which cannot but confuse him in the early days, when he is most
earnestly trying to apply one or more of them to the more or less petty
tasks which will be assigned to him. All he can do under the
circumstances--all anybody could do under the circumstances--is to wait
patiently, the while doing the best he can. Problems have a way of
working themselves out--the correct formula will present itself; its
true application will become manifest--and thus the young engineer has
learned something of a practical nature which need not forsake him
throughout the remainder of his engineering career.

Engineers are especially tolerant of one another's mistakes and errors.
They are much more so than medical men, for instance. In the field of
medicine one must show by many practical cases wherein a certain
treatment has proved effective before the fraternity at large will even
give the practitioner a hearing. This is not so among engineers.
Engineers turn to one another in difficulties with earnest desire to
help if they can help; and when one of their number is in trouble in his
efforts to solve a difficult problem the whole body will turn to him
with friendly encouragement and advice, if the latter is wanted. The
young graduate who is struggling with a problem come up in his daily
work, if he will but make the fact known to the engineers on the job in
association with him, will find himself surrounded by engineers every
one of whom will be seriously concerned for him and anxious to render
assistance.

So the young graduate need entertain no fears on the ground of possible
errors when starting out. Merely he must go slow; take his own good
time on a job; ask all the questions possible of his engineer neighbors.
Frankness in engineering, as in any other walk of life, pays. The
bluffer is not wanted. No man knows it all, and certainly no engineer
knows all there is to know about his profession. Time was when this
might have been true; but it isn't true to-day. The work of engineering
research and development has become so complex that engineers are forced
to specialize. The engineering graduate, entering upon his first job,
will discover early that he, too, must specialize. This will not be
difficult, owing to the fact that his engineering education has been
general and designed to embrace in a liberal way all practice. Drawing,
as he will, from this liberal source that which he finds necessary in
the solving of his initial problems,