Ethics in Engineering

Dear Future ECE students,

Ethics are very important for electrical engineers. Ethics are something that can not be taught by teachers, but must be learned on your own. You must be the one to teach yourself this important skill. Ethics are the basis for your own confidence as an engineer. Engineers who make the correct, ethical decisions are the ones who know what they are doing and can correct their mistakes. Unethical and poor engineers are so worried in their performance they are "forced" to cheat, lie, and steal in order to be competent. Cheating can be easy, but doing the work will make you a much better engineer in the long run. It is hard to cheat on exams, harder to cheat on projects, and impossible to cheat when you are designing systems never before done. That is why it is necessary to do things the hard way so you can think for yourself when the time comes.

Cheating is most likely the most common form of unethical behavior in college settings, but it certainly is not the only unethical practice. Lying to other students and not helping others is also unethical. There is a fine line between cheating off someones work and working together to complete work. Working together is extremely beneficial and important when growing as an engineer. Everyone knows more in some subjects then others, so everyone can help each other be the best engineers they can be. Working together on homework can allow you to see other ways of doing problems and seeing problems through more then one lens.

Other unethical behavior includes not attending class. I know you have the freedom to go where you want to go when you want to, but this behavior is not unethical to others, it is unethical to yourself. You are paying a lot of money to be here and have a great opportunity to learn at one of the best engineering schools in the world, so you are cheating yourself if you do not take advantage of it. At your disposal are world class professors that are more than happy to sit with you for hours and explain extremely interesting topics with you. Also nearby are the future inventors and innovators of the world that can show you things you never thought of. So try not to waste your time and money here by participating in unethical behavior, because it will only reflect poorly on you. Good luck!