The Engineers

Abstract

Ask almost any engineer why he or she chose to be an engineer and the reply may reveal something akin to an ideology that underpins their working lives: a high-minded aspiration to be useful to the community at large. They may not wear these ideals on their sleeves, but probe beneath the surface and you will find an altruistic streak. Engineers tend to have a strong sense of purpose, believing they have a contribution to make to society, and knowing that, through designing a myriad of things we use in everyday life (components, gadgets, software, all sorts of machines, buildings, bridges, and even the shoes we wear), their work affects nearly every aspect of human activity. So, engineers see themselves as being essentially creative, and working towards some kind of solution that has been asked for. This is a distinctive feature of their work: engineers have to be creative to order. The customer looms large on the horizon of any engineering workplace. Solutions need to be designed and produced for customers, the more ingenious the better.