Engineering has been crucial to the advancement of human civilization throughout history, but you might assume that with all of the advances we have made in the past century in particular, the role of the engineer is less relevant in the present day than it was in the past.
Digging a little deeper will reveal that the opposite is true; we need engineers now more than ever, and in greater numbers. Here is a look at the main reasons behind why this profession is still invaluable.
Image Source: Pixabay
Sustainability is essential
Sustainability has never been more important than it is today, with the climate crisis intensifying and the need to tackle the ecological challenges facing humanity worldwide sooner rather than later gaining more traction.
This is where engineers can have arguably the biggest impact, as they are the ones who are coming up with new ways of approaching old problems, overcoming them with solutions that allow us to make progress without also deepening the environmental dilemmas we face.
Whether you are just taking an online FE exam prep course to start your climb up the engineering career ladder, or you are aiming to hire the most talented individuals for your engineering firm, you can make a difference by pursuing and promoting an agenda in which sustainability takes center stage. From vertical gardens in urban areas to electric cars and beyond, the feats of engineering that are helping millions of people go green are already impressive, but more engineers are needed to push this even further.
Adaptability is important
Engineers are not just able to help us overcome the challenges that we already know about, but also to face up to whatever conundrums might be lurking unseen just around the next corner.
The pandemic has proven a perfect example of how systems and solutions dreamt up and implemented with the help of engineers have been able to assist millions of people to remain professionally productive as well as remotely connected with friends and family, even in the most complex and volatile of circumstances.
From local dilemmas to international incidents, engineers can be the armor that deflects the worst of the disaster and allows everyone to adapt as efficiently and quickly as possible. This is why when there are shortages of engineers, this should be seen as a concern for wider society.
Diversity delivers more innovation
Building up the next generation of engineering talent is not just about pursuing the same old tropes and slotting in those who might traditionally have been expected to enter this field, but also about bringing in people with fresh perspectives and from different backgrounds so that innovation can continue to flourish in this discipline.
In particular it is recognized that there needs to be more done not only to encourage women to study engineering, but to stick around in the field rather than heading elsewhere.
It is only through diversity that engineering can evolve, and this is perhaps the main reason that more engineers are needed.