Requirement 4 of 9

Visit with an Engineer

Meet with an engineer, learn about their work and project tools, review reports, and discuss what you learned with your counselor.

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Checklist

Engineer interview setup

Ask about the engineer's daily work, responsibilities, and the tools they use.

Questions to ask

  • What kinds of problems do you solve?
  • What tools, software, measuring devices, or documents do you use most often?
  • What does a normal day look like?

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Current project discussion

Learn about a current project and the engineer's role on the team.

What to learn

  • What the project is trying to achieve.
  • What part of the project the engineer is responsible for.
  • What challenges or tradeoffs the project team is working through.

Current project discussion locked

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How engineering work gets done

Ask how the work is planned, tested, reviewed, and turned into results.

Process ideas

  • Research and planning.
  • Design drawings or models.
  • Testing, revisions, and approvals.
  • Documentation and communication with clients or teammates.

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Engineering reports

If possible, ask to see reports or documents connected to the project.

Possible documents

  • Progress reports, design summaries, lab results, inspection notes, safety documents, or technical drawings.
  • Notice how engineers use writing to explain problems, evidence, decisions, and recommendations.

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Reflect on the visit

Discuss with your counselor what you learned from meeting an engineer.

Reflection ideas

  • What surprised you about the job.
  • What tools or skills seemed most important.
  • Whether the work sounded interesting to you and why.

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