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Engineering is a remarkably diverse and broad field. There are dozens of different engineering fields, and many of those fields have their own subfields and specializations. From the petroleum industry to robotics, there are a seemingly endless number of industries that rely on engineering.

That means if you’re looking to create a brighter future for yourself as an engineering design technician, you have a large range of industries to choose from. Let’s take a look at just three engineering fields that your training can prepare you for.

1. Use Your Technical Design Training for a Career in Structural Engineering

Structural engineering is concerned with structures that have load-bearing properties. This includes skyscrapers, bridges, dams, buildings, and even amusement park rides and offshore oil platforms. With a career in this field, you can play a part in transforming our towns and cities by helping create the designs for buildings that we live and work in. Essentially, structural engineering ensures that structures are able to support themselves and that they can withstand the forces of nature. For example, structural engineering is responsible for designing structures can stand up to earthquakes and high winds.

Structural engineering is closely related to architecture. Indeed, structural engineering helps turn architects’ ideas into practical structures that can actually be constructed. If you choose to pursue a career in engineering design technology within the structural engineering field, understanding the tools that both architects and structural engineers use will help you thrive. For example, during your studies you will learn about architectural drawings and details, Revit Architecture Essentials, and Building Information Modeling (BIM).

Structural engineering is used to build load-bearing structures, like skyscrapers
Structural engineering is used to build load-bearing structures, like skyscrapers

2. A Career in Mechanical Engineering Can Help You Have an Impact on the World

Mechanical engineering is another extremely important field, this one dealing with the design and manufacture of machines. Since machines are found in so many areas of modern life—from toys to spacecraft—mechanical engineering is likewise used in a broad range of areas. For example, mechanical engineering helps create engines for vehicles, robots for factories, and the heating and air conditioning systems used in buildings all over the world.

As an engineering design technician, you can play a key role in the journey of helping mechanical engineers and technologists create designs for machines. For example, during your engineering design technology program you’ll learn Revit MEP Essentials, which helps mechanical engineers accurately and efficiently create complex systems.

3. Process Engineering Is Especially Important for Alberta’s Economy

Process engineering is a discipline that is concerned with chemical processes. Process engineering is a subfield of chemical engineering and is used in a number of other fields, such as plastics engineering, paper engineering, textile engineering, and—importantly for Alberta’s economy—petroleum engineering.

For example, in the petroleum industry, process engineering is all about designing and creating systems to turn crude oil into gasoline for use in motor vehicles. Engineering design technicians play an important role in process engineering within the petroleum and other industries. For example, if you study technical design training with a process piping specialization, then you can work with engineers and technologists to help design process plant equipment, pressure vessels, and pipelines, all of which are utilized throughout the process engineering field.

Do you want to study engineering design technology?

Your career awaits.