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What is a good profesion for me?

I am a 10th grader and I am really interested in Industrial design, and Mechanical engineering. I enjoy solving puzzles and building stuff. I am decent at math and physics and enjoy being active. What is the right job for me? #mechanical-engineer #industrial-engineering #industrial-design #aerodynamics

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Brian’s Answer

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Sounds to me like you have found your passion already. The combination of industrial design and mechanical engineering is very valuable. Products start out as drawings done by industrial designers. They have the artistic and design sense to visualize what a great products looks like. But designers do not have the math and science skills of engineers to determine how strong must the product be or how to manufacture it or how much it will cost, so the design is passed to mechanical engineers to complete the work. If you can do both, you will have an amazing career. One of the most famous and successful architects is Santiago Calatrava. His buildings are amazing, like nothing else that other architects design. He is able to do what he does because he was trained as both an architect, which is like an industrial designer for buildings, and as a structural engineer, which is closely related to mechanical engineering. Without both sets of skills, he could not do the designs that has made him famous. Google his name and check out the amazing things he has created. You could do that for industrial products.

Thank you comment icon Sam, you're getting good advice from Brian. I'd suggest that you augment your engineering/design education with solid communication skills. Being able to communicate well will help you regardless of what industry or role your career path takes. Best of luck to you! Cal Mann
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Jeff’s Answer

I suggest you do some job shadowing. My daughter was required to do this by her high school. I thought it was a great way to get an idea of what a person in each profession does. If possible, I would job shadow quite a few folks. I graduated college as an Industrial engineer and I have many friends who also graduated with that degree. Very few of us do exactly the same thing now. Some are operation managers, some are in supply chain, some are in buildings and facility maintenance, some are in Industrial engineering. Good luck and smart thinking in asking these questions while you are in high school.

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Larry’s Answer

You say that you are good in math and in physics. These are skills that can lead into many technical professions. If I were you, I would also look into fields that progressed beyond the mechanical stage. Many of the products and services today use electronics to enhance their function. Computer science and electrical engineering are two fields that you should consider.

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Parisa’s Answer

It is great that you know what you are passionate about. You sound like me when I was in the 10th grade. :) I pursued Applied Physics for my undergraduate degree and when it became clear to me that I wanted to become an ME, I switched to ME in graduate school. Haven't regretted any of my decisions. Mechanical engineering is definitely a good starting point for you. Let me tell you one thing though: as you grow older, your interests can change but it won't be end of the world. With a solid technical background, you can always learn new things like hardware design or coding on the side and later switch careers. Best of luck!

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Cal’s Answer

Sam, I would echo what Jeff already mentioned, job shadowing can be a really valuable experience. You can start by asking all your friends what their parents do for a living. One of them might work for a company that makes products you'd be interested in learning more about. Also, ask your teachers for connections to people in design and engineering in your community. You should find out if there are companies making products in your area. Contact them to see if they offer tours of their factories...maybe you can put together a field trip for like-minded students. By seeing how products are designed and made, you'll begin to better understand the process and you'll have a better idea of how interesting it is to you. Last advise...start looking at all of the designed products around you...see if you can figure out what they're made of, what do you like about the design, what you would have done differently, etc. If you haven't already guessed, being curious (and creative!) is a really important part of being a good designer/engineer! Good luck!

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