Engineering Firms Can be a Drag

I had the great privilege of taking in a 45 minute long keynote speech by Canadian astronaut, Dr. Robert Thirsk, at a teacher's workshop last month.  The speech was about inspiring students to pursue the sciences, and also included an inside look at the incredible career that Dr. Thirsk has enjoyed.  To be clear, the overall message was not "Inspire young students in science and math and they will all become astronauts."  While the presentation did include awe-inspiring visuals of Dr. Thirsk floating in low Earth orbit, the take home message was grounded in reality: science is interesting and can lead to a wide spectrum of promising careers.

But, let's be honest.  No engineering career stacks up against what Dr. Thirsk and his handful of colleagues do. Not more than two years ago, the man at the microphone took part in forty unique science experiments over a six month period aboard the International Space Station.  He ate space food and exercised on specialized zero-g cardiovascular machines for two hours per day (to minimize bone density loss).  For every engineer that can boast about a work experience as rich as this, there are literally thousands who spend their days deciding whether to use three bolts or four bolts to connect parts at interfacing flanges.

What, in the first place, draws engineers to pursue a career in engineering?  Usually, possessing strong math skills and having a comfortable understanding of physics can sway a young student towards the direction of engineering.  However, the desire to work on ground-breaking projects - the first lunar mission, the first nuclear reactor - this is what budding engineers envision for themselves.  Engineers want to have a hand in shaping the technological landscape of the future.  The sad reality is that only so many hands have the opportunity to take part in such shaping.