Job Functions

The other important factor in deciding on which position to pursue is the job function. Are you constantly thinking of improvements for existing products, or feel your creative juices flowing when you are designing a new item or component? Do you enjoy conducting experiments? Developing solutions? Making process improvements? Think about the sorts of tasks and challenges that excite you. After all, you'll be spending a considerable amount of time and effort on your job so it should be something you feel passionately about.

Focusing not on a change of industry but on a change of job function is also a good way to set your career off in a new direction. Maybe you're a sporting goods equipment design engineer who wants to move into packaging. You've got the experience with the designs and materials that the packaging is intended to protect and market. With your in-depth knowledge of the product and its attributes, you can bring a great deal of insight to the packaging and presentation of those products in the marketplace. Even if your direct experience is in a different engineering discipline, your industry experience can be leveraged to great effect to help you make that change.

Engineers play an important role across the entire spectrum of industry operations. Below are some examples to give you an idea of the types of engineering job functions available in a wide variety of fields.

Design engineers create the ideas and innovations that lead to the new and improved products and systems. They develop concepts and then generate the detailed plans and specifications used to build first the prototype, and finally the end product.

Manufacturing engineers develop the processes that ensure that the final product meets the design and consumer requirements consistently, efficiently, on time, and on budget. Manufacturing is an enormous sector in the world economy and if you stop and think of all the things around you that require manufacturing - cars, shoes, 3-ring-binders, oil pipelines, hypodermic needles, cell phones - you'll get an idea of how in demand an engineer in this discipline is.

The manufacturing engineer will assess the feasibility, costs and logistics involved in bringing the idea to life. The manufacturing engineering will:

• Find the best sources for materials - the metals, plastics, ceramics, etc.
• Decide how and where to assemble the components and manufacture the final product.
• Establish which systems and tools - including industrial robots and factory automation - are the most appropriate. If the systems do not exist, they must design and build the tools they need.
  

Industrial engineers will often be found working together with manufacturing engineers but industrial engineers can be found working in many fields that have no manufacturing element at all such as healthcare, the media, banking and financial operations. Industrial engineers work to eliminate wasted time, money, labor, energy, and materials, making processes more efficient. This makes them a valuable asset to any company looking to compete effectively and profitably. Some of their tasks include:

• Analyzing, evaluating, and suggesting improvements of production methods.
• Developing recommendations for allocation of labor and resources.
• Designing plans to shorten supply chains, and streamline reporting procedures.

Quality assurance and testing engineers are responsible for ensuring that the final product meets the highest standards of safety and quality, as mandated both by the company and by industry standards. They examine everything from the raw materials to final assembly.

The potential paths for engineers just starting out or looking to change career direction are numerous. Even after you've settled on which engineering function you wish to pursue, you'll find the variety of choices as far as industry, location, and potential just as broad. Our Industry Series can tell you more about what role engineers play in some specific industries. Using the research and resources provided here, you will discover that engineering also lies at the center of many, many more fields.