The Differences Between American and Chinese Engineers

Abstract

The author compares the differences between Chinese and American engineers in two aspects： social culture and engineering education. She also analyzes the differences between Chinese and American engineers resulted from the two aspects. At the same time， the author briefly discusses the problems in the cooperation caused by the differences between Chinese and American engineers. Suggestions for potential engineers are derived.

Key words： American and Chinese engineers； culture exchange； differences

Introduction

The study of the differences between American and Chinese engineers is mainly out of the following considerations.

Firstly， there are more and more international projects. It is necessary to have a research about American and Chinese engineers. It could help them communicate better and help the projects constructed better.

Secondly， there are more and more international projects between America and China. It has a big market to exploit. If we could solve the problems between engineers better and earlier， we will have more opportunities to benefit a lot from this market.

Thirdly， as we all know， it is important to communicate with people from different cultural background. So the research on American engineers is beneficial and necessary. We could absorb advanced ideas and technology from it.

Differences in Social Culture

Foreign engineers are often as happy and playful as children. At the closing time， all of the workers go home to enjoy their family life. In December， there is nobody in the office， because of Christmas and New Year's holiday， together with some individual annual leave， many engineers go abroad for a holiday. But when foreign engineers sit down and start working， their dedication and hard work is amazing. According to the Chinese standard， I can almost use the following words to describe them： stubborn and inflexible. These are not good words in Chinese. But I want to say that when today's Chinese manufactures occupy the world with its low price and low quality， products made in the United States are acknowledged in a higher level. The engineers' seriousness may be a key factor.

Of course， we work for personal income. Both at home and abroad we are the same. However， American engineers dont aim to earn entirely. According to Chinese standard， todays United States has reached the level of prosperity. It is said that 70% of the population of the United States have reached the middle class， and the gap between the rich and the poor is much smaller than that in China. Developed countries have a very comprehensive welfare and security system， and women workers who weld circuit board and take the minimum wage can also afford a house and a car. In such a mechanism， people choose their career more out of personal interest. This is especially true for engineers. Foreign engineers are more interested in the work， because it is their interest.endprint

Domestic people seem to be more anxious， but foreign people seem to be more relaxed. We often describe a job as career， success and personal values which seems too serious for Americans. Chinese employees are better than Americans in the short term for their hard work. But after some years， they would be eager to run their own business and take the bread out of the mouth of the original employers. Relatively speaking， the Americans would be satisfied with their work and dont have such thoughts.

Differences in Engineering Education

Taking Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an example， the curriculum structure of the engineering education in the school is mainly composed of the core curriculum， the major courses and elective courses. It includes three modules： public compulsory courses， major courses and elective courses. Among them， the core courses contain the public required courses and information exchange courses； and the major courses contain professional core courses and professional elective courses； the elective courses include unrestricted elective courses. In Massachusetts Institute of Technology， freshmen and sophomores are encouraged to study general education curriculum to broaden their horizons and strengthen the multidisciplinary knowledge. Junior and senior students learn major and elective courses to strengthen the knowledge of specialized courses. Correspondingly， the school has set up practical courses to meet the need of students development.

In China， the structure mode of engineering education curriculum is mainly made up of “basic courses and specialized courses”. The curriculum includes： public basic courses， specialized basic courses and professional courses. The public basic courses in the curriculum setting of engineering education in China include： basic courses of humanities and social sciences， mathematics and natural science， which are similar to the public compulsory courses in the curriculum of American engineering education. However， in terms of practical curriculum， we mainly have military training， electrician practice， course experiment and graduation design. Compared with American practical courses including engineering design， undergraduate research orientation and technology entrepreneurship program， our courses are lack of innovation and prominent feature.

The education of engineers in our country pays more attention to strengthening the teaching of theory， and the emphasis of the class is imparting and explaining of theoretical knowledge， hence lack of practice. Although many colleges and universities set up a certain proportion of practical courses， they usually only pay attention to the form of practice， not in-depth understanding of the essence. In the long run， the students' ability to operate is not effectively exercised. When they go to work， they would be hard to adapt because of the lack of operation skills. It directly affects the employer's trust in the engineering and technical personnel， and even causes the technical gap between the talent and the work unit.endprint

The United States is a pragmatism oriented country， where the engineering education curriculum mainly catered to the needs of real life and the actual work， which are inextricably linked to the American university teaching philosophy and educational philosophy. Taking Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an example， the practical courses include： senior professional planning， engineering design and technology innovation design. These courses are not only closer to the practice of the actual work， but also can cultivate students with strong engineering consciousness， and cultivate students' ability of engineering practice.

Conclusion

This thesis has analysed the differences between American and Chinese engineers. Because of these differences， there are many problems in the communication between them. For better communication， I give some suggestions for the potential engineers.

There are two requirements for potential international Chinese engineers. On the one hand， they should be familiar with western culture and laws， and they should have the ability to communicate and cooperate under the intercultural environment. On the other hand， the engineers should get international recognition in engineering degree qualification to meet the needs of the international market.

Considering this target， I will give my suggestions for the potential Chinese engineers.

Firstly， Chinese engineers should take international courses. International courses can help them absorb the international advanced education ideas and achievements， and fuse Chinese knowledge and culture. The courses can help realize the progressiveness and internationalism of students knowledge level and the knowledge structure. The international courses could have many forms. We can organize knowledge lectures， which introduce and discuss western problems， such as historical culture， political， economic and social development. The lectures could let students learn more about western culture.

Secondly， the potential engineers should have more English courses. English is the key to internationalization. Although English lesson is universal in China， it is necessary for engineers to learn more English knowledge about engineering. So English is the basic requirements for international engineers. English learning is beneficial to the understanding of western cultures， understanding and identification of multi culture and opening international vision. The English courses should have two goals. One is developing and improving students ability to apply English. The other is the combination of foreign language teaching and professional education.

With time going by， there will be more cooperation between Chinese and American engineers. Hopefully this thesis could help them communicate better.endprint