What Does An Engineer Do?
Wasim Asghar 
May 18, 2023Are you considering pursuing a career in engineering?
That would indeed be the right choice.
Because:
There are numerous job opportunities within the engineering field that provide career stability.
From a switchboard to an aircraft, a light bulb to a missile, we can see how the engineering field and engineers contribute to our daily lives.
So for you to have a better insight into the engineering field, we will discuss what engineers do. We will also look at where engineers work to understand the working environment of this field.
Let’s get started…
What is an Engineer?
An engineer is responsible for planning, designing, building, and supervising projects to fulfill society’s requirements. They apply principles of science, technology, and math to solve problems.
We can witness the magic of engineering around us and across the globe in almost everything as engineers work devotedly to improve how we travel, live, work, communicate, entertain, and stay healthy.
Considering this. it is not uncommon for people to ask, “do engineers build things as well?”
Well, engineers work to build things that make our lives easier.
So, what do engineers build?
These are the things engineers build:
- Homes
- Buildings
- Bridges
- Roads
- Tunnels
- Airports
- Dams
- Sewerage systems
So if you love to design and invent new things to resolve obstacles, a career in engineering may be the perfect fit for you.
What Does an Engineer do?
While there are multiple disciplines of engineering to opt for, all engineers share some basic set of duties and responsibilities.
So, let’s take a look at what does an engineer do on a daily basis:
Planning
Planning and preparing are the core responsibilities of successful engineers. Engineers do planning by creating detailed drawings and budget plans and then executing them. In addition, they outline the project deadlines to develop and assure that the project gets completed on time and within budget.
Designing
Companies employ engineers to develop accurate and precise specifications for the project. Engineers design and carry out experiments for safety and efficiency to test their ideas, which is considered an essential step in building.
Reporting
What’s most crucial at every step of development in engineering is communication. For this reason, engineers have to make technical reports to effectively communicate their research and findings with their coworkers and customers. Furthermore, they discuss regulatory manuscripts and report safety issues.
15 Popular Engineering Fields
Below are some of the most popular types of engineering fields that discuss the responsibilities of engineers working in their respective fields:
1. Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is the study of electricity and electronics. It deals with the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of electrical systems. Electrical engineers work in a variety of industries, including power generation, transmission and distribution, communications, manufacturing, transportation, and utilities. They may also work in the research and development of new technologies. There are many types of electrical engineering jobs and electrical engineering is a high-paying career.
2. Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with the design and operation of chemical plants and the development of chemical processes. The field of chemical engineering is divided into four main branches: process engineering, materials science and engineering, environmental engineering, and biochemical engineering.
3. Civil engineering
A civil engineer builds construction projects for transportation through planning and designing. Those projects can be both private as well as public, which includes dams, flyovers, skyscrapers, airports, and sewerage systems.
4. Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with the design, construction, and operation of machines and tools. It is one of the oldest and broadest branches of engineering.
Mechanical engineers use the principles of mechanics, thermodynamics, and materials science to design and build machines and devices. They also use these principles to understand how machines and devices work.
Mechanical engineering is a very diverse field. It includes the design and production of vehicles, airplanes, spacecraft, and medical devices. It also includes the design and operation of power plants, factories, and other large-scale systems.
5. Biological engineering
Biological engineering is the application of engineering principles to living systems. It is a relatively new field that is growing rapidly as we learn more about how living systems work. Biological engineering is used to design new drugs, diagnostic tools, and medical devices. It can also be used to improve agricultural productivity, food safety, and environmental sustainability.
Biological engineering is an interdisciplinary field that combines the disciplines of biology and engineering. Biological engineers work in a variety of fields, including healthcare, agriculture, and environmental sustainability.
6. Aerospace engineering
Aerospace engineering is a field of engineering focused on the design, construction, and operation of vehicles operating in an atmospheric environment, such as aircraft, missiles, spacecraft, and satellites. Aerospace engineering is a highly interdisciplinary field, involving disciplines such as aerodynamics, thermodynamics, propulsion, structural analysis, guidance and control systems, instrumentation, and communication systems.
7. Agricultural engineering
Agriculture engineers are responsible for designing agricultural equipment, machinery, sensors, procedures, and structures. They develop methods for conserving soil and water to improve agricultural product processing.
8. Environmental engineering
Environmental engineering is a field of engineering that deals with the protection and improvement of the natural environment. It includes the study of air, water, and land pollution, as well as the prevention and control of environmental problems. Environmental engineers work to find solutions to environmental problems that are safe, efficient, and economical. They may also work to develop new technologies to help reduce environmental pollution.
9. Industrial engineering
Industrial engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with the design, improvement, and installation of systems and equipment used in manufacturing and other industrial operations. It is concerned with the efficient use of resources such as labor, materials, energy, and time.
10. Marine engineering
Marine engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with the design, construction, and operation of ships, boats, and other marine vessels. Marine engineers are responsible for the operation and maintenance of the vessel’s propulsion systems, electrical and plumbing systems, and other onboard machinery. They also develop new designs for marine vessels and oversee the construction of new ships.
11. Petroleum engineering
Petroleum engineering is the field of engineering that deals with the extraction and production of oil and gas. Petroleum engineers work in all stages of the oil and gas production process, from the initial exploration and drilling of the well to the eventual transportation and refining of the crude oil or natural gas.
12. Nuclear engineering
Nuclear engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with the application of nuclear energy and radiation in various fields. It includes the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of nuclear reactors, as well as the disposal of nuclear waste. Nuclear engineers also work in the field of nuclear medicine, where they use radiation to treat cancer and other medical conditions.
13. Materials engineering
Materials engineering is the study of how materials behave and how they can be used to create new or improved products. It is a branch of engineering that combines the principles of physics, chemistry, and metallurgy to understand how materials interact with each other and how they can be manipulated to change or improve their properties.
Materials engineers work in a variety of industries, including automotive, aerospace, biomedical, chemical, electronics, food and beverage, and manufacturing. They may work in research and development, product development, quality assurance, or production.
14. Health and safety engineering
Health and safety engineering is the study of how to protect people from risks in the workplace. It includes the design of safe work environments, the development of safety policies and procedures, and the investigation of accidents.
Health and safety engineers work to identify and control potential hazards in the workplace. They may conduct safety audits, inspect work sites, and develop safety plans. They may also teach safety courses or provide training on proper safety procedures.
15. Computer engineering
Computer engineering is a field of engineering that deals with the design and construction of computer hardware and software. Computer engineers may work in various fields such as hardware engineering, software engineering, embedded systems, and systems engineering.
Engineering Job Work Environment
The engineering workplace depends on:
- Type of engineer
- Job description of an engineer
- The organization that an engineer works for
Many engineers work in a typical office environment, laboratories, factories, offshore oil rigs, or industrial plants. Some work outside in the field to supervise their projects. Other engineers, for instance, ship engineers, travel most of the time to local industrial plants or foreign worksites.
Engineers’ Average Salary in the USA
On average, an engineer’s salary in the United States is $49.87 per hour or $97,254 per year.
Entry-level engineering positions start from $74,906 per year, while most experienced engineers’ salaries go up to about $140,004 per year on average.
Conclusion
The engineering field has influence all over the world. We can see how engineers work to improve our way of traveling, living, and communicating by developing city structures, buildings, healthcare, etc.
We hope we have explained all the things regarding what engineers do and where engineers work.
To get more information related to engineering, head over to our blog section to find in-depth articles related to the engineering field.
Licensed Professional Engineer in Texas (PE), Florida (PE) and Ontario (P. Eng) with consulting experience in design, commissioning and plant engineering for clients in Energy, Mining and Infrastructure.