Since engineering has so many applications and requires different functions, it takes constant effort to understand what engineering is. Engineers need to understand how different machines work. Whether it's reverse engineering or the engineering design process, the more a world-class engineer understands how machines work, the better an engineer he or she will be. I currently have little to no knowledge of what engineering is. In order to understand the essence of engineering I need to be a problem solver, have hands-on experience and research engineering. I can improve this by actively reading technical reports on www.ihs.com so I know what current engineering projects are underway. Additionally, since I need hands-on experience, I can volunteer for research projects and actively pursue opportunities where I can improve my engineering