February 18, 2004
A: FROM MENTOR JACQUI JURGA IN MA
Hello Kaleigh-
I am a mechanical engineer who now manages a group of mechanical designers
and fabricators. Memos have always been an important way to communicate
with any project team. Most of us use e-mail more than we use a phone.
Public speaking in the sense that you need to capture and keep your
audience's attention is important. I found it very difficult to speak when
I first became an engineer, but after you learn your job, your areas of
expertise will grow to a point that you will want to share your knowledge.
That is when speaking in front of your peers starts to become easier. It
takes time, but you get used to it. I am very shy, but through the years I
have grown in that area.
Formal presentations can make or break a project you are trying to
promote, report on, or going in front of a board to request funding to do
a project. A clear picture using charts, graphs and other visual aids go a
long way in an engineers professional life. That said, it does not mean
you have to be a good writer. I think engineers are probably amongst the
worst spellers. And you can forget grammar... as bullet points will be
used more than long drawn out written rhetoric. There is no time to read
lengthy reports, that may leave understanding the end result as a 'how it
was translated' issue. Short descriptions, concise bullet points and
visual aids is what we use in the real world of mechanical engineering.
Symbols, as you will learn when you study mechanical drafting and
documentation take the place of many words and paragraphs. Drawing
blueprints is actually like a second language. You use symbols and drawing
rules, that when combined, explain how to build what is on the paper, no
matter what part of the world you are in. You will need to learn the
difference between Metric and English measurements, but a blueprint says it
all without lengthy reports. Blueprints are a mechanical engineers formal
documentation. Learn how to read them, and learn how to draw them. Very
important.
If you like to do long written technical reports, you may like to look into
becoming a scientist or a technical writer, instead of a mechanical
engineer. I chose mechanical engineering because I like a fast paced job
that is rewarding and has international travel along with other benefits
keeping the challenges worth the efforts. Good luck to you.
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February 17, 2004
A: FROM MENTOR ANDREA GUNTHER IN WA
I am a structural engineer working on commercial
airplanes. The best way to communicate problems or
solutions to a group is in a presentation. If there
is a problem that requires a management decision then
you will definitely be making a presentation. My
presentations are generally technical in nature and
about something that I have been involoved with for a
while. In my job I file my calcualtions in a library.
They must be formatted in a way that other people can
read and follow them.
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February 13, 2004
A: FROM MENTOR ANNE LUCIETTO IN IL
It really depends upon what the engineer is doing or what they are involved
in. I personally am a Mechanical Engineer. In my job, I'm presenting and
making a case to my peers on a regular basis. I present in a formal
presentation fairly often. It seems like my outreach activities have me
speaking so often to a crowd that I no longer think about who I'm speaking
to but more concerned about what I'm speaking about and if it is being
understood in the right context!