More efforts need to be made so that 12- to 16-year-olds learn about life as an engineer. Big companies are the first to admit that they haven’t done enough to tell young students what engineering is all about.

Statistics published by EngineeringUK, the independent organisation that promotes the vital contribution that engineers, and engineering and technology, make to society, proves the point. Its figures show that only 11% of 12- to 16-year-olds know what engineers do. 

And only 17% agreed with the statement “I have seen/heard more about the engineering industry over the past year” when they were asked in the middle of 2011.

Too many 12- to 16-year-olds think engineering is about getting their hands dirty – and to some degree they are right, because there are jobs that will allow you to do that if you want to.

But engineering encompasses a whole range of industries that might include on-site visits and practical construction work, or it might mean evaluating safety systems from the comfort of your office. Software engineers – who might work from home – are no more likely to get their hands dirty than bank managers.

The simplest explanation to give those who remain unsure is this – engineers use the knowledge they have in a specific field to make things work and to solve problems. Engineers exist in all walks of life: transport, medicine, entertainment, space exploration, environmental management. You name it, engineers have worked on it.

Engineering is behind everything – from mobile phones and make-up to the car you travel in and the shoes on your feet. Engineering makes up an exciting range of businesses and industries, including construction, transport, cosmetics, medicine, food, fashion and much more.

Engineers work in all kinds of environments, from offices, laboratories and film studios to outdoors and underground. Engineering today is closely linked with technology, and plays a major role in many technological devices and advances – thanks to engineers, this magazine was produced on a highly sophisticated printing machine that is capable of running off thousands of copies an hour. That’s just one example of how an engineer has affected your life today.