instance.

I would drop the ACE mentor program in favor of improving elementary education most especially really elementary education- not so elementary a job as witnessed by the all too typical "what is your favorite subject" question and the failure to recognize a child's intelligent answer.

Great article and so happy for Mark...Lego building was a big thing for me as well. I use to get mad at Christmas time when all my cousins received pretty dolls as present and I got books and legos! However, them Legos kept me busy for hours. I learned so much from Legos, patience, building and making sense of things on my own. I love the opportunities listed above. Being a woman in construction, I believe the more we expose the next generation to what's out there the better chances we have of a) making a difference, b) Keeping children interested and not bored, hence keep them away from drugs, etc and c) helping them formulate a career is not a bad thing. Programs like the ACE mentoring is a plus. Further, these opportunities should be tailored for the young ladies as well. We at the Professional Women in Construction, Washington DC Chapter, (PWC-DC), are working on a mentoring program of our own to enhance those abilities in young women. Please share your suggestions. Together we can make better engineers, architects and builders. (www.pwcusa.org)

We most certainly face challenges that will require STEM solutions. Even though humanity is capable of meeting these challenges, will humanity instead choose to follow the false economy we have created that pursues personal greed and wealth at all costs?

When will humanity forsake the false prophets of climate change denial, creationism, Ponzi investments, derivatives trading, “corporations are people” and political patronage? Unfortunately, these myopic mindsets have infected rational decision-making across the spectrum of our democracy.

Politicians are so presumptuous that they think they can repeal the laws of physics. Representation without taxation is the mantra of the well-connected.

Our sons, daughters and grandchildren may possess the potential to be gifted engineers and leaders, their communities may embrace STEM in their early curricula, and families may have the resources to send them to accredited colleges.

But will our “system” have the economy to provide employment that utilizes their gifts? Or will our government be a toothless carcass picked clean by narrow-minded, selfish opportunists and manipulators? Will the natural cycles of our environment be able to sustain our lives that we now take for granted?

STEM deserves emphasis. But we also need to infuse and emphasize the lessons of the social sciences and the humanities along with the natural sciences. Helping people make informed decisions is the essence of education.

Super! sounds great. Hopefully some actual Hands-On experience will be introduced - field experience - hammer some nails, mix/pour concrete, pull levers on a grader, physically work in the wet/heat/cold for a day/work as a laborer on a construction site for 3 months - see/feel/watch what it actually takes to "Build". Books/computers are great for introduction to theory (too much priority at the start put on these items now a days) but one needs to "inherently" know what it actually takes to build - THEN you can add the "theory".

One time I met with an "young engineer/P.E." to discuss what it would take to construct what he had put down on paper. I asked him "How did YOU figure what it would take to get it there?" His answer - "I don't know. I just used my pencil". No wonder time and money are always on the overrun.

Thanks for the thought-provoking comments!

To the first reader: I'm sorry to hear that you regret becoming an engineer, even though you think it's a "lovely profession." Your criticisms of the industry are definitely interesting. Of course, almost anyone can find fault in any chosen profession. So I hope you've had your share of successes as well.

Good for your boy, Scott! Keep up the good work. A person who knows what he wants to do early in life is fortunate. Many people live their lives without ever figuring it out. That you nurture your son's interest will make him a more fulfilled and happy adult. And we could always use more of those.

I think it's a great time to become an engineer... particularly a CIVIL engineer. Amid our growing population, global warming and egregious neglect of infrastructure, civil engineering expertise will be in high demand. (This will translate into excellent pay.)

I think HS curriculum, in general, is garbage - too much Shakespeare and not enuf exposure to career alternatives. Kids get bored and disinterested too easily. They need reality checks.

The problems with Government intervention such as diversity mandates at schools are the creep of dumb as the norm. Government provides the money (our tax dollars) to fund these programs. The schools want the Government money (our tax dollars) so they play the game by admitting unqualified students and then to compound the reduction in education excellence of our education system pass these students to continue getting the Government's monies (our tax dollars) which result in the Government pumping more money (our tax dollars) into a program that's only real success is in creating dumb graduates. The insanity continues unabated in our Government's push toward some guise fantasy utopia misnomer (PC crap) euphemistically and deceptively described by Leftists as "social justice", fair, diversity, multiculturalism, retributive justice, sharing the wealth, and any other words they can manipulate to deceive the society the Government lords over. Governments create only destruction of everything they touch. If you want your life to ever be better, keep Governments as far away from you as you can...period!

Anyone who actually knows about the program can see Stem is more about social engineering, than science/technology/engineering/or math. obama and his czars have their juices all mixed into that soup.

I see no contradiction in both my regrets in becoming an engineer and in my seeing it as a lovely profession. Part of this mismatch may be personal of course, but a deeper reason is the failure of the entire engineering profession - the entire American engineering profession to give engineering - especially so called "low tech" engineering its due. For example alone in the world we cling to "the imperial system of units" to give the old English "standard" of units its old official name, and I believe we are alone in the world in still believing (officially that is in official specifications that carry the weight of law) that steel must be perfectly elastic. Especially significant is even the lack of discussion about the desirability, or otherwise, of a changeover.

Naturally one can find fault, and I would add find serious fault in any profession, but engineering is not just "any profession" - it is the profession par excellent - the state of a nation's economic well being and even its survival depend on its engineering and as time goes on increasingly so. Education is not included here because in my opinion, in its current incarnation, education is not a profession.

As for my view that American engineering is both decrepit and lovely, I see it as one would view an old abbey in ruins. As Shakespeare beautifully put it "bare ruined choirs where late the sweet birds sang..."

As for my experiences as an engineer, I would not rate them as "successes" rather I was lucky enough to avoid tragedy although I consider myself partly responsible for a construction worker being seriously injured ( he recovered)
and because one time when I signed a set of drawings as "checked" that irresponsible engineer who did the design did not see to it that there was enough room to fit the equipment- an error that lead to millions of dollars in rework and lots of delay.

That last example illustrates the use of engineers as writers of fiction. If engineering drawings are not being really checked because it is too costly why maintain the fiction that they are "checked" ?

On the matter of engineering fictions why continue to use
fictions such as "fail safe", "proven" "high". "low" (depending upon where the direction of goodness lies).

If engineering is unwilling or unable to reform itself from within, inventing cute acronyms like STEM will not stem the loss of vital new engineering blood.

To the engineer above who "regrets" his career choice - Thank you for responding to my comment. And for such a thoughtful and personally insightful comment. I found it very interesting.

Of course, I can't tell you how to feel about your career choice. But perhaps "regret" is too strong a word. That you are now a critic of the "lovely profession" you joined for your career is not an unusual occurrence, I don't think. In fact, becoming an "old curmudgeon" may be but a natural effect of time for many of us! I hope you are able to use that criticism for "constructive" purposes. - (Pardon the pun!) I know your comments here have been appreciated - and I hope other readers chime in.

I thank you for your contributions.

Great blog! As a recruiter, the story you share about your son is just the kind of thing I WANT to hear when I am talking to young engineers. At my company, we want people that are passionate about what they do. It's refreshing to hear about someone who is so focused at such an early age. As a parent myself, I am curious, how did you help your son find such clarity at such a young age?

All I did was keep buying him Legos! He loved those things back then. He's moved beyond those, of course - so now I let him build IKEA pieces! Seriously, he told me the other day that he thinks his experience building LEGOs -- and discerning those instructions -- is helping him in his engineering/drafting classes, where he's mostly drawing by hand right now. Good luck!