CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
(3 Hours)

CONTENTS

Engineer and Engineering

Introduction to Profession and Professional
Professional Engineers
Engineers and Engineers Image
Engineer at Public and Private Sectors

Engineer
and
Engineering

Engineering - origins of the word

Practical form of art and a profession,
evolved from the work of builders
thousands of years ago
Originated probably in the Middle Ages
around 1000-1200 AD
They were mainly builders of civil and
mechanical structures such as buildings,
bridges, roads, mills and war machines

What is Engineering ?
Engineering is the practice of organizing
the design, construction and operation of
any artifice that transforms the physical
world to meet some recognized need
Engineers environment has changed from
natural world dominated to artifact
dominated.

Engineering and society

triangle

Artifact

Ideology

Technology

Pyramid

Afterlife, funeral
rites

Lever, ratchet,
pulley

Dykes, polders,
waterworks

Protection,
Hydrostatics,
economic, human windmills
damage

Ship-design

Trade

Steam engine

Church
Positioning
technology

Religion
Transport

Arches
Radar

Wireless
telephone

Communication

Miniturization,
chip design

ABET Definition
ABET Accreditation Board for
Engineering and Technology (USA)
The profession in which a knowledge of the
mathematical and natural sciences gained
by study, experience and practice is
applied with judgment to develop ways to
utilize, economically, the materials and
forces of nature for the benefit of mankind

IEM Definition of Engineering

Share a common heritage of knowledge, skill
and art.
Renders a specialized service.
Involves a confidential relationship between
practitioner-client and/or employer.
Is charged with a substantial degree of public
obligation.
Is bound by a distinctive Ethical Code.
Has learned organizations or societies.

Engineering is..
A profession: it has standards of conduct,
responsibilities, is based on specialized knowledge and
members can attain professional status in well-defined
ways.
An art as well as science: experience and practice is
required.
The application of professional judgment in seeking
optimum solutions.
The utilization of resources: nature, forces, energy,
material, knowledge.
An exercise in optimizing economic cost.

... with rules of conduct

pertaining
Who is permitted to practice?
What are an engineers obligations to his/her
client or employer and his/her colleagues?
What further obligations does an engineer owe
to society?
By what standards shall an engineer be
compensated?
How and by whom shall an engineers
professional conduct be judged?

Profession
and
Professional

Profession
What is the difference between profession
and occupation?

OCCUPATION

PROFESSIO
N

Profession
An occupation that requires advanced
education and training
It usually claims high level of social
standing and recognition
Examples:
Theology, Law, Medicine
Engineering, Architecture, Accounting, etc.

The Characteristics of
Modern Profession

Advanced Education and Training

Claim to social standing and recognition
Autonomy
Registration
Faithful relationship with the client and
society

Engineering as a Profession
Why is engineering considered as a
profession?

Engineering as a Profession
Engineering is different from other
professions:
Type of service provided
Training requirements
Diversity of its leadership

Engineering as a Profession
Engineers are concerned with the creation
of structures, devices and systems for
human use; groups of people rather than
individuals
What do you think is the implication?

Professional
Engineers

Characteristics of Professional
Engineers
Posses education, knowledge and skills in
engineering specialty that exceeds that of
general public
Willing to stay up to date with latest discoveries
and technologies by participating in forums,
continuous education and reading
Willing to improve engineering knowledge, ideals
and practice

Characteristics of Professional
Engineers
Have a sense of responsibility and service
to society, employers and clients
Act honorably in their dealings with others
Wiling to follow established codes of
ethics for their profession
Willing to guard their professional integrity
and ideals

Obligations of Professional
Engineers
Included in solemn statements prepared
by engineering societies.
National Society of Professional Engineers
(NSPE)
As a Professional Engineer, I dedicate my
professional knowledge and skills to the
advancement and betterment of human
welfare.

Obligations of Professional
Engineers
I pledge:
To give the utmost performance;
To participate in none but honest enterprise;
To live and work according to laws of man and the highest
standards of professional conduct
To place service before profit, the honor and standing of the
profession before personal advantage, and public welfare
above all other considerations

In humility and with need for Divine Guidance, I make

this pledge

Professional registration
In Malaysia, registration of professional
engineers managed by BEM and IEM
Why do we need to register and qualify
professional engineers?

Professional organization
Professional engineering organizations
are formed to serve the technical and
professional needs of the engineering
profession.

The Importance of Engineering

Organizations

To protect the interest of the profession

To provide support, advice and guidance
To register and regulate its member
To promote ethical engineering practice
To promote continued learning and
education

Activities
Publish educational journals, magazines,
handbooks etc.
Organize courses, forums, conferences
etc.
Social activities; games and sports, annual
dinner etc.

BEM
Board of Engineers, Malaysia
Government agency
Statuary body constituted under the
Engineers Act (1967)
Formed in 1972
1 president, 14 ordinary members, 1
Board of Architects rep. & 1 Board of
Quantity Surveyors rep.

BEM Functions
BEM maintains a register
Processing Applications for Registration
Assessment of Academic Qualification
Regulating the Conduct and Ethics of the
Engineering Profession
Disputes on Professional Conduct and
Ethics
Promotion of Continued Learning and
Education

Requirements for Graduate Engineer

Mandatory for university graduate to register as
Graduate Engineer if he/she wants to take up
employment as a Graduate Engineer
Engineering Degree awarded by Malaysia:
An engineering degree accredited/recognised by
Engineering Accreditation Council (EAC).

Engineering Degree awarded by Other Country:

Based on the accreditation given by professional body
who is a signatory of Washington Accord (WA).

UNRECOGNISED ENGINEERING
PROGRAMME
Master programme (taught course)
Complete a Masters programme (course work) in the
related engineering discipline. Subjects to be taken in
the Master programme must enhance the subjects
taken in the BEng (Hons).

Top up Course (Subjects)

Requirements for Professional

Engineer
Route to become a Professional Engineer
3 route to become a Professional:
Route No. 1 - Professional Assessment
Examination, BEM
Route No. 2 - Corporate Member of IEM
Route No. 3 - Route for a Professional Engineer
from an overseas Regulatory Body

Route No. 1
Obtained 3 years practical experience where:
at least two years of general training that will provide a
sound basis for professional development; and
at least one year of professional career development
and training providing wide exposure to the various
managerial and technical expertise in engineering
practice where;
at least one year of the above training must be
obtained in Malaysia under the supervision of a
Professional Engineer in the same branch of
engineering

Route No. 1
Passed Professional Assessment Examination
conducted by the Board;
Attended the required courses determined by
BEM as follows:
Code of Ethics (12 hours)
Health & Safety at Works (12 hours)
Engineering Management Practices (12 hours)
Courses related to graduates branch of engineering
(24 hours)

Route No. 2
A Corporate Member of the Institution of
Engineers Malaysia (IEM)
Complied with the requirements as determined
in Route 1.

Route No. 3
Need not sit and passed the Professional
Assessment Examination or be corporate
member of IEM.
Submit to BEM a certified latest Professional
Engineer Certificate issued by a Regulatory
Body of other country.
The professional engineers status shall be
check that it is equivalent to BEMs professional
engineer qualifications eligibility.
Comply with the requirements as determined by
the Board

Institution of Engineers,
Malaysia (IEM)
Function: promote and advance the science and
profession of engineering in any or all of its
disciplines and to facilitate the exchange of
information and ideas related to engineering.
Formed in 1959
All engineering disciplines
30,000+ members
Student member, graduate member, corporate
member, senior, fellow
IEM Council - Executive Committee comprising the
President, Deputy President, seven Vice Presidents,
Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and five
members elected from the Council

Engineers
and
Engineers Image

What it means to be an engineer?

A vocation whose principal duty is to serve
mankind.
Applying knowledge to create practical
devices, structures and processes.
Changes the world with his machines
In contrast: Scientist aims to seek
knowledge.

Engineers and Scientists

Scientists seek technical answers to
understand natural phenomenon
Engineers study technical problems with a
practical application always in mind
For example
Scientists study atomic structure to
understand the nature of matter; engineers
study atomic structure to make smaller and
faster microchips

The Engineer and the

Engineering Technologist
Main difference between the two is:
Engineers design and manufacture machines
and systems, while engineering technologists
have the technical know-how to use and
install the machines properly

An example:
The technologist identifies the equipment
necessary to assemble a new CD player; the
engineer designs said CD player

Famous Engineers

Thomas Edison
Jimmy Carter
Neil Alden Armstrong
Rowan Atkinson
Leonid Brezhnev
Boris Yeltsin
Alfred Hitchcock
Yasser Arafat
etc.

Famous Engineers
Thomas Edison - Edison patented 1,093 inventions in his lifetime,
earning him the nickname the "Wizard of Menlo Park." The most
famous of his inventions was an incandescent light bulb. Besides the
light bulb, Edison developed the phonograph and the kinetoscope, a
small box for viewing moving films. He also improved upon the original
design of the stock ticker, the telegraph, and Alexander Graham Bell's
telephone. Edison was quoted as saying, "Genius is 1 percent
inspiration and 99 percent perspiration."
Jimmy Carter - 39th President of the United States. Attended Georgia
Southwestern College and the Georgia Institute of Technology and
received a B.S. degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1946. In
the Navy he became a submariner, serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific
fleets and rising to the rank of lieutenant. Chosen by Admiral Hyman
Rickover for the nuclear submarine program, he was assigned to
Schenectady, N.Y., where he took graduate work at Union College in
reactor technology and nuclear physics and served as senior officer of the
pre-commissioning crew of the Seawolf.

Famous Engineers
Neil Alden Armstrong - became the first man to walk on the
moon on July 20, 1969, at 10:56 p.m. EDT. He and "Buzz" Aldrin
spent about two and one-half hours walking on the moon, while
pilot Michael Collins waited above in the Apollo 11 command
module. Armstrong received his B.S. in aeronautical engineering
from Purdue University and an M.S. in aerospace engineering
from the University of Southern California.
Rowan Atkinson - A British comedian, best known for his
starring roles in the television series Blackadder and Mr. Bean,
and several films including Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Atkinson attended first Manchester then Oxford University
earning an electrical engineering degree.

Are they Professional? .

Functions of Engineers
Engineers act as a leader to technicians,
craftsmen and workers.
Engineers should be familiar with the skills
of his/her subordinates, and in addition to
that, innovate, design, make decisions
and, foresee, identify, assess, and solve
problems.

... in the following areas:

R&D
Design
Construction
Sales
Production
Operations
Management
In various fields of Engineering..

Public Perception
Parents:
high esteem, good job opportunities, well
paid, responsible positions

Public:
poor communications, square, male, socially
inept etc.

Engineers
At Public and
Private Sectors

Careers in Engineering:
The Possibilities are Endless

The engineer-entrepreneur
Brunel, Edison

The engineer-civil servant

Lely, Stevin

The engineer-scientist
Chr. Huygens, Vannevar Bush

The system engineer

Modern examples
Engineering schools have to choose a profile.
Borderless society implies cross fertilizaion.

How Do You Become An

Engineer?
After graduation
Work under supervision as a junior engineer
After two years experience you can write the
professional engineer exam and can practice
as a registered engineer
May take further training (master's degree in
engineering or progress to another degree)
There will be lifelong learning
Many engineers go on to become project
managers and business managers

How Does An Engineer Do

Things

Client has a problem or sees an opportunity

The engineer:
defines the problem and collect information and data
about the problem
develops alternative designs or solutions (Usually
more than one way to solve the problem)
identifies and compares the pros and cons of each
solution

How Does An Engineer Do

Things (continued)
helps the client determine the best choice for the best
price
designs and manufactures the selected product
trains others to use and support the new product
continues development and improvement of the
product
finds other uses for the product

What Types of Jobs Would a

Junior Engineer Do?
Normally will be assigned as a member of a
project team
Research (analysing and solving problems using
scientific skills and logic)
Designing (need imagination and creativity)
Testing (lab work, conducting experiments)
Development (improvement or adapting existing
products)

What Types of Jobs Would a

Junior Engineer Do?
Sales (must have a very good knowledge
of the product, because the marketing
people may not be engineers)
Management organising and expediting
projects
Consulting
Teaching

What can you expect from an

engineering career?
Varied opportunities (opens the door to many
areas)
Challenging work (brain exercise)
Social impact (improving our way of life)
Prestige (engineering is a well respected
profession)
Lifelong education (always new things to learn
about)
How do they do that (curiosity)
Creative thinking (dreaming)

What Can I do with my

Degree?
a sample of the possibilities.

Biomedical Engineering
R& D Engineer
Application Developer
Medical Doctor/Lawyer

Chemical Engineering

Materials Engineer
Process Engineer
Operations Mgmt Assistant
Analyst

Civil/Environmental
Engineering
Project Engineer
Design Engineer

Field Engineer
Structural Engineer
Transportation Engineer

Electrical & Computer

Engineering
Software Engineer
Systems Engineer
Test Engineer

Industrial Engineering

Manufacturing Engineer
Production Planner
Sales Engineer
Consultant

Mechanical Engineering

Applications Engineer
Project Engineer
Mechanical Design Engineer
Quality Engineer

Which Agencies Recruit?

Small & Large Companies
Local, Regional, National & International
Companies
Employers from Consulting, Manufacturing,
Healthcare, Government, etc.
Non-profit organizations

Which Agencies Recruit?

to name a few.

JKR
IPTAs
SKMM
MOSTI
Mindef
MIMOS
MDC
Proton
Petronas

TM
Maxis
Nokia
IBM
Sapura
Motorola
Pernec
Intel
Motorola
Siemens
Avaya
GEC
MAS

What can I do to guarantee

that I am employed?
Keep the GPA up! Many companies require 2.8
or 3.0 GPA before they will even interview you!!
Participate in a co-op or internship!
Become involved in volunteer or leadership roles
such as student organizations
Network, network, network!
Start your freshman year!
In addition, a good prospect for success would have
Good writing and verbal communications skills and, good
computer skills!