<p>Okay, I'm planning on taking mechanical engineering in college but I don't FULLY understand what ME entails. I'm interested in mechanical stuff, robotics, F1 cars, and most other stuff that has to do with moving parts!! well...but i'm still stuck when asked why I want to do mechanical engineering!</p>
<p>How would you answer these questions? Why mechanical engineering? Where will you end up with a ME degree after college?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>You can break Mechanical Engineering down into three major topics.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Mechanical Systems - Gears, shafts, power-screws, ect. Mechanical Parts that move and interact with one another, often times transferring forces and torques. Based on your post, this seems to be what you are interested in.</p></li>
<li><p>Thermal Systems - Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, ect. This side of ME deals with the theory and design of Turbines, Pumps, Air Conditioners, Car Engines, ect.</p></li>
<li><p>Controls - While not as large as the other two (in terms of undergraduate curriculum, not job opportunities, for which I'm not really qualified to speak :) ), this deals with electro-mechanical systems. A good deal of circuitry and electrical engineering comes into play here.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>At my school, Penn State, you have to go through a core set of courses your junior year, were you are required to take three ME courses related to Mechanical Systems (Machine Dynamics, Machine Design, and Vibrational Mechanics), three ME courses related to Thermal Systems (Thermodynamics I and II, Fluid Mechanics), and one ME course on controls. Your senior year is less-structured, where you only have to take one Mechanical Systems course and one Thermal Systems course, and you can spend four other courses on an area of your choice.</p>
<p>For me, my concentration is in "Fluid Mechanics and Turbomachinery", a subsection on the thermal side of things. You also get to pick whether you want to do your capstone design project on a thermal system or a mechanical system, and you have to take 2 ME labs, but you can pick from a list that includes multiple labs related to all three of those topics.</p>
<p>This is not the sum-total of the degree, mind you... obviously, there's a lot of calculus, physics, and chemistry along the way, as well as a prescribed list of general engineering courses, material's science, computer programming, as well as economics, ect.</p>
<p>But I think this might help give you a feel for the three major topics within ME. ME is one of the broader engineering disciplines. This has both it's pros and it's cons.</p>
<p>For me personally, I went to school intending to major in Aerospace Engineering. I still think Aero is the coolest thing since sliced bread, but I changed majors my sophomor year. Why? Because I wasn't comfortable with the job market for Aero's, even though PSU's undergrad aero department was ranked 10th (by USnews) when I arrived int 2002 and is currently 15th. If the economy just happens to go sour the semester that I graduate, there arn't to many employers out there that will hire an Aero. If NASA and Northrop currently arn't hiring, and I have a bad interview with Lockheed, all of the sudden there arn't to many left on the list besides Boeing... for me, the appeal for ME was this:
If I do well in ME, and I still want to work in the aero industry, Lockheed, NASA, ect all hire ME's... but if I strike out with those select few companies, as an ME, I'm far from out of options.</p>
<p>As an ME, you can work in the automotive industry, the power-plant industry, the aerospace industry, and that doesn't even tip the ice-burg. Almost anybody that manufactures anything can use an ME; between the pieces of there product that need to fit together to the machines they use to manufacture the product, ME's hold jobs ranging from design to quality control. In fact, Nuclear Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and Industrial Engineering are in many ways related to ME, and just happen to be concerned with a specific aspect of mechanical engineering.</p>
<p>Don't hesitate to think outside of the box. ME is very broad, and can open the door to as many industries as most any other engineering degree.</p>
<p>Thanks! that was insightful. i only have a vague idea of ME though it's my most probable major...
Seems like mechanical systems is for me, although i'm also interested in fluid mechanics as well.
by the way, is a lot of chemistry involved in ME? chemistry is not really my cup of tea!
and more answers to the original question are still welcome...!</p>
<p>No, it's not a big part... directly. There are a few topics in chemistry that your ME department will put a "Mechanical Engineering spin" on, and then it actually will be kind of cool. For me, I really didn't like Chemistry at all. Disliking chemistry doesn't mean you shouldn't major in ME.</p>
<p>I'm not to familiar with other curriculums, but at Penn State, ALL engineers have to take one chemistry course, and then depending on what type of engineering you're in, you MAY have to take more. For us ME's at psu, we're required to EITHER take the next Chem lecture course (after the first one), or we can take a biology course (anatomy) instead (artificial hearts are just a special type of pump... mechanical engineers design pumps). I don't like biology either, but it's just something I tolerated so I could major in ME.</p>
<p>I love fluid mechanics. There's all sorts of hydraulic/pneumatic systems out there that will apply the principles you'll learn in fluid mechanics. If you're a "Formula One" kind of guy who also has an interest in fluid mechanics, you sound to me like the target market for a ME degree.</p>
<p>ps. the artificial heart is just one example of what I'm talking about when I say "think outside of the box". ME is so broad, that it can take you a lot of places, including medical research, where artificial hearts will require knowledge of the principles of fluid mechanics, and artificial limbs are in many ways mechanical parts that have to move with respect to each other, while able to withstand and transmit forces and torques.</p>
<p>well, nice to hear that! i can tolerate some chemistry/biology if tht's what it takes. hehe. ME sounds like fun :)</p>