I hate the "maquila" (assembly industry) where else can I work as a Mechanical engineer?

Answer 1

Mechanical engineers show up in all companies that produce products.

Even companies that produce electronics need mechanical engineers to design the cases that the circuit boards get mounted into.

These are desk jobs where you'd use your drafting/CAD skills. You won't have to be "on the assembly line" every day in this work. You may have to talk to a shop foreman fairly often, but your workspace, your desk, will probably be in an office location.

Aerospace companies use M.Eng.'s all the time, again, you'd work at a desk most of the time doing drafting.

If you have experience with pumps and valves, you can get into fluids, and again, that would be a desk job away from manufacturing, using software like IDEAS and Solid Works to develop plans and drawings for the manufacturing people.

Architectural companies are probably similar.
Computerized drafting skills are always in demand.

Try searching on careerbuilder.com using keywords like drafting and CAD.

Remember, you want a *big* company because they have enough resources to divide the engineering staff from the production staff, and keep those people separate.

In small companies, the senior engineers get shifted into double-duty as managers and have more contact with the actual manufacturing workers.

You don't absolutely need a college degree, if you know how to use CAD programs.

Answer 2

Mechanical engineering is a versatile degree.

I'd look for companies that have hired mechanical engineers in your region in the past (old classified ad sections are good). Research the company at the library and find a contact name overseeing the techical side. I'd write a letter to that person asking for an informational interview (not a job interview) and follow-up with a polite phone call.

You are asking for some valuable time and they expect nothing in return, so be very thoughtful and respectful. When you meet with an engineeer doing the actual work you are considering, you will want to find out if a working engineer in that field is "happy" through indirect questioning.

I'd recommend a book "Stumbling on Happiness." It provides some remarkable, surprising, and scientifically backed research. The best way to determine if you will be happy in a job is to ask someone who is doing the job right now. Some interesting conclusions are:

-As humans, we are not as different as we like to think.

-Our memories of the past and projections about what makes us happy in the future tend to be distorted. (We cannot accurately determine what will make us happy.)

Surprisingly, happiness of people who are currently doing a job is the best predictor of the happiness that you will experience in that job.