Engineers Week was established in 1951 as a way to promote a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers. Each year, aeSolutions celebrates Engineers Week by hosting fun activities for our employees and by sharing resources and stories that highlight how engineers – and engineering companies – make a difference in our world.
This year we asked our employees a series of questions related to engineering and engineering companies as a career choice. We’ll be sharing some of their answers over the course of Engineers Week, which runs from February 18-23.
Today’s question focuses on what it’s like to work at an engineering firm.
What is your favorite thing about being an engineer or working at an engineering firm?
Building things, making things work, solving problems, making society a better place. – Tom M.
I think that my favorite thing about working in an engineering firm is the amount of learning that I can accomplish. Whether it's the accounting department, human resources, or the engineers themselves, I am able to learn something new every day. – Wyatt S.
One of the more satisfying things about this work is seeing a project go from concept to design to implementation. – Andy G.
Problem-solving is my favorite thing. As a single-parent for 12 years, I honed this skill/gift well. Being a process safety consultant enables me to help industry prevent unplanned incidents that have the potential to harm people, our communities, and environment. – Kelly J.
I get to work with high-performing professionals. They are smart and self-motivated. Though they are opinionated I have found them mostly willing to listen to ideas different from their own as long as they are approached in an inclusive way, deliberately looking for common ground. – Ken O.
I love working with other highly talented Engineers, the depth of knowledge and technical skills around me is fascinating, there's always something or someone to learn from. – Carolyn B.
Engineering is always interesting and is never the same on a day-to-day basis, so I am never bored with my job. Plus, as a consultant, I have worked with so many different clients across a wide variety of industries. Another positive has been the opportunity to visit many places I might never have otherwise traveled to, such as Guam, Australia, Alaska, Augsburg, Germany, Guadalajara, Mexico, Dublin, and a variety of Canadian cities. – Melissa L.
I enjoy solving problems and coming up with solutions that are out-of-the-box. – Kelvin S.
I love getting to work with people who are driven and have similar thinking to myself in many ways. I appreciate that engineers at my job are also personable and have good people skills, which is not a given with engineers. – Ethan W.
I am able to work on various projects and learn about new technologies. – Mark S.
My favorite thing about working at an engineering firm is feeling like my work actually does a difference. – Joel R.
How do you describe what you do to your family?
I help chemical plant and refinery customers not blow themselves up. – Tom M.
My usual line to people that are not in engineering or technical fields, we help to avert disasters. If it were not for lessons learned, codes implemented and adhered to, half the world would be on fire at any given moment. – Andy G.
I make it possible for companies to do things in their facilities while also enabling workers to return home after work without harm. – Kelly J.
My kids are 3 and 5, they think I teach people how to be safe around chemicals. Everyday at dinner they ask me what chemicals I learned about and if you need gloves, a mask or a suit to be around that particular chemical. It's quite sweet. – Carolyn B.
I tell them that we help facilities to keep their chemicals in the pipe and not have releases that could cause fire/explosions/injuries. – Melissa L.
I make the plants I do work for a better and safer environment for the workers and the communities around them. – Kelvin S.
I describe what I do as "making sure all the processes in various factories and companies around the US run safely so the workers can go back to their families at night". – Joel R.