text: You can find all kinds of work environments.  Simulating things on a computer all day.  Testing things in a lab all day.  Conceptual design or detailed design.  Solving problems at the customer's site (Alaska in winter or SoCal at the ocean in summer).  Solving problems in your own company's mfg line.  Helping to sell your products to other companies. Helping define standards that will be used industry-wide.  Testifying in court cases.  Analyzing patent applications.  Supervise other engineers.\n\nTry as many as you can to find out which ones you'd really like to do for a long time...\n\nSome of the cool things you'll do:\n\nSee something you drew up get built.\nGet something you designed to work the way you thought it should.\nGet something you designed to work the way the boss thought it should.\nGet something you designed to work the way the customer thought it should.  (yes, they are all different!)\nGet something that your team designed to work the way the customer thought it should and now they are going to pay your company for it.\nPoint to something and tell your friends that you helped design it.\nHave something you designed get used by someone else and you know it helped them, even if they never heard of you.\nHave other engineers start asking you questions because they know you're the expert -- and you really are.\nCome up with a real cool solution that makes the customer's mouth drop open (because they know "it can't be done") during a design review presentation.\nDocument something well enough that the Production people don't call you.\n\nNot so cool things:\n\nGet laid off along with the rest of your coworkers -- usually just after buying a new car or house.\nSpend a long time at the customer's site during your least favorite season to be there.\nPut in 60 (80? 100?) hours and end up more behind than when you started the week.\nHave your boss take credit for your work.\nHave your boss's boss take credit for your work.\nHave someone you've never heard of in your corporation from another city take credit for your work.\nHave the customer ask your boss WTF when they see your design review presentation.\nSpend weeks answering Production questions while you're trying to get started on your new project.\n\nJust remember, they pay you because it's not always fun -- that's why it's called work!\n\nAlso, remember that engineers don't actually build things -- they create documents that let others build things.  Our outputs are the documents, so you want those to reflect your skills, abilities, and professionalism.  Yes, the products have to work, but they will always be built to the documents you create.  Sometimes it takes a while to "get religion" in this area, but the first time you're 2000 miles from home, using other engineers' documentation, and you aren't leaving until the customer is happy, will be the last time you put less information, instead of more information, in a document.  You'll curse their lack of documentation and resolve that you won't do that with yours (ever again).  If you're really unlucky, one of those poor documents will be yours from 6 months before, so you'll have to reconstruct what you were trying to do while the customer and your boss wonder why since you created it in the first place!  Definitely something to try to avoid if you want to have engineering as a long career.