What is the difference between an engineer and a scientist?

I think that engineers tend to be more practical, hands-on people than scientists. Scientists want to discover something for the sake of discovery. Engineers want to apply those discoveries or their own discoveries to make a useful device. A scientist can write a paper about something. An engineer can turn what the scientist wrote about into reality. For instance, a hammer. A scientist can write all about the theory of the hammer. An engineer knows how to use it. Just my opinion. I chose engineering over science because as a kid I was always building things and taking things apart to see how they worked.

That's a great question. Scientists are people who largely deal with theory. They deal with pure maths or pure science and develop relations between observed phenomena and explain them through mathematics or logical interpretations. Engineers use the theories developed by scientists and put them into practice. They actually do or make things in real life taking into account things like aesthetics, costs and practical limitations. For example force is defined as mass X acceleration (which is a purely scientific / mathematical relationship). But in practice if you push a car with a given force, it wont accelerate to the value given by the above relationship. The actual acceleration would be lower (or higher) and would depend on things like slope of ground on which it is standing, wind speed, amount of air in the tyres etc. Although science can account for all of these, an engineer will use basic science, and compensate for these events. Thus scientists work in sciences that use pure and absolute concepts (chemistry, physics, computers) while engineers work on applied sciences (mechanical, electrical etc.).

A scientist is quite a generic term and could cover all sorts of careers for example, you could be a scientist in genetics or astronomy. I studied medical engineering and it was the best thing I did. When I was in year 12 I had no idea what an engineer would involve but I went for it being told that it was a mix between science and art (quite true). You will get involved in design at some stage and there will be a lot of mathematics involved. Depending on your interests you could be a mechanical, chemical, electrical or aerospace engineer. You could end up being the brains behind space shuttles, missiles and aeroplanes if that's your interest, work with cars or prosthetic implants like I did. You could continue further with research with a PhD or work for a top company like Rolls Royce...or both. The possibilities with engineering are endless.

Scientists generally go into research, they will do experiments and tests to discover learn more about things. Engineers usually design and oversee the creation of structures or devices. Basically, scientists make discoveries and engineers find uses for the discoveries. As a career path, it is possible to study both at university. I'm currently doing a combined Bach. of Engineering and Bach of Science. If you study both, it gives you the option to do either, which ever one you find more interesting, as a career

yeah, this is an interesting question. well, you need to test you ability in both of them , then you have to choose which one is more interest to you, also ,it needs you concentration . check out what is you talent in them, are you interested or sometime do some hand-working ?, then you need to go for engineer, If you´r interested in reading and observing things and doing some self research, then go for scientist. thanks

I've unified them both for my Uni course: Biomedical Engineering.