III. Engineering Specialties of the Belarusian-Russian University.

Careers in engineering are popular among young people. To work as an engineer is prestigious and you need to get the proper training for it. If one is good at science and math and wants to make a great engineer, the Belarusian-Russian University is a good institution for getting a University diploma in engineering. All industries today need well-trained and qualified technologists, technicians, and managers. Our University offers courses that teach students the skills necessary for a managerial role in the specific industry. Students learn the latest practices and specialize in one or more areas. Before graduation, an engineering student will also have a firm foundation with computer applications that will be used in the engineering career field. There is a number of engineering fields to choose from, like mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, automotive engineering, etc. depending on his/her interests and abilities. Here a quick guide to the BRU engineering majors.

Mechanical Engineering careers are very important. Mechanical engineers are engineers who work with mechanical devices. They develop new ideas, design and improve designs, prepare drawings, manufacture, and maintain mechanical systems and things like machinery, aircraft, automobiles, medical devices and much more. Good engineers are in demand, and jobs are plentiful.

To be successful, mechanical engineers must know mechanics, kinematics, thermodynamics and energy well. They create machines that improve the quality of people's everyday life. They design tools, machines and equipment used in other engineering fields. The task is to make this equipment more productive and less wasteful. They create assembly lines to help with manufacturing processes. They supervise production in factories, determine the causes of breakdowns, test products to maintain quality, estimate the time and cost to manufacture these products.

They develop solutions to technical problems. There are also several tools that mechanical engineers use to become experts. These are CAD (Computer Aided Design), and CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing). These tools allow for models and analysis to take place before a product is prototyped.

Mechanical engineers develop new materials. They also analyze the impact of the materials and products they develop on the environment and on people using them. Mechanical engineers use energy, people, machines and information to help organize the manufacturing. They must solve organizational problems. Many mechanical engineers are in management positions.

Mechanical engineers need to do their job well in order to keep the civilized world safe and moving smoothly. A prospective mechanical engineer needs to do well in high school, go to a good college, and do well in it. As you can imagine, mechanical engineering is one of the broadest engineering specialties.

A Construction Engineering career is a very good career to pursue. Construction is one of the most important industries in the country. It is, perhaps, the only sector in the economy in which employment is projected to grow. New graduates can expect 100% placement. Construction engineeringmajors learn how to build civilizations, or at least, the physical infrastructure of civilization, including highways, bridges, airports, railroads, buildings, dams, and reservoirs. Construction engineers plan, design and construct many types of facilities: commercial (office buildings and shopping centers), institutional (hospitals and schools), industrial (factories and refineries), residential (homes and apartments), civil (highways and utilities). Construction engineering is one of the oldest engineering specialties. As a construction engineer I will be directly responsible for the health and well-being of citizens. We learn how to work with the natural environment to build things that will not damage the planet. Buildings and other structures should withstand outside forces like wind and their own internal weight and should be safe. Therefore, it is of great importance that I do my job well. And this means that to become a construction engineer I need to work hard. Becoming a construction engineer isn’t as easy as simply getting a college degree in civil engineering. We actually have to study and prepare very hard. We need to get good grades.

Although construction may be regarded as a single activity, in fact it is multitasking. Normally the job is managed by the construction manager, supervised by the project manager, design engineer or project architect. While these people work in offices, every construction project requires a large number of laborers to complete the physical task of construction.

Careers in Computer Engineering are very hot right now and they look like they will only get hotter. It’s a good idea to choose a career in computer engineering. As you may guess, computer engineering careers deal with computers and software and computer engineers are trained to work with computer software and hardware as well as computer-controlled devices. They learn both the technical side and the theoretical side to working with computers. They focus on the design, the development, and the integration of everything that is related to computer software and hardware. Some of the specialty areas include algorithms, circuits and signals, computer organization and architecture, database systems, digital logic and signal processing, electronics, operating systems, software engineering, and computer networking.

The future of computer engineering looks very bright. Computers have really blown-up over the last decade or so and they are expected to continue to grow in popularity. So computer engineers are in demand and can pretty much expect to be in demand. Careers in computer science are great. They pay well and they are interesting jobs (for the most part). Since the popularity of computers continues to grow and will continue to grow, the need for computer engineers will exist for a very long time, if not forever. Computer engineers need to have a college education in computer engineering or a similar field.

Electrical Engineering is one of the biggest engineering fields and traditionally focuses on the generation and supply of power. Electrical engineers are experts in electricity and learn how to use and control it. They work with all power systems, circuitry, microprocessors, digital broadcasting and telephone switching systems. They create and maintain electrical devices of all kinds, from telecommunications systems to toasters. So we study electronics, digital systems, electric circuits, electric machines, etc.

Electrical engineering careers are in demand. The job will require the electrical engineer to utilize science and technology to solve problems. They design, develop, and implement products or services. There are many different jobs that can be held if you choose an electrical engineering career. And there are many different job titles for these jobs. The job titles include development engineer, project engineer, design engineer, and test engineer. Most of these job titles explain what each job entails. The electrical engineer may also do research and come up with new ideas. Some of the tasks can and will be very challenging but with the proper education an electrical engineer will be able to perfectly complete every task and solve every problem.

The future of electrical engineering looks very bright. Every industry deals with electricity and that means that electrical engineers will always be needed. So this is a great career to go into and it will continue to be for many, many years to come.

Careers in Automotive Engineering are good careers to pursue. Automotive Engineers maintain and develop public transportation systems. They may work with vehicles such as cars, buses and heavy equipment, like trucks, bulldozers, tractors or outdoor power equipment. They may be involved in sales of vehicles and parts, maintenance and repair of vehicles or engines, and specific vehicle parts. The demand for automotive engineers is high because the number of vehicles grows. There are two major areas automotive engineers work in – automaking plants and businesses that service and repair vehicles.

An automotive engineer needs to keep up to date with the new technology that comes with each vehicle. More and more electronic components are used in vehicles. The knowledge of motor vehicle engines, parts and systems, of motor vehicle electronic systems, of safety standards is important.

Continual changes in automotive technology require significant diagnostic and analytical skills. We must acquire a number of skills, like to develop new automotive technologies, to diagnose mechanical faults. We must have practical skills to use tools and equipment, also good planning and management skills. Communication skills are also important if we work with customers.

Automotive engineers may do the following: test drive and inspect vehicles to diagnose faults; diagnose what is causing these faults. They need skills in the diagnosis and repair of anti-skid braking systems, complex electronic components and onboard computers. Also, experience in using computer diagnostic equipment is increasingly important and now computers are widely used in automotive workshops. Automotive engineers must know how to dismantle or repair faulty engines or other parts and systems; how to change vehicle lubricants (such as oil) and coolants (such as radiator water). They may tune engines so that vehicles run smoothly and may specialize in one sector of the automotive repair industry such as wheel alignment, air conditioning, transmissions and exhausts.

Careers in Welding Engineering are very rewarding. Welding is a process very important to technical progress, though it is most often taken for granted. People seldom understand how much we depend on welding even in our everyday life. All large buildings are built with a “skeleton” of welded structural steel. Welding is a fundamental part of the process of building bridges, vehicles, houses, appliances and a lot more.

Welding has been compared to playing a musical instrument. In the same way that anyone can take a harmonica and make sounds with it, anyone with a little practice may use modern welding equipment for non-critical jobs. But to make music with the harmonica or to make good, strong, clean welds with welding equipment will take time. The more you practice, the better your results will be.

Welding has ever-increasing usage in industry and business now. Welders are employed in oil field and pipeline work, construction of buildings and bridges, automotive work, including assembly line welding at automaking plants, vehicle repair, race car fabrication and antique car restoration. Welding is used in nuclear power industry, aviation and aerospace work and defense work. And it is impossible to make household appliances without welding.

There is a real difference between a weld that looks good and a weld that performs well. The task of any welding engineer is to get a weld that will not fail in use. There are lots of welding procedures and the up-to-date equipment for them. The main procedures are oxy-acetylene gas welding and cutting, arc welding, MIG (wire-fed) welding, TIG (heli-arc) welding, plasma-arc welding and cutting, electron-beam welding. Each process requires special knowledge, special skills and special equipment. These things are essence of welding engineer training.

Careers in Quality Control Engineering. Advantages to become a quality control engineer are obvious. Many companies want to manufacture their products more efficiently, at a lower cost, and with increased quality. They need to employ quality control engineers and more jobs will become available. So this is a great career to go into and it will continue to be for many years to come.

The quality control engineer is responsible for the development and application of quality standards for industrial processes, materials, and products. He must develop standards to measure the quality of a manufactured item, analyze details that can affect its quality, and decide what the best techniques are for the optimal end results. He develops and uses standards and methods for inspection, testing, and evaluation. For this he needs knowledge in engineering fields such as chemical, electrical, or mechanical. He develops forms and instructions for recording, evaluating, and reporting quality and reliability data. He develops programs to evaluate precision and accuracy of production equipment and testing, measurement, and analytical equipment and facilities. He writes training material and conducts training sessions on quality control activities. He may specialize in such areas of quality control engineering, as process control, product evaluation, product reliability, inventory control, metrology, automated testing, and research and development.

One more field where we can work after graduating from the University is the environment protection. This includes wastewater control, hazardous wastes and toxiс materials control, water supply protection, air pollution control, industrial hygiene, radiation protection, solid waste disposal, and public health. Here is one of the reasons why an engineering career we have chosen is a good idea. We are going to help people, which is great. Also, we will get the satisfaction of seeing that the environment we live in has become better and cleaner. It will make us feel fulfilled and good about ourselves.

V. Read/listen to the interview and answers the questions given below:

Interviewer: You're doing an HND (Higher National Degree) in Civil Engineering. How long does that last?

Alec: It's a two-year course.

Int.: And what stage are you at now?

Alec: I'm in the second semester of the first year.

Int.: How many students are in the group?

Alec: There are eight, all men.

Int.: Why did you decide to do this course?

Alec: I left school at seventeen and started off as an Architectural Technician and...

Int.: What did that involve, being an Architectural Technician?

Alec: Doing all the technical drawings for the architects, things like that. We used a program called Autocad.

Int.: And what took you into that line of business?

Alec: Well, I was interested in architecture. My best subject at school, the one I enjoyed most, was Graphic communication. I decided to try to get a career using that. So, I went into an architect's office and was there for four years before I decided to start my HND. (Technology, Unit 2)

Questions: 1. Which stage of the course is Alec at? 2. How many women are taking the course? 3. What age was he when he left the school? 4. Which subject did he enjoy most at school? 5. What job did he do when he left school?

IV. Read/listen to part 2 of the interview:

Interviewer: Tell me about your timetable.

Alec: I have classes three days a week - Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and self-study on the other days.

Int: Which subject appeals to you most?

Alec: Erm, the Theory of Structures. I really enjoy it. That's twice on a Monday - Monday morning first thing and on Monday afternoon.

Int.: What do you like about it?

Alec: I like the maths and physics side of it, how the structure actually works.

Int.: Is any of the work in the lab?

Alec: We've got Materials this semester. We're in the lab every week - testing concrete and that sort of thing. On Fridays, there's Project work from 11.15 for most of the day. I've been at a structural engineering company learning how a civil engineering project is run.

Int.: What's the company working on?

Alec: They're turning an old office building into a nightclub, restaurant, and five-star hotel. It's interesting to get on site and to speak to the engineers.

Int.: What's Complex communications on Wednesday?

Alec: Before and after lunch? It's about language. You have to pick something to do with engineering and write a report about it. Then present it to the other students.

Int.: What have you chosen?

Alec: I'm doing a project on a new bridge over the Forth, right here in Scotland. There's a lot of public opposition.

Int.: Do we need a new bridge?

Alec: Yes, the research I've done shows the present bridge is carrying ten times the amount of traffic it was designed for.

Int.: What's Fluid mechanics on Friday morning?

Alec: Er, it is how fluids behave, water pressure on pipes, and that sort of thing. It's one of the hardest subjects.

Int.: Do you find you have a lot of work to do outside the course?

Alec: Yes, it's not particularly hard but it's constant.

Int.: And how is it assessed?

Alec: It's modular, continuous assessment. You have to pass all the modules. (Technology, Unit 2)

V. Read/listen to part 3 of the interview:

Interviewer: What do you hope to do at the end of your course?

Alec: Well, I want to go on to do the degree.

Int.: What kind of degree will you take?

Alec: I'd like to do Structural engineering, a BEng. I've got acceptance from two universities. I can start once I've finished one year of my HND.

Int.: How long will it take?

Alec: It's four years for a BEng.

Int.: When you start work as a Civil Engineer, what do you want to build - houses or big structures like bridges and roads?

Alec: I'm more interested in the big structures like bridges.

Int.: You may have to go overseas for that.

Alec: That's one reason why I chose this career. That you can travel. There is a lot of opportunities to go overseas. (Technology, Unit 2)

VI. a) Answer these questions about yourself with complete sentences,

1. What are you studying? (Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Automobile Engineering, Computer Engineering)

2. Where are you studying?

3. How long is your course?

4. Is it full time-time or part time?

5. What qualification do you get when you complete the course? (Civil engineer, Electrical engineer, Mechanical engineer)?

6. What are the main subjects?

7. Which subject do you find most difficult?

8. Why do you find it difficult?

9. Which subject do you enjoy most?

10. How many classes do you have each day (each week)?

11. When do you classes start each day? When do they finish?

12. Do you have any self-study time?

13. What do you hope to do when you finish your course? Do you like your course?

14. Have you got any labwork on your course?

VII. Using your answers to the previous questions complete the gaps:

I am studying … at …. It is a … …. When I complete the course, I will get a …. The main subjects are …. The subject I find most difficult is …. I find it difficult because. The subject I enjoy most is …. I have … classes each week. Classes start each day at … and finish at …. When I finish my course, I hope to ….