Engineering Your Future: Comprehensive Introduction to Engineering

by William C. Oakes, Les L. Leone, Craig J. Gunn

Engineering--a field that is both academically rigorous and creatively demanding. Faced with endless career opportunities, today's students matriculate without a clear idea about the study and practice of engineering. Fortunately, there is Engineering Your Future: A Comprehensive Introduction to Engineering, Seventh Edition, an authoritative guide to the academic expectations and professional opportunities that help direct students down the path to a rewarding career in the engineering field.
Features
* Introduces students to the broad spectrum of engineering disciplines, with up-to-date data on degrees granted, employment opportunities, and salaries
* Highlights the ethical responsibilities of engineers
* Focuses on developing all-important problem-solving and communication skills that are critical to success both in the classroom and in the working world
* Offers guidance both for leading teams and, just as importantly, being an effective member of a team
* Introduces a design methodology that can be used immediately and in subsequent design courses
* Provides a handy review in units and conversions, mathematics, and engineering fundamentals
* The exceptionally broad coverage provides instructors unparalleled flexibility in using the Engineering Your Future in any type of introductory course
New to this Edition
* Updated Computer Tools chapter covers computer use from the history of the internet through advanced engineering packages, including spreadsheets, mathematical programs, social media, and communicating via email
* Effective coverage of teamwork for engineering classes shows students how a diversity of skills is essential to their future careers
* Updated green and bioengineering information address current issues including sustainability and advancing human health
* Fresh new profiles of contemporary engineers and their current research give students an insider's glimpse into what fields they may be most suited for
* Up-to-date statistics for the job market provide critical data to help inform students' career decisions
* Timely financial aid information covers student loans, financial assistance, grants, and avoiding scams
Instructor's Resources
Oakes EYF Comprehensive IRCD (9780199798513)
Instructor's CD contains PowerPoint-based lectures and computerized test bank

Genres: Textbooks

594 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Brandon T. · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Engineering Your Future” introduces students to the field of engineering using a holistic approach. Perhaps too holistic.

There are the kinds of sections you would expect to see, describing some of the fields of engineering or explaining some of the common mathematical and computer tools used by professionals. The book also spends a great deal of time going over the more esoteric issues that confront engineers: teamwork fundamentals or formats for writing technical reports.

Then there are some chapters that seem to have little to do with engineering at all. There's a chapter on securing financial aid, and a section called “Orienting Yourself to Your Campus.” There are, no doubt, some useful tips for students (of any major) in these pages, but nothing you can't find for free on your campus website. All the extra material makes you wonder if the authors were really just trying to find a way to charge more for the book.

“Engineering Your Future” shifts wildly in quality from chapter to chapter. Some are organized in a clear and concise manner. Others are rife with grammatical errors or lack any conceptual thread to guide one through the sections.

A few sections are particularly problematic. Chapter Seven (“Succeeding in the Classroom”) is full of bad science. It perpetuates the myth of “learning styles” (i.e., auditory, visual, kinesthetic) for which there is little evidence to support. It suggests students characterize themselves according to Hermann's Brain Dominance Instrument to identify their thinking styles, another tool that has been panned by communication researchers. The most recent review in the highly respected "Mental Measurements Yearbook/Tests in Print" was written by Gabriele van Lingen, Professor of Educational Studies, Leadership and Counseling at Murray State University in KY. She concluded that “despite decades of research, there is only minimal credible evidence that the HBDI results in scores that are temporally stable and that the scores relate to meaningful nontest behavior.”

Though there are sections of the book that are worth reading, “Engineering Your Future” could better accomplish its task if the authors narrowed their focus and revised the most important chapters for grammar and style.

[Jashanjit Singh]

doiwrfnir epfjwep epfief eonvpeo