CAREER TALK DELIVERED BY ENGR. K.

REMI ADEJUMO MNSE

AT COVENANT UNIVERSITY, OTA, OGUN STATE. NIGERIA
ENGINEERING: ITS IMPORTANCE AND BENEFITS
PREAMBLE:
Engineering is a profession that opens doors to many careers.
Engineering takes responsibilities for the safety of people and environment.
Engineering offers a rewarding and lucrative career.
Engineers’ prestige in the society is their creativity, innovation, passion, ability to focus and
always inquisitive and curious to finding solutions to problems.
A career in engineering affords the opportunity to make a difference, afford them job security
and trying out new technology.
Engineering as a profession always seek optional solutions to problems, makes judgments’ and
provide explanations to their choices.
Good communication is an important way of learning, which helps engineers move from being
a novice to experts and allow them gain new professional knowledge and abilities.
Engineering and technology may not be the easiest area of study, but they are subjects that
continue to be in demand and because they are challenging, those studying them stands out
from crowd as they will also find enjoyment and satisfaction throughout their career.

WHY STUDY ENGINEERING:

Engineering study is an area that is guaranteed to continue to change and evolve so that, in a
way, even experienced professionals are continually hearing and refreshing their knowledge.

For many of us in the field, it is this constant change and it’s appealing.
An engineering based education allows student’s exposure to various technical subjects and
skills sets that develop skills that are transferable to most industries such as problem solving,
decision making, innovation, project management, team working and communication which
will contribute to a rapidly changing technological environment.
An engineering based education also gives you a great base to branch into different sectors and
also work your way up to high level management in finance, investment banking, and human
recourses. I.T, business development and administration areas because the industrial and
economic success of every nation is rooted firmly in its manufacturing and engineering base
and the skills and ingenuity of it’s professional engineers.
Green engineering is the most often cited example of an area that needs fresh blood, but
this often conjures up images solely of wind turbines, solar power but in reality, there are
opportunities throughout the power industry looking at ways to increase energy efficiencies and
develop other sustainable sources such as biomass and hydro power.
Safety and security is another key area for growth whether it is physical defenses or cyber
warfare.
Dealing with the world’s ageing population will also be a challenge for engineers over the
coming years from developing new health care technologies to creating the types of advanced
robotics that we see in developed countries like Japan to help elderly citizens.
A key skill is to be inter and cross-disciplinary in approach bringing to bear all of the requisite
approaches to problem solving.
Find below some benefits of studying and becoming an engineer:
BENEFITS OF STUDYING AND BECOMING AN ENGINEER:

1. Job Satisfaction
2. Variety of Career Opportunities
3. Challenging Work
4. Intellectual Development
5. Potential to Benefit Society
6. Financial Security
7. Prestige
8. Professional Environment
9. Technological and Scientific Discovery
10. Creative Thinking

1. JOB SATISFACTION

Studies show that, by far, the number-one cause of unhappiness among people all over the world is job
dissatisfaction. Thus, it is important to find a career that provides you with enjoyment and satisfaction. After all,
you might spend 40 or so years working eight hours or more a day, five or six days a week, 50 weeks a year. Do
you want to dislike every minute of that time, or would you rather do something that you enjoy? For numerous
reasons, some of which are listed below, engineering provides a satisfying field of work.

2. VARIETY OF CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

What do Neil Armstrong, Jimmy Carter, and Alfred Hitchcock have in common? Though they eventually chose
very different careers - one as an astronaut, one as a president, and one as a filmmaker - they all started with an
engineering education.

An engineering degree offers a wide range of career possibilities. Within the practice of engineering, there is an
enormous variety of job functions.

 If you are imaginative and creative, design engineering may be for you.
 If you like laboratories and conducting experiments, you might consider test engineering.
 If you like to organize and expedite projects, look into being a development engineer.
 If you are persuasive and like working with people, consider a career in sales or field service
engineering.
The analytical skills and technological expertise you develop as an engineering student can also be put to use in
many other fields. For example, as an engineering graduate, you could go on to study medicine or law. You
could become a politician and use your knowledge of technology and science to set important national policy.
You could also become an entrepreneur in a related field such as construction, manufacturing, or consulting. Or
you could combine engineering and business skills in a career as a technical manager or a salesperson for a
high-tech company.

.3. CHALLENGING WORK.

If you like challenges, engineering could be for you. In the engineering work world, there is no shortage of
challenging problems. Any engineering manager will tell you that he or she has a huge backlog of problems that
need to be solved.

Generally, "real world" engineering problems are quite different from most of the problems you will solve in
school. In school, most problems have a single, correct answer. When you get into the engineering work world,
virtually all problems will be open-ended. There will be no single answer, no answer in the back of the book, no
professor to tell you that you are right or wrong. You will be required to devise a solution and persuade others
that your solution is the best one.

4. INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT

An engineering education will "exercise" your brain, developing your ability to think logically and to solve
problems. These are skills that will be valuable throughout your life and not only when you are solving
engineering problems. For example, your problem-solving skills can help you undertake tasks such as planning
a vacation, finding a job, organizing a fund-raiser, purchasing a house, or writing a book.

5. BENEFIT SOCIETY

Just about everything that engineers do benefits society. Engineers develop transportation systems that help
people and products move about easily. Engineers design the buildings that we live and work in, the systems
that deliver our water and electricity, the machinery that produces our food, and the medical equipment that
keeps us healthy.

Depending upon your value system, you may not view all things that engineers do as benefiting people. For
example, engineers design military equipment like missiles, tanks, bombs, artillery, and fighter airplanes.
Engineers are also involved in the production of pesticides, cigarettes, liquor, and asbestos.

As an engineer, however, you can choose to work on projects that clearly benefit society, such as cleaning up
the environment, developing prosthetic aids for disabled persons, developing clean and efficient transportation
systems, finding new sources of energy, alleviating the world's hunger problems, and increasing the standard of
living in underdeveloped countries.

6. FINANCIAL SECURITY

While financial security should not be your only reason for choosing a career in engineering, if you decide to
become an engineer you will be well paid. Engineering graduates receive the highest starting salary of any
discipline.

7. PRESTIGE
Engineers play a primary role in sustaining our nation's international competitiveness, maintaining our standard
of living, ensuring a strong national security, and protecting public safety. Furthermore, most people know that
engineering requires hard work and strong technical skills. As a member of such a respected profession, you
will receive a high amount of prestige.

8. PROFESSIONAL ENVIRONMENT

As an engineer, you will work in a professional environment in which you will be treated with respect and have
a certain amount of freedom in choosing your work. You will be also be in a position to influence what happens
at your company.

In most cases, you will receive adequate work space and the tools you need to do your work, including the latest
computer hardware and software. You will probably also receive the secretarial and technical support staff you
need to get your work done. After all, your employer will benefit from making sure you have what you need to
do a good job.

Most likely, you will not be required to punch a time clock. Rather, you will be judged on your productivity - on
the quality and quantity of your work. You can usually expect to receive an annual merit salary increase, which
will be based on your manager's evaluation of your performance.

You will have the opportunity to learn and grow through both on-the-job training and formal training. Often,
your immediate supervisor will closely mentor you and help you tackle progressively more challenging tasks.
You will learn from experienced engineers in your organization and will be offered seminars and short courses
to increase your knowledge. Most likely, your employer will have an educational reimbursement program that
will pay for you to take classes toward a graduate degree or for professional development.

As a professional, you will receive liberal benefits, which will typically include a retirement plan, life insurance,
health insurance, sick leave, paid vacation, holidays, and savings or profit-sharing plans.

9. TECHNOLOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY

Do you know why golf balls have dimples on them? Do you understand how the loads are transmitted to the
supports on a suspension bridge? Do you know what a laser is or how a computer works? When you drive on a
mountain road, do you look at the guard rails and understand why they were designed the way they were? Do
you know why split-level houses experience more damage in earthquakes? An engineering education can help
you understand how these, and many other things in the world, work.

Furthermore, an understanding of technology will provide you with a better understanding of many issues
facing our society. For example: Why don’t we have zero-emission electric vehicles rather than highly polluting
cars powered by internal combustion engines? Should we have stopped building nuclear reactors? What will we
use for energy when oil runs out? Is it technically feasible to develop a “Star Wars” defense system that will
protect us against nuclear attack? Can we produce enough food to eliminate world hunger? Do high-voltage
power lines cause cancer in people who live or play near them?

10. CREATIVE THINKING

Engineering is by its very nature a creative profession. When practicing engineers develop solutions to open-
ended, real-world problems, they must employ conscious and subconscious mental processing as well as
divergent and convergent thinking.
Because we are in a time of rapid social and technological changes, the need for engineers to think creatively is
greater now than ever before. Only through creativity can we cope with and adapt to these changes. If you like
to question, explore, invent, discover, and create, then engineering could be the ideal profession for you.

WISHING YOU ALL THE BEST.

THANKS.