Wednesday, 24 July 2013

Different Engineering Disciplines

By Carey Bourdier


For many people, the word engineers conjures up an image of someone who creates something, such as a new machine for use in a factory. However, there are many different kinds of engineers divided into four main categories which include chemical, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering. Each requires a different type of college degree and within each branch, there are many interesting career options.

Under the umbrella of chemical engineering, there are several different options. Some people concentrate on molecular or biomolecular engineering, in which you are a scientist responsible for creating molecules for various types of medical research. Your work in biotechnology could include identifying the cause of serious diseases and disorders and even creating vaccines or medical treatments to combat those problems. Materials engineers study the structures of many different types of materials, including ceramics, glass, metals, polymers and semiconductors. Another type of chemical engineer is a process engineer, and this person studies subjects such as the production of paper, plastics and petroleum. As these are three products used in just about every industry, the process engineer is often in high demand.

Frequently, you will see a civil engineer out in the field using surveying equipment such as an inclinometer, a theodolite or perhaps a total station. This type of civil engineer is known as a structural engineer when they are concerned with creating safe buildings and other structures such as bridges. Transport engineers are similar but focus on designing roads, highways and rail systems as well as to create better and safer traffic flow. Geotechnical engineers also fall under the civil section, and they deal with engineering underground, such as in mining or building levees and dams.

If you are interested in computers or the properties of electricity, you might consider becoming an electrical engineer. There are four basic categories within the field of electrical engineering, including electronic engineers that primarily deal with circuitry, capacitors, diodes, transistors and resistors. Power engineers are those who design high-voltage systems, transformers and generators. Computer engineers also fall under this category, designing and developing different types of circuitry, hardware and software.

There are also several different kinds of mechanical engineers, and they deal with all sorts of interesting jobs. There are aerospace engineers that design vehicles that blast off into space as well as other types of aircraft. Vehicle engineers design both marine vessels as well as all types of vehicles, from motorcycles to trucks to buses and cars. Other specialized fields within mechanical engineering include acoustical engineering and manufacturing engineering.




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