What is Mechanical Engineering?

Question

what is it?
how likely are you to get a job from it directly after college?
what is the working evironment like? (ex. desk job, office job, go out to different places, etc.)
how much do mechanical engineers make?
what do i need to do in high school?
what requirements or things do i have to know in order to become a mechanical engineer?
what's the purpose of the job?

Answer 1

Mechanical engineers design/engineer and fabricate all the equipment, appliances, and tools that are required to support our modern society and its lifestyles.
You could end up designing machinery required for all types of things like packaging food and drinks, designing pumps, engines, compressors, equipment for chemical plants, refineries and power plants, cars, trucks, boats, tanks, planes and weapons. Everything you use in your home requires some form of mechanical engineering to get it there.
Right now there is a good demand for all engineering disciplines.
As a new graduate engineer you will probably start by learning CAD, computer aided design programs, manufacturing processes, and etc. depending on who you end up working for. It will be mostly desk job type work to begin with and as you develop your skills you will get more authority and get to test your equipment, supervise it's installation and use, get involved in it's maintenance, interact with customers, etc.
In high school you need to take all the math and physics courses that you can, and learn chemistry because it comes in handy, and learn English so that you can write reports and express yourself well.
You have to know how to learn and how to apply your knowledge to solve problems.
The purpose of any engineering job is to solve problems and to create and produce "things" that function and improve peoples lives in one way or another.
Mechanical engineers' pay scale is comparable to what other engineering disciplines are paid, however chemical engineers are usually paid slightly more.

Answer 2

First of all, don't listen to pheasants like the young lady who posted an answer here before, people who make money never insult those who want to.

1. What IT is:
It is an engineering discipline that involves the application of principles of physics for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It requires a solid understanding of key concepts including mechanics, kinematics, thermodynamics and energy. Practitioners of mechanical engineering, known as mechanical engineers, use these principles and others in the design and analysis of automobiles, aircraft, heating & cooling systems, manufacturing plants, industrial equipment and machinery, and more.

2. Very Likely depending on the job market.

3. Depending on the engineering firm, you may work inside or outside, part time or full. Yes you may travel as well.

4. $50,000 all the way to $1,000,000 U.S.D. ($) per yearly average.

5. Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry (maybe), you will need to do very well in high school, otherwise you are going to screw yourself in the future. I know from experience. Don't do ANY drugs at all, not even pot. These make you never want anything else in life. Pot will stick you in one spot and leave you for dead, yes, (marijuana).

6. Clean criminal background ; i e; no felonies. Diploma. College basics (maybe). Great mathematical and physics skillset - pay attention in those classes.

7.
Purpose? Read line one.

Answer 3

'Engineering' is, by definition, "the putting to practical use of principles from the various branches of Science."

As such, Mechanical Engineers have many different career paths. You might design airplanes, bridges, automobiles, spacecraft, the mechanisms that handle CD's, or the various mechanical devices (such as implants and prosthetics) that are used in medicine.

Depending on the job, you might be mostly at a desk, or a production floor, or all over the World at various job sites.

ME's usually start (these days) at around $30K to $40K and a senior ME (again, these days) will see around $60K to $80K. If you go into technical management, an Engineering VP will make around $120K to $150K.

What you need to do in High School is get hot on the math and science. And plan on studying a lot of math and science in College as well.

The downside is simply that Engineers (regardless of their discipline) are usually victims of age discrimination starting at around 45 or so. And there is a steady stream of Engineering jobs going to South Asia (where the cost of Engineering talent is much lower).

HTH

Doug