For computer engineers, Probability, set theory, etc. I never knew I had to use Macros in Microsoft Excel to convert one table format to another and integrate into a company based spreadsheet, but using engineering mathematics and Visual Basic Programming. I felt like a Secondary School student when I received this problem at first!
But to tackle different problems that's when engineering needs to be its best. In my experience the old guys had a way of building things without doing calculations but by making good guesses.
As an engineer i do not feel comfortable making guesses. I need the numbers to back me up. So every chance I get to use math in my job I am happy because I very rarely get the opportunity. Instead I find myself using my degree to give advice and to answer questions. If you have a challenging boss then you are lucky. But hey, when life gives you lemons: if you don't get the opportunity to use math then build your theoretical base in the meantime. I use math every time I design something.
Whether its a tank, pulley or gear-drive, system, a shaft, a pressure vessel or a wall crane. I design right down to the nuts and bolts. I work for and oil company who also have their own machine shop so I consider myself lucky.
There is so much more to learn. It helps us build and hone our problem solving, analytical and critical thinking skills. Now these are skills we definitely use all the time as engineers. So in that way all engineers use math on their jobs, in an indirect way. It allows us to drill down into the heart of problems and see things that others won't.
It allows us to connect the dots and find patterns and sequences that cause or can cause problems. These skills you have as an engineer and you may not even realize it.
Its thanks to math. I hate when people tell you "You will never use this in your job so you don't have to learn it well" or "All you have to do is pass the exam cuz its a one time thing" Those are extremely bad advice to engineers. This branch is called applied mathematics , and if you happen to become an engineer one day, you will find yourself using this kind of mathematics on a daily basis.
Applied mathematics is often used to solve complex practical problems. And it is when used by engineers that this kind of mathematics brings about the most invaluable real world solutions to our problems: How do we make a ton aircraft fly through the sky?
How do we build a bridge that can cross a 1km river? How do we stop skyscrapers from collapsing during an earthquake? As writer James A. Michener said:. Engineers do them. Click here to tweet quote. In truth, all the greatest engineering accomplishments and inventions of the 20 th century were feats of mathematics. But even with this knowledge, you might still be asking:. To ensure motorist safety, automotive engineers have to build brake systems that respond in a desired and predictable way, and they have to be able to build cars that ensure certain safety features and standards.
To do this, engineers have to fine-tune the brake force of a car — the brake force being the amount of force or pressure that is needed to bring something to a complete stop. To work out the brake force of a car, you have to consider all the different mechanical and physical components that come into play.
The calculation to work out brake force would thus look something like this:. And this is why I wrote my article on the subject.
Important to realize, math is the blueprint to the physical world. With new designs, the variables you need may not exist in sold software. Engineering software normally only includes models that are commonly used in everyday designs. In these edge cases, you have the following three options:. Option 1: is a good start. This leads us to option 2. Option 2: is a common approach. As an example, imagine we want to drill into the surface of a faraway planet. Option 3: forget this option. Any great engineer would never quit.
In sh ort, you need a strong math background to implement new ideas. Engineers use a lot of math as you may have expected. You mostly do basic math by hand, but you need to understand high-level math concepts.
This will set you apart from your peers. As many engineers become rusty with their math as they rely too much on computers. All in all though, to become a superstar engineer you need great math skills. No exc eptions! How important do you find math skills in engineering to be? How often do you use math?
Koosha started Engineer Calcs in to help people better understand the engineering and construction industry, and to discuss various science and engineering-related topics to make people think. He has been working in the engineering and tech industry in California for over 15 years now and is a licensed professional electrical engineer, and also has various entrepreneurial pursuits. Koosha has an extensive background in the design and specification of electrical systems with areas of expertise including power generation, transmission, distribution, instrumentation and controls, and water distribution and pumping as well as alternative energy wind, solar, geothermal, and storage.
Koosha is most interested in engineering innovations, the cosmos, our history and future, sports, and fitness. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me by email when the comment gets approved. When do engineers use math? To illustrate, here are some things I do hand calculations for: Finding the short circuit magnitude Cable sizing Battery sizing Creating power relay settings Transformer sizing Circuit element sizing So, for every one of my projects, I always do some level of math by hand.
Now, here are some equations I use almost daily: Then in some instances, I use many equations together. How much calculus do engineers use? But again, your computer software does a lot of the heavy lifting for you. Calculus theory used in engineering I use a good amount of calculus theory in my work. For example, I apply the following concepts to various design elements: Exponential growth and decay Relationships with time and frequency domain Just remem ber, the theoretical side of engineering comes from calculus.
The level of math used by engineers versus all working Americans Compared to all working Americans, engineers use a lot of math.
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