Engineers have conflicting images. Some see them as nerds or geeks. Others see them as solvers of some of our most important problems. They do get to work on some cool stuff, but they do other things that might be considered boring. Do you think you would like to be one? It’s not that easy, but we need a lot of them. Here’s the story in brief.

Lots of rather different kinds of work are referred to as engineering. Sometimes they design and build things, like airplanes or air conditioners. This is the kind that I’m mainly talking about here. They may also do operate and do maintenance on bridges and water treatment plants and other complex systems.

An engineer’s title usually describes the kind of system he or she works on. Electrical engineers design all kinds of electrical systems. Mechanical ones design turbines and other complex machines. What kind works on nuclear reactors? You can probably figure that one out. And so on, I can’t list all the many different kinds.

If you are curious about how things work, you might make a good engineer. You would also need significant mathematical talent and training. Science education is important too. Applied science is another term for engineering. Various titles that include some form of the word technology may also be applicable.

Most engineering specialties require at least a bachelor’s degree. Sometimes a masters degree is important too. There is a lot of training and education required before useful work can begin.

A license or credential is often required before the candidate can actually begin practice. In some cases there is a comprehensive exam on the specific field that the candidate must take and pass. Different fields have different rules for this. To make things more complex, countries generally have their own unique licensing or credentialing processes. Even different states within the United States may have their own rules.

When starting out, new engineers usually work on basic assignments under close supervision from experienced peers. Over time, they will work more independently on more challenging jobs. After a few years they will commonly select a more specialized career branch.

Engineering management is one possible option. As with other kinds of people management, this requires both the ability to provide effective leadership and training in management skills. A good background in technical work is also important. The managing engineer, like most managers, mainly helps the people doing the technical work, rather than actually doing it.

Project management is also important in many fields. The title can be confusing. Project managers don’t manage people, they manage projects. That is, they are responsible for the successful execution of large, challenging projects. Organizational abilities are very important for project managers. They need to understand the technology too.

Some engineers like to work as independent consultants. Others start their own firms. In most cases, they will begin by working for larger existing engineering companies and move on after getting some experience.

Some may decide to commit themselves to always being the most knowledgeable in their fields. Keeping up with developing technology can be a full time job, but it is very important for at least some people to work on this.

It is very important for our society to have a good supply of dedicated engineers. Keeping up in the modern competitive world requires constant development of new technologies and products. We need engineers to be able to do this.