CAREER CHOICES

RET PROGRAM: 2003

RET TEACHER: David Jones

A. Grade Level: 11th, 12th

B. Purpose: To help upper-level, college-bound
student make informed, realistic decisions about
career possibilities
C. Objectives: To help students make decisions
about colleges, careers; to motivate completion of
applications on time and to make rational choices.
D. student materials required: none
teacher materials required: computer with
powerpoint

ENGINEERING AS A
CAREER

TO VIEW THIS POWERPOINT

PRESENTATION:
UNDER THE VIEW MENU, CLICK ON
SLIDE SHOW.
2. EACH LEFT-CLICK OF YOUR MOUSE
1.

ENGINEERING AS A
CAREER
1.WHAT AN ENGINEER DOES
2. THE FIELDS OF ENGINEERING
3. THE EDUCATION OF AN
ENGINEER

1. WHAT DOES A
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER
DO?
AN ENGINEER
IS A BUILDER

USING
SOUND
SCIENTIFIC
EXACTLY WHAT KINDS OF

HIS/HER JOB
ISMATHEMATICAL
TO DESIGN AND
PRINCIPLES
AND
THINGS
THEY BUILD
DEPENDS
ON
BUILD
THINGS
machines,
tools,
TOOLS,
THEY
CONCEIVE,
THEIR
SPECIAL
FIELD
OF
structures, roads,
bridges,
motors,
DESIGN,AND
HELP
DEVELOP
EXPERTISE.
electronics.
PRODUCTS,
TOOLS, AND SYSTEMS.

SPECIAL FIELDS WITHIN

THE SCHOOL OF
ENGINEERING
BIO-MECHANICAL ENGINEERING page 5
page 7
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
CIVIL ENGINEERING

page 12
page 15

COMPUTER ENGINEERING

page 16

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

page 19

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

page 23
page 24

AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

BIO-MEDICAL
ENGINEERING
The work of BIO-MEDICAL
engineers is among the most
exciting and groundbreaking in all
of engineering !!
They design, and build prototypes of
such revolutionary products as

BIO-MEDICAL ENGINEERING

Artificial organs, artificial limbs,

medical imaging devices, medical
diagnosis machines, and patient
monitoring devices
The most likely employers of bio-medical
engineers are companies involved in the
manufacture of medical equipment. These
could be very large corporations or smaller,
specialized companies.
(for a thorough look at BIO-MEDICAL engineering)
http://www.bmes.org/careers.asp
http://www.khake.com/page53.html 6

CHEMICAL
ENGINEERING
The work of CHEMICAL
engineers combines the skills of
both the chemist and the
engineer.
They design, and build facilities involved in the
production of chemical products drugs, paints, dyes,
industrial supplies (acids, lyes, dangerous chemicals),
fertilizers, solvents, fuels, etc

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

or oversee the production of material

goods which use chemicals in their
manufacturing processbatteries,
plastics, medicines, textiles, concrete,
paper, etc

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

or oversee the production of material

goods which use chemicals in their
manufacturing processbatteries,
plastics, medicines, textiles, concrete,
paper, etc
or oversee the processes in
which control of chemistry is
highly important to the final
product...brewing, food
processing, oil refining, mining,
etc

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
Chemical engineers of the future will provide the
skills needed to develop new polymers for medical
devices, powerful new alloys for aircraft, materials
that allow for further miniaturization of solid-state
components and further development of the
computer and other electronics industries. Health
care will require new manufacturing processes for
pharmaceutical products and surgical procedures.
SOME SUB-CATAGORIES:
Pharmaceutical Engineering
Petroleum Engineering

Plastics and Polymer Engineering

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
Largely due to the highly technical skills
required for the job and the importance of
chemical engineering projects, chemical
engineers are traditionally the highestpaid in the industry! The discipline
involves using knowledge of chemical
processes to create useful products and
processes.
(great
site for exploring CHEMICAL ENGINEERING)job descriptions, career
opportunies)
http://www.aiche.org/careers/
(overview of chemical engineering; education, job opportunities, salaries)
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos029.htm

CIVIL ENGINEERING
The work of civil engineers is
among the most visible and
the most awe-inspiring !!
They design, oversee
construction and oversee
maintenance of
Highways, bridges, tunnels,
airports, dams, reservoirs, oil
platforms, pipelines,

This is one of the oldest branches of

engineering. Civil engineers work on
large-scale projects like road, rail, bridge
and oil rig construction. Often employed
by consulting firms, they plan and
oversee projects; or work for contracting
firms, and see that work is done
according to client specifications.
Management skills, teamwork and
communication skills are particularly
important because of the large-scale
nature of much of the work that they
do.

CIVIL ENGINEERING
Civil engineers will provide
the skills to build
transportation infrastructure
of the future: bridges,
roadways and mass transit
systems.
Career paths could lead them into working for multinational construction corporations, local companies,
government agencies, or the military.
(American Society of Civil Engineers web sitelots of
info, job searches, for future civil engineers)
http://www.asce.org/public/careers.cfm

COMPUTER
ENGINEERING
COMPUTER ENGINEERING continues
to grow as more and more engineers are
needed for the design of computer
hardware and software. Computer
engineering will soon be the secondlargest engineering field.
(site which describes careers in, and education needed, for
computers and computer engineering..)
http://www.computer.org/education/careers.htm

ELECTRICAL
ENGINEERING
The activities and pursuits
of electrical engineers are
extremely diversified.
They work on everything
from large scale power
grids covering entire
countries, to
microelectronics

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

Career paths may take them into

computers, communications
(satellites, telephone, fiber optics,
antennaes) lasers, robotics,
integrated circuits, or dozens of
related fields.
Electrical engineering
The work of electrical engineers can be with power generation
and supply, or with the design and manufacture of components
needed by the electronics industry. Practical engineering and
design skills, the ability to keep up with rapidly changing
technologies are keys to success in this field.

(ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING)

25% of all engineers work in electrical

engineering fields. The demand for
electrical engineers will remain high due to
projected growth in all electronics-based
industries: aerospace, telecommunications,
computer, and microelectronics.
Electrical engineers might be employed by
giant communications corporations, small
electronics manufacturers, or even the
military services.
(a terrific overview of electrical and computer engineeringjobs, educatuon, etc.
site produced by elec. eng. society.)
http://www.ieeeusa.org/careers/yourcareer.html

MECHANICAL
ENGINEERING
Mechanical engineers
design motors, tools,
machines, and many
other devices
Mechanical engineers will be leading the
revolution taking place in manufacturing
processes, in which products are made
without defects are and greater
efficiencies achieved.

They work on designing and

building robots, air
conditioners, automobiles,
airplanes, satellites, and
artificial hearts!
They work for large manufacturing
corporations, small companies, and
government agencies.

Mechanical engineers do the research,

design and production of any machinery
with moving parts. These can mean from
huge machines to micro-components of
robots.
Mechanical engineers have skills needed
for most other fields of engineering, thus
will spend a lot of time working with
engineers from other disciplines. They
must have an ability and willingness to
apply technological and design principles
to (overview
mechanical
of mechanical problems.
engineering; job, education
descriptions)
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos033.htm

Automotive engineering
This is considered a branch of
mechanical engineering
concerned with the design,
development and maintenance of cars,
car engines and industrial assembly
lines.
Automotive engineering combines a
number of disciplines and those
working within the industry generally
need to have a broad engineering
grounding.


Aeronautical
engineering
Another branch of
mechanical

engineering, it is one of the

most hi-tech of the engineering
disciplines. Aeronautical engineers
do all the research, design,
manufacturing
building
More recently, they
alsoand
have
maintenance
of aircraft
both civil
taken on the design
and- building
and
military.
of rockets
and missiles for space
exploration and military

NUCLEAR
ENGINEERING
The work of NUCLEAR
ENGINEERING combines the
disciplines of nuclear physics
and mechanical engineering
They design, and build facilities involved in the
production of nuclear power electrical generators

NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
They design and build machines
for the medical fields, chemical
analysis, and cutting edge
research in determining the very
nature of matter
Future employers will be
medical research companies,
government labs, military
facilities, and power companies.
(an overview of careers in nuclear engineering)
http://www.nei.org/index.asp?catnum=1&catid=7

THE EDUCATION OF AN
ENGINEER
In
order
to
ensure
success
in
ENGINEERING
SUBJECTYEARS
SCHOOL
at a major university, HIGH
English...4
SCHOOL
education should include a standard
Social Studies..2
college
prep. program emphasizing math,
Foreign Language...2
Fine arts.1
science
and communications skills:
Science4
Math...4

earth/space science; biology;

chemistry; physics
algebra I, II; geometry; trigonometry;

THE EDUCATION OF AN ENGINEER (cont.)

In addition, a good prospect for success would

have
Good writing and verbal communications
skills
And, good computer skills!

CLICK THESE LINKS TO CONNECT TO ENGINEERING WEB-SITES FOR

MORE INFORMATION:

look at BIO-MEDICAL engineering) http://www.bmes.org/careers.asp

(for a thorough
(mega-sized index and reference to all things engineering-colleges, grad-schools, career
counseling, jobs and companies)
http://www.framatomeanp-des.com/engineering-career.shtml
(guide to eng. Schools, job search info, fields of study)
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/sel/engineering/careerinfo.html
mega site for environmental engineersgreat job descriptions and employment
opportunities)
http://www.environmentaljobs.com/EnvironmentalJobs.com/engineeringjobs.html
(American Society of Civil Engineers web sitelots of info, job searches, for future
civil engineers) http://www.asce.org/public/careers.cfm
(continued next page)

(great index of engineering fields, schools, job opportunities)

http://www.careercc.com/eng.shtml#Acoustics%20Engineering

(great site for exploring CHEMICAL ENGINEERING)job descriptions, career

opportunies) http://www.aiche.org/careers/

(site which describes careers in, and education needed, for computers and computer
engineering..) http://www.computer.org/education/careers.htm

(overview of mechanical engineering; job, education descriptions)

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos033.htm

(a terrific overview of electrical and computer engineeringjobs, educatuon, etc. site

produced by elec. Eng. Society.) http://www.ieeeusa.org/careers/yourcareer.html

(overview of chemical engineering; education, job opportunities, salaries)

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos029.htm

(site produced by the Am. Society of Civil Engnice overview, history, employment,
education) http://www.asce.org/public/think_career.cfm

(preparing for engineering career..lots of info..what is needed for success; site produced
by grad school.com)
http://www.competitionmaster.com/pages/career/engineering.html

(MEGA site index for all possible fields of engineering..great reference page!!)
http://www.khake.com/page53.html

(an overview of careers in nuclear engineering)

http://www.nei.org/index.asp?catnum=1&catid=7

(interactive reference site for minority students in engineering)

http://best.me.berkeley.edu/~mesa/cheer/links/career/career.html
(Materials engineering as a career choicedescriptions, employment opportunity,)
http://www.asm-intl.org/Content/NavigationMenu/ASMFoundation/MaterialsEngineeri
ngasaCareer/Materials_Engineering_Career.htm
(descriptions of college prep. For engineeringwet feet.com career prep)
http://www.wetfeet.com/asp/careerprofiles_overview.asp?careerpk=14
(another nice index to info on all fields of engineering- places to study, job
descriptions, employment)
http://www.engineergirl.org/nae/cwe/egcars.nsf/webviews/Careers+By+Engineering+Fi
eld?OpenDocument&Start=1&Count=1000&ExpandView
(for a look at engineering all other the U.S.) http://www.engineeringsights.org/
(for a complete list of engineering fields) http://www.nspe.org/students/st1-cfy.asp