May 16, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR ANNE LUCIETO IN IL
Melissa... it doesn't matter if an engineer is male or female... if an engineer gets out in the field and works with other engineers or non-engineers (like I do) a lack of understanding of tools and materials will make developing a level of respect for you and your position extremely difficult.

I have more of a biased view because I NOW work in the maintenance/facilities area of a large national laboratory. But through my entire career from a tech staff at a nuclear power plant, fastener manufacturer and other places a knowledge of tools, their appropriate uses and materials have proven to be so valuable! Not only do the people I work with respect me (I've gotten the feeling that they think I don't know this stuff because I'm a girl) and what I have to say. It helped that I have a Dad that worked with his hands and insisted that I learn how to too!

My advice is to get with one of your family members that knows a bit about working in a shop and learn the names and uses of the tools and maybe get a rudimentary understanding of what some of the different materials are. When you get the opportunity to learn ANYTHING... grab it and run with it! If you think that is a problem, you might consider going to a local mechanic shop or contacting someone and asking them for a basic education... you will probably be surprised at how happy they would be to share with you!

Good Luck to You!
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May 13, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR JACQUELYN JURGA IN MA
The answer to your question depends on what kind of engineering you are
referring to. I am a mechanical engineer and it is very important for me
to understand tools and materials. In different positions that an engineer
may have for different companies, particular materials and tools will be
used. For instance; when I worked for the computer industry the materials
used for the assembly line equipment I was designing, needed to be static
dissapative so as not to send an electrical charge into sensitive computer
parts. The tools were highly precision. At my present job, the equipment
my team designs and fabricates is used in very high temperatures, so exotic
high temperature materials are used. The tools here are less precision but
larger for the bulk of work and harder materials. Learning the materials
and tools for your engineering career is one of the skills that will make
you a valued asset to your company. I have found when I question what
material to use, that the companies that sell different materials are more
than willing to help you make the right choices. There are also books to
use as guides when determining materials which are helpful. I still refer
to my 'Machinery's Handbook' for many material and tool questions. It is
2500 pages full of very useful mechanical engineering information.
Mechanical Engineering is a great career for a woman. The work is
challenging, the pay excellent and I love to travel which this career has
encouraged me to do. Good luck!
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A: FROM MENTOR SUZANNE FRANKS IN KS
Melissa, the answer is "very" and "not at all". Let me explain!
During the time I was an undergraduate and graduate student, during my
years as a research scientist, and during my time now in the pharmaceutical
industry, I have never had to know how to use a hammer, screwdriver, wrench, or
other kinds of common tools, to do any of the work in my classes or labs or research.
I did have to learn how to use drafting tools in a graphics class (which I
believe now is done all with computer aided design) and I did have to learn how to
choose proper glassware and use it appropriately, and how to use scales of
various kinds, and microscopes and oscilloscopes, in chem labs and in my laboratory work.
(In some of my lab work, I depending upon the skills of very talented
glassblowers to design and produce custom glassware that could not be purchased anywhere else. Laboratory glassblowing, sadly, is a dying art, I think.)
So, some kinds of tools are important to know how to use, but they are the
kind that you are not going to find usually in someone's garage.
On the other hand, using tools, any kind of tools, develops your
confidence in your ability to use tools in general and gives you practice at working with
your hands and seeing how it is that one can learn kinesthetically, that is, through
feel and touch and bodily action. Also, among engineers, I think there is a certain kind of
"bragging rights" that some individuals lay claim too if they have had a lot of experience with
tools (just as hackers brag about their time spent on a computer, even if what they do is not
necessarily what it takes to be creative and have a successful career using computer
science to address the important issues we face in society.) It's nice to have some tool
experience so that those kind of folks can't intimidate you.
Here's a nice tool experiment: buy or see if you can get someone to give
you a cheap, common hand-held electric mixer. Get yourself a couple of different kinds
of screwdrives and take the mixer apart just as much as you can. Note the different
components and parts inside. Try to figure out what they do, why they are there, what makes them important for the functioning of a mixer. Try putting your mixer back together and see if it still works.
If you are already someone who plays with tools a lot, this won't seem
like much of a challenge perhaps, but if you have never really used tools or taken anything apart, this is a good starter project.