Engineering Presentation

My company has been particiapting in a program that introduces high school students to the careerfields of architecture and engineering. Every other week, interested students will come to our office in the evening to learn about what we do. I volunteered to give the engineering presentation. Many of you have asked to see my presentation, but I am not able to post my power point presentation here on my blog. So here is the next best thing - my talking points. Obviously you're missing out on all the neat graphics and sound effects, but this should give you the basic gist. Feel free to leave comments on how I can improve my presentation.


Slide 1 – So You Want to be an Engineer
o Raise of hands – Who here is interested in engineering?

Slide 2 - Introduction
o “Why are you interested in engineering?”
o “What do you think engineers do?”

Slide 3 – Important Skills
 “What important skills should you have if you want to be engineer?”
 Describe what is meant by “spatial relationships”
 Emphasize public speaking skills.

Slide 4 – Who Woulda Thunk
 Explain why it’s important to be knowledgeable in many subject areas.

Slide 5 – Why Engineering?
 High demand for engineers (especially women)
 Good starting salary (national average $40k/year)
 $60k to $100k salary range with several years of experience
 Great opportunities for advancement

Slide 6 – Reasons You Might Not Have Thought Of
 Explain broad design concepts of a classroom
o Good lighting
o Comfortable temperature
o Not too noisy
 Explain broad design concepts of a prison
o Rugged fixtures
o Safety of inmates and corrections officers

Slide 7 – Reasons You Might Not Have Thought Of
 Ask what sector consumes greatest percentage of energy
 You have an opportunity to do something to combat global warming and preserve the environment.

Slide 8 – Examples of Green Design
 Explain how waterless urinals and dual-flush toilets work

Slide 9 – Examples of Green Design
 Explain how greywater systems work

Slide 10 – Examples of Green Design
 Explain purpose of ice storage and how it works.

Slide 11 – So What Does an Engineer Do?
 Highlight bullet items on slide.

Slide 12 – Typical HVAC Equipment in Your Home
• Ask students to identify equipment used to heat/cool their house.

Slide 13 – What’s Actually Happening?
• Ask students to describe how their house is heated and cooled.
• Describe basic equipment components and refrigeration cycle.
o Evaporator
 Fan
 Coil
 Condensate
o Condensing Unit
 Compressors
 Fan
 Coils
o Furnace

Slide 14 – Typical Building
o Identify equipment used to heat/cool buildings.

Slide 15 – Typical Design Process
o Building plan developed by Architect
o Choose system type
o Input from building owner
o First cost
o Energy efficiency
o Durability

Slide 16 – Typical Design Process
o Load calculations
o Size and select equipment

Slide 17 – Typical Design Process
o Layout equipment

Slide 18 – But Wait!!! There’s More!!!
o Highlight other design consideration

Slide 19 – Sit on our butts??

Slide 20 – There’s A Lot More To It Than That
o Coordination With Others
o Internal
 Architect
 Electrical
 Structural
o External
 Manufacturers’ Representatives
 Building Owner
 Code Official
 Contractor

Slide 21 – Good Coordination
o Explain how everyone is a winner when a project is well coordinated.

Slide 22 – Bad Coordination
o Explain how everyone is a loser when a project is NOT well coordinated.

Slide 23 – Road Trip
o Talk about site visits to construction sites.

Slide 24 – Road Trip
o Talk about visits to manufacturing plants.

Slide 25 – So Complicated
o Take poll and ask who thinks engineering sounds too complicated for them.

Slide 26 – Don’t Worry!!!
o Explain typical junior engineer tasks
o Learn on job

Slide 27 – Q&A