Why I want to be a professional engineer
To people across all walks of society, the term engineer will produce many different images and ideas. To some, engineering is purely about math and physics... Forces acting on things, building bridges, designing processes, making things. Now, as I apply to university with the goal of becoming an engineer, I know that it's much more than that; engineering is the application of science and math to better industry and society, a job title I would be proud to call mine.
My journey to this point has been unwavering. While I didn't know the exact job I wanted to do, I knew what I wanted it to be about. I have a definite passion for all things science and math related, fostered at a young age, which has certainly influenced my aspirations. My favourite subjects at school are primarily physics, calculus and chemistry, with biology and history following closely behind. I am a motivated and hard worker, and the fact that the listed subjects I love are all the subjects I take at school should not be dismissed as an overly optimistic assessment of my interests; I love my education and I love learning in general. Everything about science interests me, but physics above all else. The myth that I had heard until last year, of calculus simply being math for the sake of math, couldn't be further from the truth; every concept I have faced in calculus has an application in real life. Whether it's for modelling airflow over the surface of a wing, or the rate of ozone decomposition across the atmosphere, calculus fascinates me. Physics, too, proved to be more practical than I had been lead to believe. While highly theoretical, the understanding of the microscopic and concepts behind everyday things I took for granted were exciting to learn, and even more exciting to think about applying to real life.
I took part in Future Problem Solving for three years, up to a national finals level, and the process appealed to every part of me. I loved being able to think of new ways to solve problems, such as water pollution in the river deltas of Eastern Europe, and this year took part in the University of Auckland's Next Top Engineering Student competition, which focused on mathematical modelling of the Red Bull Stratos mission. I loved working with likeminded individuals, and getting to put to use the knowledge and concepts thirteen years of schooling has given me. The prospect of at least four more years of formal education in the areas I love, and a lifetime after for further pursuits, excites me to the point of frustration - I want to get started, and develop these skills further, to put them to good use!
It was at the University of Auckland Open Day in 2011 that I realised the term for what I was wanting to become. I attended the mathematics degree lectures, and the science degree lectures, and was disappointed to find that all the application I had seen in the sciences was not to be had in these courses. I then went to mechanical engineering, and was immediately hooked. Engineering not only utilised all the sciences and math, but was specifically about applying them to real life. The speaker opened up with the line that "Engineering is about making a difference; engineering is, foremost, about problem solving." If what I could undertake could not only be exciting and fun for me, but useful for others, how could I not pursue it? I attended the other specialisations talks, but remain convinced that mechanical engineering is where I wish to study... For it so brilliantly relates to my other passion, aviation.
I was a member of Scouting New Zealand from the age of five to seventeen, and it was here that I was introduced to aviation. I took my first flight in a light Cessna at the age of ten at an Aviation camp in Te Awamutu, and the second at twelve at a scout camp in Fielding. From the second I first saw the plane up and close, I was hooked... The sensation of flight was incredible, but soaring above the ground in a moulded shell of metal was equally amazing. My interest of aviation boomed in my early teens, reading heavily about not only flying, but the mechanics of flight. As my flying passion continued, I applied and was selected to attend the Walsh Memorial Flying School, held in the summer holidays near Matamata. It was here that in January of 2012, I started my flight training formally, and on the 20th of the same month I soloed for the first time. I left the school with a scholarship to continue my flight training, as the recipient of the schools top student prize, and since then have been a member of the Whenuapai Aviation Sports Club. I have become involved in the maintenance of the aircraft, participating in required 50-hour checks, and have flown a total of 26 hours, including over six solo. I intend on returning to the school in January 2013, to continue flying and as a leader of new students.
My love of flying extends far beyond the cockpit, but to the way the aircraft flies. To be able to rise above the ground in a precisely shaped piece of aluminium with a spinning blade attached fascinates me, and the amount of work and physics governing the processes will never cease to amaze me. My goal is, in the long term, to become an aeronautical engineer. Aviation and aerospace is a massive global industry, and the possibilities are endless. Developing propulsion and airframe technology, optimising and innovating current technology or leading the wave of advancements that are just waiting to happen, I know with all my heart that this is the industry I want to be in.
To me, the idea of being an engineer is not simply a way of financially supporting myself, but a way of life. Engineering broadens the horizons of humanity and society, bringing theoretical concepts and complex math into physical, practical and tangible technology. Engineering increases the efficiency of industry, the safety of our day to day lives, and most importantly solves problems. Engineering is the way forward in any industry. I do not care about the money associated with being an engineer, or the prestige the title may bring; I simply want to do what I love, and use the knowledge and skills I possess to benefit others and society as whole, and engineering is the career I see myself best being able to achieve these goals.