Engineering is a wide spectrum of industries which center around the creation of solutions to common problems. Within this there are engineers all over the world who are inventors of some remarkable products and installations. Douglas A. Grady is a man who works with these inventors, ensuring that these men and women own the intellectual property rights to their inventions, basically meaning that they get the credit for the invention, and any profit which is made as a result. There are many people who have a creative mind who would love to get into engineering, so I spoke to Douglas about what these people can do, in order to really get started in the world of engineering.
Education
First a quick note on the education required to be an engineer. You will need to do very well in the sciences and mathematics at high school level, and this is the same regardless of what branch of engineering you wish to go into, there are just over 40 branches. Once you have completed your high school studies you should select a college which offers your specialization in terms which branch you are looking into, and from there you need to get the best grades possible in order to gain a job.
Early Days
Once you have decided that you want to start getting into engineering, it makes sense to start on some projects which involve basic levels of engineering. For example if you wish to become a computer engineer, you could set about designing some software which can solve a problem. If aerospace is your thing then start looking into the development of rockets and propulsion. Alternately if you are looking at being civil engineer, look at some of the problems affecting urban environments and try to put together a solution. These small projects will help you to better learn and understand more about the field of engineering which you are looking into.
Internships
As early as you are able to, you should start applying for internships within the engineering world. An internship is a perfect opportunity for you to start to learn the ropes about what life is like as an engineer. There are many internships available which you can find, the key is to be persistent and continuously apply to as many as you can find. Once you get yourself an internship, it will be up to you to suck all of the knowledge and experience out of it that you can. Because engineering is a creative industry, there is only so much you can learn from a book and an internship gives you the chance to get real life, hands-on experience which is invaluable.
Continue with projects on the side, even during your education as you never know, you may very well invent something world changing, and need to speak to Douglas about where you stand with intellectual property rights!