What does an engineer really do on a day to day basis?

Hello there!

It depends on what industry and group you work on.  I'll take few example of entry level engineers do in the department I'm in.  Engineers out of college are given software development task to address a business problem. They are required to learn and use different kind of programming languages, manage their code in structured manner, do validation with data set to ensure its producing expected result based in certain input.

Some time an engineer will require to apply certain algorithm on a given data set to understand the behavior/pattern and create predictive models. That may use  simple software like Microsoft excel or complex machine learning software like tensor flow.

 In another situation engineer is required to understand  and simulate 3-Dimentional model of different objects and how a particular type of radio signal will travel through those requiring knowledge of physics and geometry as well as programming skills.

There are teams where engineer develop apps and design screens for web application.. every group is different and they have different business need and the need changes over time..

 If you want specific  on a particular line of engineering,  you may want to note that in your question so that it can be answered better. 

What is nice about project engineering is that not only do the project change, but your day will change depending on your experience level. Here is what engineers did when they worked in my group supplying engineering for a large chemical company.

As a less experienced engineer you will work with other engineers in coming up with solutions in design, equipment selection, improving schedules, checking on progress and vendors.

As you become more experienced you will lead groups to solve design problems, make initial design proposals to give to other engineers to develop, make presentations, interview and select vendors/engineering companies to assist. They also manage a small team , develop and manage project budgets and schedules.

As a Project Manager you will manage the overall manpower, scheduling and prioritizing of projects. As a Regional or Department manager you will visited teams and regions to check on their work. You will work with the clients on helping determine solutions and budget for their projects. For me personally, I also developed company level policies and procedures that related to engineering and project management. I also made preliminary project proposals ( +/- 30%) which included scope, schedules and cost layout drawings for larger projects to see if the projects could be justified.

It's a great carrier. Many companies have different ways of delivering engineering, so I would check when interviewing how the group is set up and see how assignments are assigned. Good luck.

Hey Matthew,

Great question! And the answer surely depends on your task at the time. If it's applied research, for example, you'll be trying to achieve results that may have never been seen before from a process or system. So you'll be setting up experiments, taking measurements, documenting results until you get to your desired goal(s). If you're a system/platform designer, you'll be coding, writing requirements or white-boarding solutions. Also, you would be working with product teams to launch your solution. Finally, the higher level engineering work is that of a project/program manager. You get a great perspective once you've experienced the other two examples and this will allow you to set goals and oversee the delivery of an entire project. This project could employ the resources of many engineering disciplines...not just your own.

Again, great question (that really takes a few chapters to answer). But hopefully this shed a bit more light on the answer you seek. One of the bottom-line things to my examples is that you will have to be able to communicate with folks to understand their contribution and for them to understand yours.