What do engineers do? It’s a good question because there are so many variations of what being an engineer means. In essence, an engineer will look at science and math and use the principles behind each one to create new products and systems.

They will look at several different ways of doing things and lots of various factors such as design, functionality, testing, integration, components, cost, safety, and more. These processes can relate to many different areas such as medicine, chemicals, toys, environmental tools, and computing amongst many others.

If you think that engineering might be the career for you, it’s a good idea to determine which area of engineering you want to work in; each one will require a different set of skills and qualifications. Read on, and you will discover some of the options that might be open to you.

Biomedical Engineers

A biomedical engineer will work on developing procedures and tools that solve health and medical-related issues. They will need to have a good, solid knowledge of engineering, but they will also need to have knowledge of biology and medicine to not only understand the problems but also to work out how to deal with them.

Research is a significant element of being a biomedical engineer, and elements that might be worked on include:

• Prosthetic limbs
• Artificial organs
• Health management
• Medical imaging
• Instrumentation

Most biomedical engineers will have worked as either a mechanical or electronic engineer before turning their attention to medicine. This will give them the grounding and background they need to be able to work efficiently and successfully in their chosen field.

Structural Engineer

A structural engineer is someone who works on how structures are put together and the designs that make them strong enough to withstand pressure from the environment, for example. Their job as a structural engineer is to make sure that buildings are safe; it will depend on the location of the building and what its use is as to how that is done.

This is one of the very oldest types of engineering, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t moved with the times. You can now gain an online structural engineering degree, for example, plus it was structural engineers who ensured that the International Space Station was fit for human habitation.

Aerospace Engineers

Aerospace engineers are the people who design and test missiles, spacecraft, and aircraft. If you have ever been on an airplane, it will have been carefully designed and thoroughly tested by an aerospace engineer.

This can be an exciting career, especially when military work, defense systems, or perhaps space exploration are involved. However, it is also a lot of hard work, and you will need to be able to understand navigation, guidance, control, production methods, instrumentation, and, in some cases, how the aircraft flies. Many aerospace engineers specialize in just one type of craft – fighter jets, or passenger aircraft, for example – because there is so much that is involved it would be overwhelming and perhaps even impossible to know everything that you need to know about each type of craft. To make things simpler and ultimately safer, specializing in one type makes much more sense.

Civil Engineer

Without civil engineers, it would be difficult to go anywhere or do anything. Civil engineers are responsible for designing and creating roads, tunnels, bridges, dams, and even sewage systems. They are similar to structural engineers, although they don’t only work on buildings and structures – their remit is much wider.

When they are working on a problem, they need to consider many different aspects. The structure and design being one, but they also need to factor in costings, any legal regulations and legislation, environmental issues including hurricanes, flooding, or earthquakes, and how long whatever they are building is going to last.

Electrical Engineers

We all use electrical equipment in our daily lives, often without even thinking about it. The fact that these items exist and that they are safe to use is down to electrical engineers. The items that they have responsibility for include:

• Motors
• Generators
• Car parts
• Navigation systems (including RADAR)
• Lighting

These engineers will work on everything from generating and supplying power to applying it to different elements.

Chemical Engineers

As you might assume from the job title, a chemical engineer will apply knowledge of chemistry to different problems to come up with solutions. Part of what they do will involve designing large plans for chemical manufacturing, for example, and they will also supervise the production of chemicals to ensure that they are safe for everyone in the creation process and the wider public.

Chemical engineers can find themselves working in a variety of different sectors such as healthcare, food manufacturing, business, or electronics. Wherever chemicals are needed to make or enhance something, a chemical engineer will need to be present to ensure that the process goes smoothly and meets all specifications.

Environmental Engineers

Biology and chemistry often combine when it comes to environmental engineering, which is why an environmental engineer needs to have a lot of knowledge in at least these two disciplines before they can become successful.

Pollution control is a hugely important aspect of what an environmental engineer does; pollution in the air and our waterways is such a big problem that finding solutions to it is something that needs to be prioritized; this is exactly what an environmental engineer will do. Other elements of their work include ensuring that wastewater is managed correctly (especially in an industrial setting) and that any public health issues regarding the environment are solved quickly and without causing any further problems.

Global warming is another serious problem that needs to be tackled, and this is why many people decide to become environmental engineers in the first place; they want to be able to do something about this massive issue and help the planet. Being an environmental engineer could mean being a consultant, ensuring that clients are keeping up with their responsibilities when it comes to pollution as well, and this is what many engineers work towards.