Why I want to be an Engineer

There have been different reasons at different stages of my life why I developed a passion for the engineering profession. It started from a youthful age watching my father, who was a mechanical engineer and wanting to emulate him when I got to adulthood. I liked the way he talked about his occupation with great excitement. He tended to travel a lot but also had time to spend with his family. I was impressed with his knowledge of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. He was always helping my older brother with his calculus assignments even though he had been through school for a long time. The engineering profession afforded my father with the resources to provide for his family and to do some philanthropic work as well. There was always something technological being discussed with his friends. In my early years when I wanted to be an engineer, it was always because I just wanted to be like my father, not until I got into school. When I started school, I realized I was very interested in mathematics and the sciences. The tougher the subject, the greater satisfaction I had at the end of the term when I succeeded. I loved working in the science labs and learning how science works. I always wanted to challenge myself with an occupation that will keep me on my toes, so engineering being my first love was an obvious choice. I liked reading about the great inventors and scientists of our time like Sir Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison, The Wright Brothers, Benjamin Franklin et al. I started to really acknowledge basic products and means of production around me, marveling at the process at which they were invented. I was always encouraged by my teachers and parents to learn as much as I can and to yearn to be great. As I grew into adulthood, I began to flirt with the law profession. Each time, I caught myself observing problems facing society and thinking of common sense solutions to remedy them. Sometimes they were medical problems, mechanical problems, civil problems and computer problems. I learnt that engineering is the process of constructing solutions to different ills that are plaguing society. These problems sometimes are minor or major. Engineers are the pioneers and inventors of our society. As I started employment, I tried to implement engineering principles to minor problems that arise either through dispatching my ideas to the maintenance professionals or trying to fix it myself if small enough. I never accept the status quo in any production process. I always try to come up with ideas to fine tune the process, making the job easier and more efficient. I read the process manuals for different jobs and come up with suggestions to management to improve the work process. Sometimes I am successful, other times I am not. When my suggestions are not adopted, it does not deter me. It makes me more determined to come up with better ideas which cannot be ignored. Over the past five years, I have been very interested in how to implement my engineering principles in our economy and the greater world at large. How do I make my mark in the world by improving the lives of people in society at large? What should I take up as my cause celeb? I have been reading about the subject of global warming/climate change. I have been studying the causes of climate change and the role that carbon based petroleum products play in the process. Being originally from a major oil producing country, I have seen the effects of poor drilling methods such as oil spills, the contamination of the water supply for small communities, the destabilization of the ecological balance such as the dying of fishes when there is oil spillage in the rivers or lakes that small communities depend on for their food. I realize that a lot of improvements have been made in the process such as fracking used in the extraction of natural gas but I think it can always be better. Any preventable accidents which affect our society in a negative way has to be terminated. I want to have the knowledge to help in that process. There is also the issue of the dwindling supply of oil reserves in some countries. What will be the source of energy whenever that happens? What as a society are we doing to come up with other sources of energy that are not oil or carbon based? Are we working hard to improve our ability to convert solar, wind and thermal energy to the energy society can depend on? Are we coming up with better ideas of refitting our production engines to facilitate the use of these energy sources? These are the burning question I pose to myself as I get excited and determined to attain my engineering degree. I am excited to be in the fore front of any engineering idea or innovation to help provide solutions for these problems that will nag our society for years to come. I believe one of the greatest societal problems for the future will be how to provide energy for an ever increasing world population and expanding economies worldwide. For this reason, at this time, I have set my mind on acquiring a petroleum engineering degree as a major and minoring in chemical engineering to play my little part in solving the problems.