Blog #1 - How I became interested in Engineering

I was never really interested in math. It might be “the perfect science”, as everyone apparently called it, but it was certainly not “my perfect science”. Although I was always pretty good at it and I quickly became able to solve many basic problems already in secondary school, I was never too enthusiastic about it. In many occasions, all those numbers and Greek letters would run through my mind with an unclear meaning; they were empty. I remember a typical question in a math class: “What is that for?” The teacher’s answers would usually not please me. I was looking for something else. I wanted more.

It was a little bit later, as a junior in high school, that I began to become interested in what I like to call “practical math”. I blame it on the physics class I took back then. For the first time, I was able to see how mathematical calculus and algebra could be used as a means to analyze and solve situations and problems of the “real world”. I found in physics the application of math to the explanation and understanding of how things physically work in real life. It was the theory put into practice. At that point, I was happy with my new find, but still not completely satisfied.

I soon learnt that there was something even greater than physics; professionals called engineers were in charge of applying math, physics, chemistry and other sciences’ knowledge to the development of new devices or innovative techniques to satisfy the emergence of new human needs, solve different rising problems and deal with contemporary issues, or simply make our lives easier. It was this ingenuity which seemed to characterize the work of engineers that called my attention. This is how I became curious about engineering.

Later, I found out how engineers were very well socially respected and highly valuable workers, extremely useful for almost any kind of company. From directly engineering-related positions (engineering implementation, engineering design, engineering consulting …), to responsibilities in other areas or businesses (financial analysis, investment banking, financial consulting…), everyone seemed to want engineers “by their side”. Job opportunities were without any doubt (at least back then) many. This way, I began to seriously consider developing a career in this field and finally made the decision to embark on the studying of engineering.

Once in college, I opted for, what I thought was (and I continue to think), a promising branch of engineering; electronics. This is a field that is being greatly developed nowadays. Innovations are being conceived and implemented at a very high rate. Telephones, watches, tiny mp3 players, and many other kinds of devices have already become fully electronic. Others such as cars and airplanes, or even our houses, are becoming electronically automated. We find new developments every day. However, the big revolution of technology in general, and in electronics in particular, is yet to come.

With the many problems and questions that will then inevitably arise (most importantly ethical and morality issues), the work of engineers appears as key for the future of humanity. I will definitely not be in control of these dramatic changes and the whole new situation, but at least I will understand what is going on “out there”, just as I always wanted.