Applied Engineering Interview Preparation Guide

Industrial Engineering (IE) focuses on analyzing industrial process. Often the basis of the analysis is small group psychology. IE also is focused in part on "efficiency" concerns in manufacturing. Studies in IE were revolutionized by Prof. W. Edwards Deming who provided much of spark that ignited the Japanese auto industry in the 1970s.

The Applied Engineering Sciences major is systems driven. One defining characteristic of the AES program is the concentration chosen by each student. AES students are generalist engineers who take a systems level perspective on problem solving in general. AES students embody the principles of the Engineer of 2020 (National Academy of Engineering (2004). The Engineer of 2020: Visions of engineering in the new century) especially on being broadly educated in engineering, being a effective leader and communicator, and being a life long learner.

Occupational safety and health (OSH) also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS) or workplace health and safety (WHS) is an area concerned with the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. The goals of occupational safety and health programs include to foster a safe and healthy work environment. OSH may also protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers, and many others who might be affected by the workplace environment. In the United States the term occupational health and safety is referred to as occupational health and occupational and non-occupational safety and includes safety for activities outside of work.

As part of the College of Engineering, most AES students take EGR 100 during their first or second term, right along side other students in the College of Engineering. In addition, many AES students have the CoRE experience as their home base for the freshman year. CoRE is a residential, living-learning community serving College of Engineering students. Its a residence hall experience but with a twist - more than 60% of the students in the hall are engineering students.

The first AES specific course you will take will be AESC 210, taken during the second term of your sophomore year. This course focuses on globalization issues, and provides you with your introduction to systems modeling and systems thinking.

During your first year, you will also have an option to be part of a group of 10 students who meet informally with a faculty person in AES 2-3 times a term, usually over dinner, and just talk - about concerns you have or questions you have formed about AES or about Engineering @ MSU, or .. well really about anything you want to talk about or ask about.

About 70-80% of AES graduates go to the technical workplace after award of their degree. Companies like GM, Ford, IBM, Stryker, Dow, BP, ... hire our graduates, and bring them on board at very competitive starting salaries. Recent years results show that about 85-90% of AES grads are employed in a job appropriate to their degree, and that a majority of AES grads who are in the job market have 2 or more job offers at graduation. Of course, no one can promise a result for an individual. Every AES student carries their own weight. Learning is the responsibly of the student with assistance from faculty.

In addition, some of our students go on to study law with the eventual goal of becoming intellectual property attorneys. Others go on to graduate study in areas such as systems engineering, industrial engineering, economics and a number of other areas. Many AES students return to MSU or other universities after working in the technical workspace after several several years to work towards an MBA degree.

Just because you felt technically and technologically up-to-date two years ago, it doesn’t mean you’ll be viewed that way today.
“The half-life of knowledge for mechanical engineers is shrinking,” says Greg Hutchins, principal engineer for Quality Plus Engineering. So, he advises, ask yourself: “What are you doing to keep current in technology?”

If you want to be taken seriously, be able to share a detailed listing of thoughtfully chosen continuing education activities with the interviewer. Perhaps you’re pursuing your professional engineering license, or maybe you’re completing a short online course on sensor technology.

It’s one thing to tackle engineering problems in a theoretical, cerebral context. But often you’ve literally got to get your hands dirty to make something work the way it’s supposed to.

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,”

The Applied Engineering Sciences major is systems driven. One defining characteristic of the AES program is the concentration chosen by each student. AES students are generalist engineers who take a systems level perspective on problem solving in general. AES students embody the principles of the Engineer of 2020 (National Academy of Engineering (2004). The Engineer of 2020: Visions of engineering in the new century) especially on being broadly educated in engineering, being a effective leader and communicator, and being a life long learner.

Industrial Engineering (IE) focuses on analyzing industrial process. Often the basis of the analysis is small group psychology. IE also is focused in part on "efficiency" concerns in manufacturing. Studies in IE were revolutionized by Prof. W. Edwards Deming who provided much of spark that ignited the Japanese auto industry in the 1970s.

When Crawford Hentz questions mechanical engineering candidates about their experience with software packages like SolidWorks, Pro/ENGINEER and AutoCAD, she’s looking for more than surface-level working knowledge. “I ask, ‘What’s the coolest thing you know how to do with the package?’” she says.

Here, the employer is attempting to gauge fluency, or applied expertise. It’s nice to merely be familiar with, say, COSMOSWorks, says Crawford Hentz. It’s another thing entirely to use the program for finite-element analysis on the LEDs Osram Sylvania manufactures, which “don’t mind getting cold but hate to get hot,” she says.