The Importance of Engineers- Prompt 9

By: Nash Roberts

      Sometimes engineers are under appreciated so it is nice to find a news article every once in a while that outlines why engineers are important to society. In the news report that will be talked about in this post describes how a shortage of engineers in the military could threaten the security of the U.S. 

                           

      I have some personal experience with the military and the path one must take to becoming an engineer so trust me when I say its hell. Maybe if the government made it easier to serve the country I love I would be in the air force fixing planes right now. Over the summer i had a friend who is now in the air force and he got me hooked, I took the testing and met all the requirements but it is such a big commitment that i was not ready to make. Also there is basic training where the drill Sargents break people down to build them up again, something I was not willing to do because it was unnecessary for my job. So alas I picked MSU and have to looked back since.
      So if we're talking hypothetically as engineer in the military I would be working on billion dollar project that could defend the country from things like terrorism which is enough incentive to me but not for top engineers apparently "The military projects, experts say, take too long to entice some of the top engineers"(Koebler, Paragraph 7) this is a shame because if these engineers were able to put their brain power together they could finish the longer projects in years instead of decades.
      Another reason for this shortage is budget cuts, with the government paying less than the private sector, a lot less, it only makes sense to work in a less stressful environment whilst making more money. so now the government has started to outsource these jobs to find more willing engineers in other countries which is baffling to me because I thought we lived in a more nationalistic society.
      As a civil engineer I will more than likely start off working for the government as they are the largest employer of civil engineers. The pay will be shitty but the benefits and sense of accomplishment should make up for it.
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Citations

• Koebler, Jason. "Report: Military Engineer Shortage Could Threaten Security."Www.usnews.com. US News, Mar.-Apr. 2012. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2017.