What is Engineering?
In a nutshell, engineers solve problems such as buildings and bridges, high-tech running shoes and sports equipment, washing machines, space shuttles, palm pilots, computers, cell phones, Nintendos, VCR's, oil refineries, planes, trains and automobiles, traffic patterns, MRI's, automatic doors, packaging, fabric and textiles, nuclear power plants, environmental solution, quality control and reliability, strawberry harvesting machines, artificial organs and limbs, "lasers" (Thanks, Dr. Evil) and even those annoying but very effective high, strength bags that potato chips come in.
How does Engineering differ from Engineering Technology and Science ?
In another nutshell,
- SCIENCE deals with the discovery of knowledge and the understanding of phenomena around us.
- ENGINEERING uses the findings of scientists to solve practical problems.
- Engineering and ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY sound similar, and in fact, deal with similar situations. Engineers and technologists/technicians often work together on teams. However, there are subtle but important differences.
Compare the differences between Engineers and Engineer Technicians.
Advantages of Engineering Degree
- It is TERMINAL (sounds bad, doesn't it?, but it is GOOD). It means a bachelor degree provides enough preparation to go out and work as an engineer for the rest of your life. In most professions, such as law or medicine, a graduate degree requiring 2-5 years beyond the bachelor level is necessary before professional status is attained.
- It is EFFICIENT. An engineering curriculum is jam-packed with course work and it is definitely challenging. The time a student spends pursuing engineering is a direct investment in him- or herself. Hard work for 4 years can pay off with a rewarding and satisfying career for 20, 30 or 40 years.
- There is STATUS and SALARY that go with an engineering degree.
- Engineering CAREERS tend to be SATISFYING and CHALLENGING.
For another answer to the question, What is Engineering?, select the link below for our sister 2+2 Program at UNC- Wilmington.