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Thread: What do Engineers Read? Homework Assignment

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    What do Engineers Read? Homework Assignment

    I've been given a school assignment that if I were to, hypothetically, gets a story published on an engineering success story, what publication would I choose and why? Although this is a pretend situation, my professor will take no hesitation to fail the assignment if I am unable to provide a sound reason for my publication choices. That means just picking any ole publication that carries an engineering title is out of the question. My professor wants numbers and measurements to support my choices. I tried to go to Google, but to no avail! So I eventually I came to the idea that I should just ask the engineers directly and now my plan is to visit one engineering forum after the next and tally up the trends that I find. I do take the time to read each forum's rules and regulations before posting a thread. Even after my reading of this forum’s protocols that this message still manages to break one of the terms and conditions, I apologize in advance. I know this topic may not be as fun as the other topics on this forum, but I would really appreciate the assistance. Thank You!

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    Technical Fellow Kelly_Bramble's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lifeispeachy View Post
    what publication would I choose and why?
    Well, this web site (engineersedge.com) and associated resources gets 2 million + monthly visitors. So, as I understand the industry this is the most popular website/publication in the world...

    Not sure why any university teacher would ask such a question - during the summer or otherwise....

    So, what university do you attend? What is your major?

    See: http://www.engineersedge.com/enginee...sh-program.htm to publish an article...

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    Google no help? Really?

    You need to spend some time sharpening your searching skills. It will not be wasted effort as they will serve you well in the future.

    In just two minutes of my time, I had 9,467,012 hits.
    The first page listed 9 major Engineering publications, Publishers names and details.
    Laziness will never make for a useful degree. Anyone can sit on their butt and get others to do the hard work, but eventually you will run out of willing donkeys.

    I suspect as Kelly alludes, this may not be based on what you are first stating. We respect honesty and I get very disinterested when I feel it may not be as it seems.

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    Technical Fellow jboggs's Avatar
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    I'm not exactly clear on your assignment.

    Is your task to determine which engineering magazine you would want to publish a story you wrote on an engineering success? That would depend on which engineering field the story applied to. There are WAY too many technical and engineering publications out there for such a generic question. Over the years I have subscribed to Machine Design, NASA Tech Briefs, Material Handling News, American Machinist, and others.

    Or was your task to determine which magazine or publication of general interest would be the best one to publish your engineering success story? I'm thinking like Time, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, Life, etc.

    What type of publication are you talking about?

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    JB, I suspect the guy is actually asking about which Engineering magazine he/she should subscribe to, but feels he/she has to shroud it in some weird story.

    But, you may be correct in wanting to publish something of his/her own, but there are better ways than just sending stuff to the most popular Publication.

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    Technical Fellow jboggs's Avatar
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    Hey, is Kelly still looking for articles to publish here?

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    Technical Fellow Kelly_Bramble's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jboggs View Post
    Hey, is Kelly still looking for articles to publish here?
    Sí, señor

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    Greetings everyone. I was delighted to see the feedback from my post. Thank you all for giving up some of you time to answer my question. I also understand that everyone has some concerns so I will be addressing these concerns in individual replies.

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    Hi PinkertonD. Thank you for replying. I believe there may have been some misunderstanding. Finding engineer publications through google was not an issue. It was about finding the right publications. My purpose in posting to these forums was to find what the engineers themselves regarded as high valued publications or publications that are not as prestigious but are highly read. My search has not only entailed the forums, but I have also went to the engineering professors in my school to get their opinions as well. While I can see why you may suggest my lack of effort, on the contrary, I have taken the extra initiative to do something I have never done for an assignment, in order to get the best results. I was trying to think outside of the box.

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    Hi Kelly Bramble. Thank you for replying. I am pursuing a public relations degree, and while I can understand that you may feel the assignment is a little over the edge I say that is not. The class is a level 400 course, but asides from that, I appreciate the fact that I have been asked to provide sufficient reasoning for why I choose the publications that I did. To me, simply picking the most popular publications just for the sake of popularity alone is not enough. Why is it that an engineer reads publication A over publication B? What are the factors involved? What does publication A give you in value that publication B does not? It is these questions that will help me to better assess which is the right publication to submit a story to.

    As far as the industry is concerned, I am at fault. Due to temporary ignorance(but not permanent), I am unsure which specific industry this falls in; however, I am willing to gamble that the appropriate category is the mechanical engineering side. The story will not be based on a commercial device such as an i pod, but will focus on a more technical mechanism that improves some form of operation within a business (e.g. thermal reading sensors that automatically adjust the temperature of a building). The idea does not have to be feasible, but the only feasible process is the media that I choose to publish in.

    I apologize for any confusion and I hope this clarifies things. If not I a more than welcome to elaborate. Thank you for the suggestion you have listed. Once again I appreciate the time you have taken out to respond.

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    Correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't circulation figures indicate "most read?" And most respected? I can't imagine anyone continuing to subscribe to a magazine they thought was bunkum. Free Trade magazines are generally just noticeboards for the advertising, since that is obviously making it all possible. Soooo, paid subscription, high circulation magazines would seem to indicate something - well to me anyway. That's what my Google-ing quickly identified.

    Also, "Engineers read" covers the entire gamut of Engineering disciplines. I will not try to list all of those, but I am guessing it runs to maybe a fifty or so.

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    Technical Fellow Kelly_Bramble's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lifeispeachy View Post
    My purpose in posting to these forums was to find what the engineers themselves regarded as high valued publications or publications that are not as prestigious but are highly read. My search has not only entailed the forums, but I have also went to the engineering professors in my school to get their opinions as well.
    Ok then, let me try to help you.

    First, to get a real feel at which engineering publication engineers read you would need a specific technology, industry in mind then corner those folks with a poll.

    Engineering professors? I would stick with folks whom work within the engineering private sector creating, managing, designing products, etc.. Acedemia is a different role..

    Quote Originally Posted by Lifeispeachy View Post
    It was about finding the right publications...... While I can see why you may suggest my lack of effort, on the contrary, I have taken the extra initiative to do something I have never done for an assignment, in order to get the best results. I was trying to think outside of the box.
    Business and marketing 101 - submit the article to as many resources that will accept it.. If they want money, get references....

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    Technical Fellow jboggs's Avatar
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    Lifeispeachy,
    My favorite, by far, is Machine Design. I have read it for decades. It has a good balance of interesting and useful articles and advertising. I avoid those publications that are "advertising heavy". You can tell the intent of a publication by looking at the number of pages devoted to articles vs. those devoted to advertising. I resent those publications that just insert some random very brief tips-type articles into a field of advertising and feel that can justify calling themselves a "magazine". They should be called what they are - catalogs. That characteristic is something you could include in your research: pages of articles vs. pages of advertising.

    Second point, as one of the resident curmudgeons (look it up) I must make a point of helpful criticism. I would hope a student in the 400 level of public relations courses would have better grammar than:

    "I have also went to the engineering professors "

    "The class is a level 400 course, but asides from that".

    If those quotes just represent misspellings and typos, that's fine. I am one of the most guilty of that. But if they represent the way you really express yourself, I would recommend that you investigate some remedial grammar courses. They could help your future career immensely. I only make this comment to help. I might not have even made it to an engineering student, but I felt a public relations major absolutely needed it.

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    Greetings Jboggs.

    Thank you for sharing your personal favorite reads. I admit that your critique on my grammar is spot on and I appreciate the honest feedback. My earlier posts are the result of rushing through and not proofreading my work. As a soon to be communications professional I should both know and commit to doing better. After re-reading my post, I cringe over the careless mistakes and misspellings that I have made. My apologies.

  15. #15
    Ok, I'm going to close this thread to additional postings...

    I suggest Lifeispeachy reach out to a marketing forum or equivalent as this is more of a marketing questions than engineering.

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