In general, the design engineer is required to satisfy the needs of customers (management, clients, consumers, etc.) and is expected to do so in a competent, responsible, ethical, and professional manner. Much of engineering course work and practice experience focuses on competence, but when does one begin to develop engineering responsibility and professionalism? To start on the road to success, you should start to develop these characteristics early in your educational program. You need to cultivate your professional work ethic and process skills before graduation, so that when you begin your formal engineering career, you will be prepared to meet the challenges. It is not obvious to some students, but communication skills play a large role here, and it is the wise student who continuously works to improve these skills—even if it is not a direct requirement of a course assignment! Success in engineering (achievements, promotions, raises, etc.) may in large part be due to competence but if you cannot communicate your ideas clearly and concisely, your technical proficiency may be compromised. You can start to develop your communication skills by keeping a neat and clear journal/logbook of your activities, entering dated entries frequently. (Many companies require their engineers to keep a journal for patent and liability concerns.) Separate journals should be used for each design project (or course subject). When starting a project or problem, in the definition stage, make journal entries quite frequently. Others, as well as yourself, may later question why you made certain decisions. Good chronological records will make it easier to explain your decisions at a later date. Many engineering students see themselves after graduation as practicing engineers designing, developing, and analyzing products and processes and consider the need of good communication skills, either oral or writing, as secondary. This is far from the truth. Most practicing engineers spend a good deal of time communicating with others, writing proposals and technical reports, and giving presentations and interacting with engineering and nonengineering support personnel. You have the time now to sharpen your communication skills. When given an assignment to write or make any presentation, technical or nontechnical, accept it enthusiastically, and work on improving your communication skills. It will be time well spent to learn the skills now rather than on the job. When you are working on a design problem, it is important that you develop a systematic approach. Careful attention to the following action steps will help you to organize your solution processing technique.Acquiring Technical Information.
We currently live in what is referred to as the information age, where information is generated at an astounding pace. It is difficult, but extremely important, to keep abreast of past and current developments in one’s field of study and occupation. The reference in Footnote 2 provides an excellent description of the informational resources available and is highly recommended reading for the serious design engineer. Some sources of information are:
• Libraries (community, university, and private). Engineering dictionaries and encyclopedias, textbooks, monographs, handbooks, indexing and abstract services, journals, translations, technical reports, patents, and business sources/brochures/catalogs.
• Government sources. Departments of Defense, Commerce, Energy, and Transportation; NASA; Government Printing Office; U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; National Technical Information Service; and National Institute for Standards and Technology.
• Professional societies. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Society of Automotive Engineers, American Society for Testing and Materials, and American Welding Society.
• Commercial vendors. Catalogs, technical literature, test data, samples, and cost information.
• Internet. The computer network gateway to websites associated with most of the
categories listed above.4This list is not complete. The reader is urged to explore the various sources of information on a regular basis and keep records of the knowledge gained.
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