engineering, what qualities does the engineer posses in order to be successful.
Discussion points
1. Explain clearly and as fully as possible, why is the engineer not free to se- lect the problem which interests him?
2. What does efficiency mean to the engineer?
3. Give clear illustration of the emphasis on efficiency. What does efficient functioning depend on?
4. Find the lines in the text which give us information that any problem involv- ing the low – cost production of large quantities of any item is an engineer- ing problem even if the item itself originated in the work of other disci- plines. Explain how any given result of (a) medical research, (b) agricul- tural research, (c) nuclear physics, (d) optical research is likely to need so- lutions requiring the skills of an engineer.
5. Explain in details why:
a) “efficiency costs money”;
b) “safety adds complexity”;
c) “performance increases weight”.
6. You have read that engineering solution to most problems is the “most de- sirable end result taking into account many factors”. Does this apply to your own discipline? If so, explain in what way.
7. What do you understand by the definition “engineering of the highest type”?
8. What is your opinion with regard to the last sentence in the text, that “the successful engineer is a malcontent always trying to change things for the better”?
36. Scan the text [11] and determine what careers are available for you as a future engineer.
CAREER’S ADVICE
The first thing you have to be sure about is just what you want from a job, what you're good at how you like working, what your goals are. Some people are more the "investigative" types - geologists, health sciences, engineers most of the sciences. Others are more "hands on" kind of people. Materials on that will be over here. More of the engineering people, it's called "realistic," it's "hands on"
deals with the product has a tangible outcome. The other people are more intan- gibly oriented, interested in ideas, seeing what happens, theoretically oriented.
You can use, like this sort of thing, it's a page which describes the personality types so you can find out what your objectives are.
Over here there are directories the people use to locate employers and find possibilities. We have salary surveys. This one is a College Placement Councils survey and this is done every quarter so it is good. And these are offers, so it's not something a student has made up, it's what the company actually offered.
This computer has job listings on it and they come in by way of the modem at least once a week. More job listings here, in this section of the library. Here are scientists other than engineering and we have engineering here. And this is mate-
rial from employers who are coming here to recruit on campus, background on the companies etc. You asked me about prospect for women in the sciences. Women have done comparatively pretty well in the technical areas. But I think that in terms of on the job, their experience is not equal. I think they probably feel har- assed in some cases and have a difficult time in some of the male dominated jobs. People will probably say it depends on their attitude and a number of other things, but I think it's not easy for a woman still in some of the technical fields.
Other problems? In terms of ageism, that's probably been harder to describe because usually people are not competing for the same positions at different ages. It' not readily apparent. However the current recession has created a diffi- cult situation. We have a lot of engineers with loads of experience out looking for jobs and at the same time we have new people and I think sometimes the em- ployer will hire the new person because they can hire them cheap and get them to do the work whereas if they try to do that with someone more experienced, they'll get pushed all the time to increase their salary.
Trends? There's less loyalty than ever employers are rapid to let people go if they really don't need them it doesn't matter who they are or what their field is, so there is not a lot of job security where there once was and engineering has proba- bly never enjoyed enormous amounts of security anyway. They work out a con- tract with a group of people and when the contract is over, they let them go, so that's not entirely new, but it's happening in other fields like IBM and other large technical firms are all of a sudden doing that.
The easiest way to understand Affirmative Action is that we are trying to make opportunities for people who haven't had them historically and that means gathering a large enough pool of people from under-represented groups and doesn't mean that all things being equal, that you choose from the under- represented group if there is someone qualified. I think it's fraught with all kinds of problems. I think it'd be difficult to make that policy work real well. It has some merit, no doubt and it also has some difficulty in making it work on a day-to-day basis without winding up discriminating in another way. I think probably the most curious part of it to me now is that I hear white males singing the "poor white me"
kind of problem. I think the reality is that they are not being discriminated against in any situation. Well, certainly you can find individual cases, but they still have many more opportunities as a class than anyone else. I think some people are stirring the pot trying to make it look much more serious.
A college degree is an investment in oneself. If someone is looking at college for only the engineering background they will gain, it's probably a mistake. Mone- tarily it's worth about 50 percent more than if you didn't go to college and in a technical field probably more than that, but there's more to it than that. Technical people have most difficulty with communication skills. Frequently people choose technical fields, when they're not real skilled in social skills, may be in language sometimes and it is going to be easier to hide out in the lab or somewhere else so they're not building some of those skills that are so useful. People in the technical areas would do well to look down the road and see that most of the work they do is going to have to rely on their ability to communicate with others and describe the problems, to share solutions, ideas and come up with creative solutions.
How to avoid making terrible mistakes? People fear mistakes and don't do anything sometimes, but almost anything you do is going to be a learning experi-
ence. It's kind of like looking at your feet and saying "I have a wrong foot and a right foot" but we actually have left feet and right feet and when you're on your left foot you learn something. Trying things out is probably better than doing nothing.
You learn from it and you're ready to make headway from that.
Discussion points
1. According to the classification of the abilities given in the passage say what kind of man you are.
2. Tell about your own experience if you have ever searched for a job. Was it through the agency or by yourself?
3. Are there any preferences in age or sex in the employees market of our country?
4. Do you agree that technical people have got some difficulties in communi- cating and learning languages? If so, what is your attitude to the experi- ment on teaching languages in TPU?
5. What problems of a general kind might be met by the specialists while they are planning their career? You can easily find them in the texts of the unit.
Discussing the topic “Job satisfaction”
37. Work in pairs or groups. Arrange “job satisfaction features” in the or- der of importance. If you have good grounds for this or that arrange- ment produce them participating in discussion. Make use of the rele- vant “features” and appropriate expressions for discussion from the boxes below.
Being able to learn new things Earning plenty of money Being part of a team
Meeting people through work Having pleasant colleagues Being praised by my superiors or bosses
A pleasant working environment Using a foreign language
Financial independence Good chances of promotion Professional growth
Being a boss/exercising power Status of my organization The most important thing for me is…
The second important thing for me is….
I don’t consider this aspect of my future job very important because…..
I’m afraid you are mistaken/wrong when you say that….
I think your opinion is absolute nonsense because….
It matters very little for me….
It matters very little in my job….
…. is less significant than….
…. is more significant/ more important than….
I don’t attach too much importance to…
38. Part of any job interview or any talk to a counselor in a job agency is