Applied Engineering Question:

There’s a difference between the fantasy of engineering as a form of individual expression and the reality of engineering as a business.

“When you’re in school, you’re designing to please yourself,” says Crawford Hentz. “You get to ‘build a robot.’ But in a manufacturing or product development setting, you’re dealing with ‘build me a toolbox that looks like this and can sing [the national anthem].’”

So expect to be questioned about how you've dealt with client/customer concerns and personalities in the past. And be sure you’re also ready to explain how you've collaborated with diverse colleagues to meet the sometimes demanding expectations of clients and customers.

“We want people who bring value to the group, not only with their technical skills, but also their creativity and their personality, because your ideas aren’t the only ideas,”