Suzie Key Tima

I’ve been working as an engineer for nearly a year now and my illusions have been shattered. I am sure I will continue to learn more as I gain experience and work on more projects, but this post is about the five things I wish I knew before becoming an engineer.

1. School won’t teach you what you exactly need to know to work in the industry

I used to think that everything I learned in school would be relevant in the workplace, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Engineering school taught me how to solve problems with an innovative mindset. While I didn’t have a specific class for that, the combination of hard topics, group projects, and simulation projects taught me this useful skill. Solving problems is exactly what an engineer is paid to do.

2. You need other engineers

In school, I hated Fluids Mechanics, Hydraulics, and anything water related. I was excited to start working in Transportation to get away from all that, but all the projects I work on involved dealing with water in some capacity. That is why I work alongside water resources engineers and drainage engineers. I never liked group projects in college, but they are a pretty accurate representation of the engineering industry. I also need help from engineers that are more experienced than I am when working on components of a project I am not familiar with or using new software.

3. It’s not going to be easy

Things that are worthwhile are not usually easy.

4. The learning is just starting

This is likely true for every technical career. As an engineer, you have to constantly stay on top of new software and methodology. If you want to be successful, you need to keep educating yourself.

5. It might get boring

I have only worked for eight months, but the technical side is already getting repetitive. While most project requires some unique solution based on specific constraints, the technical calculations and drawings can get boring.