What are some must-have skills for an engineering student?

[Donello]

Engineering Programs differ from school to school and from country to country.

What are some skills every engineering student must have? More specifically, Electrical Engineering students.

And what are some things I can do during my studies to boost my profile as a fresh engineering graduate.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Are you in the US? Then more than anything else you want an ABET accredited program. They will ensure that you have an agreed-upon set of skills.

 

[gmax137]

I think one of the most important skills is being able to look at a value you just calculated and recognize "that just can't be right." Everyone makes mistakes, even if it is just punching the wrong number into your calculator. Spotting the mistakes and fixing them before they cascade too far is a valuable skill.

 

[symbolipoint]

Engineering Programs differ from school to school and from country to country.

What are some skills every engineering student must have? More specifically, Electrical Engineering students.

And what are some things I can do during my studies to boost my profile as a fresh engineering graduate.

Donello's question means something that other forum members are about to miss.
The question is not about courses to be prepared; it is a question of what does someone already know how to do. What skills does someone already have. What experiences, does someone have/have done? What did he build, or construct, or learn how to do, OUTSIDE of any class or course? What tools did someone learn to use? What kinds of repairs has he done? What equipment was he trained to operate? Has he ever disassembled any equipment or devices to see what is inside or to figure out how it works?

 

[Donello]

Donello's question means something that other forum members are about to miss.
The question is not about courses to be prepared; it is a question of what does someone already know how to do. What skills does someone already have. What experiences, does someone have/have done? What did he build, or construct, or learn how to do, OUTSIDE of any class or course? What tools did someone learn to use? What kinds of repairs has he done? What equipment was he trained to operate? Has he ever disassembled any equipment or devices to see what is inside or to figure out how it works?

Exactly, do you know any credible answer to this ?

 

[Boolean Boogey]

I want to know this as well. I have extensive hands on experience but very minimal design experience. Will this help me when I have an engineering degree?

 

[symbolipoint]

I want to know this as well. I have extensive hands on experience but very minimal design experience. Will this help me when I have an engineering degree?

YES.

 

[symbolipoint]

Exactly, do you know any credible answer to this ?

I barely have any credible answer to it, if you are placing that question back to me. What I say still makes sense. Does the world want engineers with no previous practical experiences? I believe not. More knowledgeable members may be able to answer instead.

Once, someone showed me how to use a fairly crude spectrograph and perform some tasks related to its use. Some of this was photographic film processing. I had a few years before, been directly taught how to process black&white film, so training me to do this again was a very smooth process for me and for the person who essentially retrained me. This is just a single example.
Maybe not an engineer, but there was a famous computer scientist who at one time took-apart an A.M. radio because she wanted to know what was inside and maybe to figure out how it worked. This seems to be something that a person might want to try if they were the type of person who might want to become a scientist or engineer.

 

[Student100]

It's rarely mentioned, but some skills for a great engineer to have are business sense and good communication skills. Being savvy in business will help you determine not only "can I design this?", but "is it economically viable to design this?" Further, as you advance in your career it's likely you'll end up in more leadership and project management roles. Viable communication abilities also come into play; can you accurately convey your ideas to the higher ups? Can you convince consumers to go with your product rather than the competitors?

This isn't always taught in school, but is something every great engineer becomes proficient at - at one point or another.

 

[PhotonSSBM]

I asked this question to my uncle who's an electrical engineer in upper management at a power company in the US and all he said was, "If you can't network, you can't find a job."

 

[MidgetDwarf]

I think imagination, or atleast one my professors told me. He said it separated the average engineer from the great.