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What career paths do mechanical engineers go into?
What types of jobs and career paths do mechanical engineers follow? How is the workload? What are the goals and challenges they face in their work? #mechanical-engineer #engineering #engineering #mechanical-engineering #engineer
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Tyler’s Answer
Mechanical Engineering (ME) has many career paths. As a ME, you will get a broad understanding of many engineering disciplines and have the credentials to work as a Professional Engineer (PE). While you may think that a ME would only do mechanical, you will actually find that an understanding of electrical and computer programming are fundamental to solving many challenges. As for careers, as an ME you may choose to focus on engineering directly or you can choose an adjacent career path (Program Management, Technical Sales, Management, etc.) that the technical understanding will give you a leg up in understanding the bigger picture. I'm a Mechanical Engineer that got my masters in Thermal Engineering, and started designing thermal solutions for servers, expanded to data center cooling, taught myself control programming, and now own architecture and strategy for my companies Modular Data Center division. You can do anything with a strong foundation in Mechanical Engineering.
Workload is what you make of it. I for one worked a lot in my early career as I wanted to learn more about all that was around me. I enjoyed (and still do) the constant ambiguity and learning that being an ME in my field provides and so I consider it a joy to do this work. I don't think that I could ever just put that down when I come home at the end of the day, but that also means there isn't a clear distinction between work and the rest of my life. I believe the key here is finding a career that you enjoy and a company to work for that allows you to focus on family when you need to and work when you need to. In other words, its not about the workload as much as it is making sure you have time to do the non-work related things that also matter.
Workload is what you make of it. I for one worked a lot in my early career as I wanted to learn more about all that was around me. I enjoyed (and still do) the constant ambiguity and learning that being an ME in my field provides and so I consider it a joy to do this work. I don't think that I could ever just put that down when I come home at the end of the day, but that also means there isn't a clear distinction between work and the rest of my life. I believe the key here is finding a career that you enjoy and a company to work for that allows you to focus on family when you need to and work when you need to. In other words, its not about the workload as much as it is making sure you have time to do the non-work related things that also matter.
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Archana’s Answer
What types of jobs and career paths do mechanical engineers follow?
There are a variety of jobs and domains open to mechanical engineers. Ex: CFD (Fluid dynamics), Automotive and automotive testing industry, thermal studies, Robotics etc.
How is the workload?
Depends on the type of company and their vision and growth path. I started off with a small automotive testing company and worked for 13-14 hrs a day as it was a start up and had heavy workload. However, this is where i really had a chance to get hands on and really learn. Workload might be lighter in bigger orgs.
There are a variety of jobs and domains open to mechanical engineers. Ex: CFD (Fluid dynamics), Automotive and automotive testing industry, thermal studies, Robotics etc.
How is the workload?
Depends on the type of company and their vision and growth path. I started off with a small automotive testing company and worked for 13-14 hrs a day as it was a start up and had heavy workload. However, this is where i really had a chance to get hands on and really learn. Workload might be lighter in bigger orgs.
Updated
Maher’s Answer
What types of jobs and career paths do mechanical engineers follow?
as for my knowledge, the career paths go as,
on site, as for maintenance, condition monitoring, lifting, turbomachinery, production, and commissioning.
office, as for planning, asset management, safety, HSE, Design, simulation and R&D
research and I don't know much about it as I am not involved in any of it.
How is the workload?
It depends on the time, some times you will be on the site for the whole 8 hours and may be overtime, and sometimes you will just be finishing some office work, and some other times you will have no work ( its time to study harder to take your next step )
What are the goals and challenges they face in their work?
the goals varies by the industry and the type of work, but it mainly involves about studying a new subject, taking a certification to prove that you have this expertise, and applying that in your work.
as for my knowledge, the career paths go as,
on site, as for maintenance, condition monitoring, lifting, turbomachinery, production, and commissioning.
office, as for planning, asset management, safety, HSE, Design, simulation and R&D
research and I don't know much about it as I am not involved in any of it.
How is the workload?
It depends on the time, some times you will be on the site for the whole 8 hours and may be overtime, and sometimes you will just be finishing some office work, and some other times you will have no work ( its time to study harder to take your next step )
What are the goals and challenges they face in their work?
the goals varies by the industry and the type of work, but it mainly involves about studying a new subject, taking a certification to prove that you have this expertise, and applying that in your work.
Updated
Christian’s Answer
College will prepare you for any job path you're interested in as a Mechanical Engineer. I'm currently a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and although I thought Mechanical Engineering was just hands on projects, I soon found out that it was more than that. You can choose from learning Thermodynamics for transfer of heat to Control Systems for robotics. Mechanical Engineering is the most versatile of the Engineering majors because of this. Since I want to continue on my path of hands-on, I took a class called Elements of Mechanical Design that teaches you about gear theory and how pressure on an axle can affect the gears and so on. It's all up to each individual on what route they want to take, and Mechanical Engineering is such a broad field that you don't have to choose right away.
The workload is typical schoolwork, having to spend 2-8 hours on a single assignment, but that's in a span of a week. When it's something you enjoy, it will become easier. I didn't like the intro level courses at college, but the when we got to the higher level courses they became more interesting and I paid more attention.
I believe the only challenge for a mechanical engineer is choosing a path. Like I said before, there are so many things to choose from, Thermodynamics, Robotics, Hardware, Manufacturing, Data Analysis, etc. It's all about knowing what you love and pursuing the next best thing.
The workload is typical schoolwork, having to spend 2-8 hours on a single assignment, but that's in a span of a week. When it's something you enjoy, it will become easier. I didn't like the intro level courses at college, but the when we got to the higher level courses they became more interesting and I paid more attention.
I believe the only challenge for a mechanical engineer is choosing a path. Like I said before, there are so many things to choose from, Thermodynamics, Robotics, Hardware, Manufacturing, Data Analysis, etc. It's all about knowing what you love and pursuing the next best thing.