Mechanical Engineering what is expectation and what is reality

I found this video from youtube to be helpful for kids or anybody needing information about ME (Mechanical Engineering).
Take a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNejutAMiTE

That is a really depressing video. Fortunately there are many much more engaging and technically challenging Mechanical engineering jobs. About the only things I agree with is that communication and writing are important.

Those guys need to hear the story of the stone cutter - (paraphrased here by me, but full text is a brief google away)

A man saw some stone cutters and asked them what they were doing, he got three different answers
The first said “I am cutting stones.”

The second said “I am cutting this stone to go in that spot up there.” (cutter motions to an empty spot on the wall)
The third said “I am building a cathedral”.

The third stone cutter understood what the task was all about. The guys in the video do not see the role they play in their own industry, nor a career path. Kinda sad.

FWIW - My job makes it possible for someone to turn on a lamp at night.

Nordicdad: what kind of jobs for Mechanical Engineers that are technically challenging jobs using higher math calculus, thermodynamics, physics, pretty hands-on, using your design and creativity? unless you work doing research, literally making aeroplane, cars, robotics etc. Not that many. Maybe I am wrong.

Watch this video: He does not use higher math in day to day operation??..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gq6fdtvCOM

Here is the dream job as Mechanical Engineer using your creativity, design and pretty hands-on? are you kids ready for a challenge as a newbie-rookie?..take a listen to this another video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlh7eED7w-8

That was awful. These guys are absolute morons. They don’t get the big picture at all. They are generalizing based on a very small subset of mechanical engineers (e.g. themselves and their coworkers, who naturally have similar jobs to them). They are cherry picking data. About the only thing they get right is that you have to produce a lot of what amounts to legal documents. For liability purposes, there always has to be a paper trail. Suck it up!

For example, sure Lockheed has a location in Oklahoma, but it also has them in Atlanta, Dallas, Greater Los Angeles, and more. Why do they have a location in Palmdale? Because that is where NASA Dryden and Edwards AFB are located, so sure you may be living in Palmdale (which is not that bad, by the way), but you are working at the location where Lockheed tests a lot of their experimental stuff.

These kids sound like they have never left California and like they feel like getting an engineering degree means they automatically should get to live near the beach. According to them, the aerospace industry is only located in Washington, California, and Texas. What about St. Louis? Philadelphia? Atlanta? Huntsville? Orlando? Ohio? Virginia?

Cars are only in Michigan and California? Give me a break!

The one guy (Nam) complains about his boring job that involves inspection of defective parts every day. It sounds like it’s time for him to look for a new job if that’s what he is doing and he hates it. Otherwise he can just go to work, bank the $70k, and go home and enjoy his life after working a relatively simple 9 to 5. Neither are bad options depending on your own personal goals.

Not all (or even most) mechanical engineering jobs involve working as a part inspector in a manufacturing plant or a pipeline inspector/designer for a gas company. Period. End of story.

EDIT: Let me add another point (and it was discussed in that second video posted here). Most engineers aren’t going to use higher-level math on a regular basis. They still need to know that math and go through the background math so that you understand the scientific basis for what you do. Once you are on the job, a lot of times there are equations that boil down to algebra that help you solve a problem, but if you don’t know where those equations came from, you are likely not going to fully understand what you are doing.

Nothing in this video represents the job of a mechanical engineer. It showed guys like the line managers and the machinists, but mechanical engineers are not doing those jobs. Instead, they are designing the machinery that makes the bottles. They are designing the control systems that make that machinery work. They are designing the manufacturing process itself so that it produces the same bottle every time within spec.

@Tulanefan101 I don’t use Calculus that often. Understanding calculus certainly is critical, as is physics. Those subjects are really the foundation of mechanical engineering. I use algebra and trig on a regular basis. I use finite element analysis for both structural and electro-magnetic simulation which is based on linear algebra. I am not the expert in heat transfer and fluid dynamics, but I certainly need to know the fundamentals fairly well even though I get assistance from PhD level mechanical engineers there. The most critical subjects to my job are strength of materials (statics), materials science, manufacturing methods, and machine design.

It is very creative work. I typically have very open ended problems. I have always worked in the electronics industry, on products like commercial GPS and personal electronics. Problems include how much space to allocate to various components in the system and understand what loads will they see. Then you must decide material and shape will best deal with the mechanical and thermal loads. Then you need to understand what processes can best create the parts. After developing a concept I then have to build models to verify my design. My current company makes products that are not nearly as complicated as a plane or car or dishwasher, but we have hundreds of mechanical engineers doing similar things to what I do.

Don’t get me wrong there are of course jobs that don’t require much technical knowledge. There are plenty of jobs that require a considerable amount of knowledge as well. That glass plant certainly utilized a considerable amount of mechanical engineering knowhow, that video did not really focus on the complexity.

Nordicdad and boneh3ad: Thanks for the insight about Mechanical Engineering jobs. I am not an engineer myself. But my son is. He is working at aerospace company now as engineer (designing, hands-on stuff like that using his higher math and physics, etc and a couple times he called me from Palmdale too – aka Plant 42? where his company has a huge plant too) immediately got the job after graduation. The moral story of my post is to open the eyes of any kids wanting to do ME, etc.

Right, but the problem with that is that none of the links you posted were particularly helpful for that. The first one was an unquestionably biased view of mechanical engineering. The second was a contrast to that but was still just a single person describing their single career path. The third one, while taking place in a setting that certainly had lots of involvement by mechanical engineers, did not actually feature any mechanical engineering work directly. Mechanical engineering careers are as diverse as the people who study the subject. There is no one type of job that generally represents the broad category of mechanical engineering.

OK you don’t like those videos even though they are related to real job as ME? now take a listen about this ME job. It is a real job of ME to make airplanes. But, not everybody is so fortunate to get a job making/designing aeroplanes…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLHItgLHx9g

Sure, not everybody gets those jobs, but not everybody gets the jobs described in your other posts either. That statement cuts both ways. The original video made it sound like the majority of engineers get peon jobs like those described in the video. In reality, a “typical” engineering job is more likely to be similar to what is described in this most recent video with the GE engineers. That’s how jet engines are designed. That’s how planes are designed. That’s how cars are designed. That’s how heavy equipment is designed. That is how machines on a manufacturing line are designed. That is how most complex products/machines are designed. There are a lot of mechanical engineers in those jobs.

Perhaps some guys like the peon jobs or perhaps they don’t have high GPA upon graduation. So, the only job they can get is such boring job, etc. Those ME cool jobs in aerospace (with high paying too) require high GPA and good credentials to begin with. So, that is tough luck for them who don’t have any. Maybe I am wrong too?

Yes, there are probably people out there who enjoy those jobs, and that is just fine. It just isn’t indicative of ME as a whole and that has been my whole point here. You can’t use it to paint ME with a broad brush.

I am not trying to paint ME with a broad brush. But, it is just a reality shock when they don’t get high fancy job (dream job). Anyhow, those boring jobs also need to be filled and done. And perhaps if they do make a career moving through rank-and file and hopefully, they will earn big bucks too as line manager or general manager/VP of production, etc.

With a little persistence and a decent GPA there are fun engineering jobs that DO make use of your design, math, etc skills. Will you get that job right out of school? Maybe! I kinda did (many years ago). In my career I’ve designed all kinds of space hardware; some of it is orbiting the earth right now, other items are roving around Mars.

You will start off small. A little piece of the larger piece of hardware will be where you start. After all, what company is going to entrust millions of dollars in actual hardware cost and /or schedule costs HOPEING that you really do know what you are doing. You start small to prove yourself and as you do, the assignments get bigger and better.

@Tulanefan101, I’m not an engineering and I’m a frequent poster too. I typically post about school selection. What you’ll never see me post about is what it’s like to be an engineer. As I said, I’m not one and I don’t have the background to assess whether or not the things I read and watch are biased or even remotely correct. I know you’re trying to be helpful, but may simply be unintentionally misleading.

Well, not all ME engineers are created equal and I am not trying to mislead anyone. I am just trying to educate kids to be open-minded and accept the fact(s) that if they don’t get their dream job (designing cars, aeroplanes, computer, washer-dryer, etc with high paying job) then they still can make a career out of ME. With ME degree they can do Sales, teaching at colleges (required higher degree like Phd), banking as analyst using their higher math etc.

Misleading intentionally or not is if anyone always presents cool jobs or dream jobs with high paying salary by getting ME degree while after spending 4 years in school, the kid(s) can not get such job(s) due to competition, low GPA and credentials, or simply failing at interviews, etc.

Given that you seem to be concerned so much with students realizing that they might not get their dream jobs, your choice of examples here is curious:

This is the only one that seems to fit your narrative. It’s not typically considered a “sexy” job (at least among incoming students) but it is a relatively common path for engineers. Some like it, other don’t.

First, there is no “like PhD” about it. Teaching absolutely requires a PhD unless you feel like being an adjunct, which is really a pretty poor career move if it is your primary job. They typically get paid in circus peanuts with little to no benefits. Second, teaching at a college or university (a.k.a. being a professor) is a “dream job” for basically anyone who is interested in it. It’s not something you settle for, and it will typically require 8 to 10 years worth of school and likely at least a year after that of being a postdoctoral researcher. This is a long, difficult road that really only attracts people for whom it is a dream job.

This is also a “dream job” caliber career, and investment banks typically only recruit the top students from the top schools.

Sure, it is best to try to paint an unbiased picture of the possibilities after graduation. That isn’t what you are doing, however. Whether it is intentional or not, this thread has promoted the idea that these sorts of jobs discussed in all those videos with low job satisfaction are the norm form mechanical engineering graduates, and that simply isn’t true. Your choice of examples to illustrate your point isn’t doing any favors either.

Ok points well taken. Thank you for your time.