Engineer
Becoming an engineer is one of the most potentially lucrative, and rewarding, careers in existence. The field has almost unlimited possibilities, from designing bridges and highways to working on the space program. It is a foundational skill and trade of modern civilization and one of the most impressive human abilities to be found. Not everyone is up to the task, however, and being an engineer requires not only natural talent but also the ability to understand very complex information and to apply that information in creative ways.
An engineer generally begins their journey into the field when they discover an aptitude for science and math, a love of building and a desire to find creative solutions to complex problems. Those children who spend their time building impossibly complex houses of cards, taking apart and reassembling every appliance in their path and who delight in lessons that make most children groan, such as story problems, are often well suited to a career in engineering. It is not so much the ability to fix and understand that defines the best engineers but their almost universal love of the complex process that precedes their accomplishments.
An engineer can find work almost anywhere. The foundational skills are generally specialized through further education or on the job training. The basic knowledge of structures, process, mathematics and so forth can be provided with a bachelor's degree. Most working engineers have a higher degree under their belt and quite a few even have PhDs.
Engineers, once they find their specialization, oftentimes pursue a career that follows an interest that developed in childhood. For instance, there is no shortage of science fiction fans among the engineers at NASA. Likewise, many highway and bridge engineers have been entranced by those structures since they were children. Those who engineer skyscrapers may have developed an interest while walking among them as a young person or as the symbol of a dream of achieving greatness in a far-off city.
Engineering is a wide-open field. Men and women who work in the field typically enjoy a great deal of respect, very healthy incomes and constant demand for their services. With a bit of luck and a lot of hard study, they can find themselves involved in projects that change the faces of cities, highways and even the world. Almost any complex endeavor requires their expertise and many of humanity's greatest accomplishments owe their success to engineers.
