What Engineers Do

Subject Librarian: Fred O'Bryant

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This bibliography consists of references to books and other sources of information that explain what the typical job duties of various kinds of engineers include, as well as other kinds of related information about engineering and science. The titles are arranged by subject disciplines. Titles in each group are in alphabetical order. A brief description of each title is also included, if needed to clarify the nature and scope of the source. It is intended as a guide for staff and students to assist them in answering the question "What does a [SPECIFIC TYPE] of engineer do?"

All materials listed here are located in the Brown Science and Engineering Library in Clark Hall unless otherwise noted.

General Sources

Students should especially take note of the Engineering Career Info collection available at the Brown SEL Information Desk, as well as the sources listed below.

American Society for Engineering Education
A premier site for engineering educators. The site includes Engineering: Your Future which is intended as a pre-college resource but which includes a variety of information about engineering careers.

CPST Comments (TA157.S4)
Information about the employment outlook for various scientific and engineering fields.

Career Find-O-Rama
A searchable database that offers "snapshots" of various careers and other data useful for learning about various kinds of work and job opportunities.

Career Planning Center for Beginning Scientists and Engineers
The Career Planning Center (CPC) for Beginning Scientists and Engineers is the "one-stop shopping" location for job openings and the guidance and information needed to make decisions about education and career choices.

Careers in engineering (Ald Gov Docs EP 1.2:C 18/7) U.S. EPA, 1992.

Careers in Engineering (REF TA157.G37 1993) VGM Career Horizons, 1993.
Presents a brief history of engineering and explores the major engineering areas and specialties. Separate chapters on women and minorities in engineering.

Careers in Science and Engineering - a Student Planning Guide to Grad School and Beyond (REF TA157.C284 1996) National Academy of Science, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, 1996.
Focuses on career planning, particularly in non-academic settings, but also presents profiles of scientists and engineers to illustrate a variety of career paths.

Discover Engineering Online
"Engineering has been called the invisible profession or the stealth profession because most people have no clue what engineers do." This website, provided by the National Engineers Week and Discover Engineering team, is a Website dedicated to showing just what engineers do.

Engineering as a Career, 4th Ed. (TA157.S6 1983) McGraw-Hill, 1983.
Chapters 5 and 6 deal with the branches and functions of engineering.

Engineering: Your Future
This site is a guide for those interested in engineering and engineering technology careers. By exploring these pages, you can learn about the different engineering and engineering technology fields, interesting people who got their start as engineers, what engineers actually do, and how to get (and pay for) an engineering education. From the ASEE.

Engineers: a Quarterly Bulletin on Careers in the Profession (TA157.E64)
Covers trends in national and international employment, compensation and benefits, enrollments and degrees, inclusion of women and minorities, and other topics.

Graduating Engineer and Computer Careers (TA157.G7122 - Current Issues on Current Periodicals Shelves) Peterson's Magazine Group.
A magazine which examines issues and roles facing graduates in the engineering and computer fields.

Guide to Engineering
A guide to the various fields of engineering prepared by the Tau Beta Pi engineering society chapter at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Introduction to the Engineering Profession, 2nd Ed. (REF TA157.B87 1995) HarperCollins College Publishers, 1995.
Includes brief descriptions of various engineering fields along with tips for developing the survival skills needed to master them.

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Engineering (Ref TA9.M36 1993) McGraw-Hill, 1992.
Contains brief explanations of all the major types of engineering, as well as the sub-disciplines contained in each.

The Marshall Cavendish Guide to Careers in Science (Ref Q123.H732 1987) Marshall Cavendish, 1987.
Contains information on the history, work, qualifications, employment, and famous persons associated with all branches of science and engineering.

National Society of Professional Engineers Student Page
The NSPE Student page had been developed to help high school and college students learn about engineering, particularly about becoming a professional engineer. NSPE promotes the development of professional engineers in the United States and represents all engineering disciplines.

Occupational Outlook Handbook
Official publication of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Also available in hardcopy in the Government Documents section of Alderman Library.

On Becoming an Engineer - a Guide to Career Paths (REF TA157.I753 1997) IEEE Press, 1997.
Offers chapters on engineering careers and career profiles along with information useful for pursuing a successful academic program in engineering.

Professional Careers Sourcebook (Info Desk HF5382.5.U5P76 1996) Gale Reseaerch, Inc., 1996.
Identifies a broad spectrum of resources used to explore professional career opportunities. Shows where to find information about specific careers.

Vision Engineer
An Internet reference website aimed at helping students who wish to discover more about the profession. Targeted primarily at university students, Vision Engineer contains a diverse database of engineering related articles. These articles are intended to stimulate an interest in engineering by illustrating its many interesting and dynamic applications.

What Can I Do with This Major?
A convenient website that helps you connect majors with careers. For each major that interests you, choose "Information" to find an outline of common career areas, typical employers, and strategies designed to maximize career opportunities. Choose "Links" to find a list of websites that provide information about listed majors and related careers.

Aerospace Engineering

Young Professionals' Aerospace Career Handbook (TL561.Y68 1994) American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1994.

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Agricultural Engineering

American Society of Agricultural Engineers

Applied Mathematics

SIAM Student Web Page — Career Information

Biomedical Engineering

Biomedical Engineering Society

Biomedical Engineering Society Bulletin

Biomedical Engineering Society Career Guide

Designing a Career in Biomedical Engineering

Institute of Biological Engineering

NIH National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering

Tissue Engineering Pages

What Biomedical Engineering Is

Whitaker Foundation

Chemical Engineering

American Institute of Chemical Engineers

What Do Chemical Engineers Do?

What Is a Chemical Engineer?

Civil Engineering

American Society of Civil Engineers

ASCE Career Information Pages

Civil engineering careers : a user's guide for awareness, retention, and curriculum programs. By J.M. Mason and L.M. Kostival. Washington, DC : National Academy Press, 1994. (TE7.N25 No.347 Pt.2)