As young engineers we are all asked the same question in interviews: “Why do you want to be an engineer?” At first all I could think of were the standard cliche answers: “I always like math and science…I like building stuff…it seemed like a logical choice.” I knew then, and am even more sure now that my peers’ answers to the effect of “I always helped my dad work on the car,” etc. were equally not the answer.
Eventually, it dawned on me that my answer has always been there. It was never a question of “want;” I was born an engineer. I am a hacker, a problem solver, a maker. When I was young I always explored how things worked. Once I could get my hands on tools, I was fixing things. When I ran out of things to fix, they started conveniently “breaking” so I could repair them. This is what it means to be an engineer.
Engineers are tool-users. Our mindset drives us to continually increase our skill-set, our “Tool Box,” if you will. Because just like you never know when you’ll need this DMM, those Verniers, or that spoke-shave, who knows when it will come in handy that you can work leather, wood, or metal? Why wouldn’t I want to know how to fix my car, house, or bicycle?
Some people worry at being a jack-of-all-trades. I call it an asset. After only 27 years in this world I am the first person in so many phone books when something goes wrong. I can hardly count the number of times I’ve said “yes” to “Aaron can you help/teach/do [X]?” Far fewer are my answers of “no.”
I mean, who of us hasn’t upgraded repaired something, using only tools and materials in their bedroom, just to impress a girl?