Inspiring Engineer Quotes to Ignite Your Creativity

"The scientist discovers a new type of material or energy and the engineer discovers a new use for it."

- Gordon Lindsay Glegg

"This job is a great scientific adventure. But it’s also a great human adventure."

- Fabiola Gianotti

"Science can amuse and fascinate us all, but it is engineering that changes the world."

- Isaac Asimov

"The ideal engineer is a composite … He is not a scientist, he is not a mathematician, he is not a sociologist or a writer; but he may use the knowledge and techniques of any or all of these disciplines in solving engineering problems."

- Nathan W. Dougherty

"As engineers, we were going to be in a position to change the world – not just study it."

- Henry Petroski

"Scientists study the world as it is; engineers create the world that has never been."

- Theodore von Karman

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

- Aristotle

"The way to succeed is to double your failure rate."

- Thomas J. Watson

"Strive for perfection in everything you do. Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, design it."

- Sir Henry Royce

"We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems."

- Lee Iacocca

"The only way to do great work is to love what you do."

- Steve Jobs

"Give me a long enough lever and a fulcrum on which to place it and I will move the earth."

- Archimedes of Syracuse

"I don’t care that they stole my idea… I care that they don’t have any of their own."

- Nikola Tesla

"Nothing is too wonderful to be true if it consistent with the laws of nature."

- Michael Faraday

"When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor."

- Elon Musk

"Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose."

- Bill Gates

"Quality means doing it right when no one is looking."

- Henry Ford

"It is possible to fly without motors, but not without knowledge and skill."

- Wilbur Wright

"I have always felt it is my destiny to build a machine that would allow man to fly."

- Leonardo da Vinci

"I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks, but for the ledger of our daily work."

- Neil Armstrong

"Scientists investigate that which already is; engineers create that which has never been."

- Albert Einstein

"If you double the number of experiments you do per year you’re going to double your inventiveness."

- Jeff Bezos

"I can think of nothing else than this machine."

- James Watt

"Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus."

- Alexander Graham Bell

"My goal wasn’t to make a ton of money. It was to build good computers."

- Steve Wozniak

"It is important to follow your dreams and heart. Do something that excites you."

- Sundar Pichai

"Anticipating problems and figuring out how to solve them is actually the opposite of worrying: it’s productive."

- Chris Hadfield

"Always be open to advice from others, but what matters most is who you want to be, not merely what you want to do."

- Buzz Aldrin

"I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough we must apply. Being willing is not enough we must do."

- Leonardo da Vinci

"Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently."

- Henry Ford

"Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough."

- Elon Musk

"Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon. July 1969 AD. We came in peace for all of mankind."

- Neil Armstrong

"If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration."

- Nikola Tesla

"It is important to heed the lessons of failure. As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others."

- Bill Gates

"Engineering or technology is all about using the power of science to make life better for people, to reduce cost, to improve comfort, to improve productivity, etc."

- N. R. Narayana Murthy

"Engineers create solutions to the world’s problems using math, science, and technology."

- Dean Kamen

"Engineering is the art of directing the great sources of power in nature for the use and convenience of man."

- Thomas Tredgold

"Science is about knowing; engineering is about doing."

- Henry Petroski

"Engineering stimulates the mind. Kids get bored easily. They have got to get out and get their hands dirty: make things, dismantle things, fix things. When the schools can offer that, you’ll have an engineer for life."

- Bruce Dickinson

"I am an engineer. I serve mankind by making dreams come true."

- Fahad Basheer

"Scientists dream about doing great things. Engineers do them."

- James A. Michener

"At its heart engineering is about using science to find creative practical solutions. It’s a noble profession."

- Queen Elizabeth II

"The engineer has been, and is, a maker of history."

- James Kip Finch

"Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."

- Henry Ford

"The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot."

- Michael Altshuler

"If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it."

- Olin Miller

"Engineers like to solve problems. If there are no problems handily available, they will create their own problems."

- Scott Adams

"The ideal engineer is a composite… He is not a scientist, he is not a mathematician, he is not a sociologist or a writer; but he may use the knowledge and techniques of any or all of these disciplines in solving engineering problems."

- Nathan W. Dougherty

"Good design is obvious. Great design is transparent."

- Joe Sparano

"Design is the silent ambassador of your brand."

- Paul Rand

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

- Leonardo da Vinci

"Design is not a single object or dimension. Design is messy and complex."

- Natasha Jen

"Design is the art of turning constraints into opportunities."

- Aza Raskin

"Engineering problems are under-defined; there are many solutions, good, bad, and indifferent. The art is to arrive at a good solution."

- Richard James

"Design is a journey of discovery."

- Alvin Huang

"Design is not about what you add, but about what you remove."

- Vitaly Friedman

"The future belongs to the few of us still willing to get our hands dirty."

- Chris Sacca

"It's not about having enough resources. It's about being resourceful."

- Tony Robbins

"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination."

- Tommy Lasorda

"The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty."

- Winston Churchill

"Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle."

- Christian D. Larson

"There is no failure except in no longer trying."

- Elbert Hubbard

"Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."

- Joshua J. Marine

"When you come to a roadblock, take a detour."

- Mary Kay Ash

"In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity."

- Albert Einstein

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

- Theodore Roosevelt

"If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward."

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Don't watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going."

- Sam Levenson

"Time is a created thing. To say 'I don't have time,' is like saying, 'I don't want to.'"

- Lao Tzu

"Time is what we want most, but what we use worst."

- William Penn

"Don't wait for opportunity. Create it."

- Chris Grosser

"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great."

- Zig Ziglar

"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination."

- Jimmy Dean

"The time for action is now. It's never too late to do something."

- Carl Sandburg

"Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind."

- Nathaniel Hawthorne

"The engineering is long, the inspiration is short."

- Kevin Ashton

"If I had nine hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first six sharpening my axe."

- Abraham Lincoln

"An engineer is someone who can do for a dime what any fool can do for a dollar."

- Arthur M. Wellington

"One man’s “magic” is another man’s engineering. “Supernatural” is a null word."

- Robert A. Heinlein

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

"To the optimist, the glass is half full. To the pessimist, the glass is half empty. To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be."