Characteristics of a Good Engineer

Engineering is a really noble profession, the chair that you are sitting on, the car that you drive, the
house you live in, all have had engineers involved, one way or the other. What would we be without
them!

Engineering is a long journey, with the 4 years of bachelors degree/college education being the hardest.
These four years are filled with deadlines, stress, adrenaline, sarcasm and caffeine (never forget the
caffeine). Diamonds and charcoal are made from the same stuff, carbon, engineers are normal people,
like anyone else, but the process of making diamonds and engineers has one thing in common ; both
involves a lot of pressure and take time, and both end up giving valuable products.

An engineer’s actions can influence lives of thousands of people for better, or for worse. Some
character traits are necessary to be a good engineer (and a responsible member of society).

A strong sense of ethics is the most important thing, an engineer has to have great professionalism,
responsibility. There will definitely be times, where there is a conflict of interest and the engineer has to
make all kinds of sacrifice.

Organizations place great trust and responsibility on an engineer’s shoulders, millions of dollars from
various investors is on the line, a strong and determined personality is the need, a person who just
doesn’t give up, when there is no sunshine. Rather an engineer should be someone, who takes hard
times as a challenge

Would you go to a doctor, who has not been in practice or engaged in studies for very long?

The same thing applies to engineers, they need to constantly keep themselves up to date, so that they
can use the latest techniques and technology, to save energy, saves lives and save time.

Lastly, an engineer is a person, who often gets into leadership positions, He needs to know how to take
care of human beings, the workers on his team. He should know how to keep them happy, when and
how much breaks to give and to ensure that they have safe working conditions.

The gist is, an engineer is a person of integrity, resilience, empathy and a person who has guts.