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Does being a mechanical engineer call for a lot of traveling to differnt countries?
Well I am about to go into the 11th grade and I believe that I have my mind set on the career that I am going into but one thing that I may want to know is what are the best steps in becoming a successful mechanical engineer and what other jobs may be somewhat similar so that I could put in the my thoughts to widen my job spectrum? #mechanical engineer #mechanical-engineering
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Kyle’s Answer
Hi Andreus! I was in the 11th grade when I decided to pursue a career in mechanical engineering too. That was 15 years ago and now I work at a medical device company as a quality engineer!
The first step that I would recommend to becoming a successful mechanical engineer would definitely start with finding out how you learn best and develop study habits for your college courses. The class load can be a lot sometimes and the first year is a lot about learning about yourself as well as keeping up with coursework. For example, I spent 10-15 hours a week in office hours with professors in my first year going over the material covered during lectures only to find that I learn so much better (and efficiently) going through the chapters of the textbook and working through problems at the end of each chapter on my own. Treating school like a 9-5 job Monday through Friday helped me get more sleep, enjoy the college experience and taught me to budget my time well.
Second step, pursue an engineering internship or maybe a co-op as early as possible that will give you experience that will set you apart from others after graduation! This will help you learn which direction in mechanical engineering to go (there are many!) based on your goals and passions. A great job to get you started with understanding mechanical engineering may be working at a bike, small engine, or appliance repair shop in your community to learn simple mechanisms and mechanical systems all around you.
To answer your question about travel, it really depends on industry and how much the job requires field work. Lots of oil & gas companies or large equipment manufacturers require international travel to assess job sites / provide service to equipment in the field, but other industries like power / utilities production may just have you working onsite / locally 99% of the time as the job typically doesn't demand much travel.
Discover your learning style and how to study now!
Enroll in a senior class in engineering drafting, small engines, auto repair, etc.
Tell your high school math and science teachers about your goals - they can help you!
Consider study abroad opportunities in college - it's worth it!
The first step that I would recommend to becoming a successful mechanical engineer would definitely start with finding out how you learn best and develop study habits for your college courses. The class load can be a lot sometimes and the first year is a lot about learning about yourself as well as keeping up with coursework. For example, I spent 10-15 hours a week in office hours with professors in my first year going over the material covered during lectures only to find that I learn so much better (and efficiently) going through the chapters of the textbook and working through problems at the end of each chapter on my own. Treating school like a 9-5 job Monday through Friday helped me get more sleep, enjoy the college experience and taught me to budget my time well.
Second step, pursue an engineering internship or maybe a co-op as early as possible that will give you experience that will set you apart from others after graduation! This will help you learn which direction in mechanical engineering to go (there are many!) based on your goals and passions. A great job to get you started with understanding mechanical engineering may be working at a bike, small engine, or appliance repair shop in your community to learn simple mechanisms and mechanical systems all around you.
To answer your question about travel, it really depends on industry and how much the job requires field work. Lots of oil & gas companies or large equipment manufacturers require international travel to assess job sites / provide service to equipment in the field, but other industries like power / utilities production may just have you working onsite / locally 99% of the time as the job typically doesn't demand much travel.
Kyle recommends the following next steps:
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Timothy’s Answer
Travel is going to be highly dependent on the type of role you have, the company you work for etc. Some roles demand a lot of travel (e.g. technical sales, technical training, field engineering etc.). If you work for a global company, there may be good reasons to travel from your primary work location to satellite offices, factories etc. As a design engineer, you may work in one country, but need to travel to other countries where tooling fabrication and product assembly operations are carried out. Travel, and whether you have a special desire to do it or not, should be one thing you evaluate as you consider the job opportunities you have.
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Sugender’s Answer
Hi Andreus, Looks like I have answered your previous question on stream you are looking into. Good to know that you want to become as Mechanical Engineer. As a Mechanical Engineer I welcome you to this stream. coming to your question, Mechanical Engineering is vast subject and every industry and domain require mechanical engineer footsteps directly and indirectly. you can opt for R&D where New product Development and Engineering Design using CAD, CAE activities like Simulation, thermal analysis etc. industrial design and Manufacturing like many areas.
As far as traveling is concerned depends on the company and role. however you will not find travels like Business development, sales and marketing fields. please let me know if you need further clarifications
As far as traveling is concerned depends on the company and role. however you will not find travels like Business development, sales and marketing fields. please let me know if you need further clarifications