Industry-wide Technical

Challenges
Seek out opportunities where you can…

1. Debate with individuals having different perspectives and values whether a new technology serves the public good.
2. Evaluate how cultural, historical, and societal perspectives impact decisions about proceeding with an engineering project.
3. Learn about quantitative and qualitative research methods and how to interpret research results.

Interview Practice Questions
Tell me about a time when you...

1. What are Newton’s laws and why are they important.
2. Describe the volume of a basketball, assuming I know no math.
3. Explain how differential equations are used, and provide an example.

Challenges
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1. Experience a wide range of equipment, systems, products, and components, and how they’re integrated into designs.
2. Gather information from observations and interviews to properly frame and define a problem.
3. Generate and rapidly test alternative solutions to evaluate system-level interfaces and performance.

Interview Practice Questions
Tell me about a time when you...

1. Explain form, fit, and function in a design, and describe a part where all are incorporated well.
2. Describe the process you would follow when designing a door hinge.
3. What factors determine the appropriate factor of safety for a product or system.

Challenges
Seek out opportunities where you can…

1. Learn about water management and air handling, and how they impact engineering projects.
2. Analyze the pros and cons of alternative manufacturing processes and make a recommendation.
3. Learn about lean manufacturing, automation, and fast-tracking.

Interview Practice Questions
Tell me about a time when you...

1. Applied Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) to improve the manufacturability of a product design.
2. Planned the manufacturing of a product or the construction of a structure.
3. Considered ergonomics and safety for manufacturing and assembly workers when developing a manufacturing plan.

1. Analyze the pros and cons of alternative operation and maintenance methods.
2. Learn how proper management of resources and personnel support an organization’s operational mission.
3. Provide training for workers in how to effectively operate and maintain engineered systems.

Interview Practice Questions
Tell me about a time when you...

1. Have you developed standard operating procedures for an experiment or a process.
2. How would you replace a failed chiller in a hospital without negatively impacting operations.
3. Which fails first – an engine running at full load or one that cycles on and off frequently.

1. Learn about intellectual property and how to manage conflicts of interest and professional liability.
2. Analyze situations that involve potential ethical conflicts and get feedback on different courses of action.
3. Follow a profession’s code of ethics or a conpany’s norms and expected behaviors.

Interview Practice Questions
Tell me about a time when you...

1. Used your influence or example to encourage others to behave ethically or use resources responsibly.
2. Observed and reported to higher-level management or public authorities an ethical concern or troubling behavior.
3. Chose to act in a manner that upheld the primacy of public welfare, health, and safety.

Challenges
Seek out opportunities where you can…

1. Develop a budget including overhead, direct and indirect costs, profit, and revenue.
2. Explore how engineering practice and professional liability differ within corporations, government, consulting, and self-employment.
3. Learn how codes and standards are set and how public policy affects their development.

Interview Practice Questions
Tell me about a time when you...

1. Used market analysis and product development costs to help make a product development decision.
2. Identified and followed applicable codes and standards.
3. Researched what laws and regulations applied to a specific project or area of engineering practice.

Challenges
Seek out opportunities where you can…

1. Minimize waste, improve efficiency, or reduce the use of a limited or difficult to recycle resource.
2. Use life cycle analysis to assess the total costs and benefits of a product or system.
3. Estimate the environmental, economic, and societal impacts of a decision on local and global levels.

Interview Practice Questions
Tell me about a time when you...

1. Selected a product or technology because it had higher efficiency or was better for the environment.
2. Used a triple bottom line approach to incorporate profitability, environmental integrity, and social responsibility.
3. Studied a project’s intended, unintended, internal and external environmental impacts after it was implemented.

Challenges
Seek out opportunities where you can…

1. Learn about present worth and annual cost basis methods and apply them in an economic analysis.
2. Work with financial professionals on a full financial analysis of an engineering project or company.
3. Learn about economic risks and how to determine warranty costs for a product.

Interview Practice Questions
Tell me about a time when you...

1. Completed a cost-benefit analysis of various design alternatives.
2. Calculated a project’s return on investment including all capital, operating, maintenance and debt servicing costs.
3. Considered the time value of money, sunk costs, depreciation, or amortization in engineering project decisions.