I wonder a lot about my fellow engineers. I often wonder how so many people can be so book smart but completely clueless when it comes to reality. I had to vent about this complete bafflement because every time I drive through a certain interchange around here, I can't comprehend it.
I can only imagine the conversation in the office:
Engineer 1: Hey, let's protect the bridge from people driving into it so the bridge won't fall down if someone hits it.
Engineer 2: Good idea, how about a 6" high concrete curb.
Engineer 3: That's great but we'd better put guardrail in it just in case.
All Engineers while nodding heads in agreement: That's a great idea.
Never mind that there are hundreds of interchanges around the area with concrete medians and no guardrail. Never mind that NW 72nd Street under I-29 is like this and in over 50 years the bridge has never fallen down. Never mind that the speeds on urban streets never approach the level that turns cars into missiles. Never mind that a high speed car hitting a 6" curb will likely go airborne over the guardrail. Never mind that the guardrail is anchored in concrete and not dirt which essentially creates a non-forgiving impact that destroys the car/driver but saves the bridge rather than absorbing the impact.
I encourage anyone in the profession to skip getting a masters in engineering since all that does it make you poorer, the university cartels richer, and just teaches you to solve more math problems.
The engineering profession needs to evolve and start teaching future engineers how to think besides just solving theoretical problems. Engineers need some marketing classes to understand that the end user isn't the infrastructure but people who pay for it.
My advice to anyone in an engineering profession to seek a Master's in Business Administration so that they learn about how to apply engineering. I'll even put a plug in for a local fine Jesuit university as the best place to get one and learn how to think and better the world around them.
Comments