<p>Are there any MechE grads out there who can give me their opinions on there jobs fresh out of college. Is it interesting? Do you like it? What's the pay like? Etc.
I'm just trying to get an actual MechE's opinion on this subject. Not just the average info on the internet</p>
<p>would like to know as well.</p>
<p>I suppose I would say that I went straight to graduate school from MechE undergrad partially because the straight BS-level jobs didn’t really appeal to me. It is personal, though.</p>
<p>A lot of my friends who have graduated MechE are currently working in the BME industry. I’ve worked in the BME industry as well (pretty booming in Southern California right now). It can get pretty slow sometimes, and just about everyone I know was hired into the R&D or Manufacturing side of things. R&D can be pretty interesting depending on the projects you work on although there is quite a bit of documentation as per FDA CFR’s (drafting test plans, writing proposals, etc.) just to show the government that your company is compliant. </p>
<p>Also have graduated colleagues working in the Aerospace industry/graduating colleagues with offers in hand (Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Parker (varying departments), SpaceX, etc.). Many of these individuals are typically working on verification testing and documentation on a daily basis. This is fairly common to teach inexperienced engineers how the systems work, system concerns, etc. The renewable energy industry is booming as well. A few more of my friends and myself have been hired into this field although we haven’t started work yet. </p>
<p>There are numerous industries that you can work in with a MechE. degree and most jobs are interesting to an extent although that is fairly subjective (depends on the individual). Personally I thought working R&D and making drawings, having them machined/prototyped, writing proposals + calling meetings was A LOT easier than school but definitely not as intellectually stimulating. Pay is pretty good in all industries, but the cost of living out here in Cali is pretty high so my views on that may be skewed (lowest offers in the mid-50’s, upper in the mid-to-high 60’s without sign on bonuses/relocation for a B.S. MechE.). </p>
<p>Take what I’ve written with a grain of salt. My sample size is only ~20 people many of whom had multiple offers before graduating. Apparently some people on this forum believe MechE. is a dying field? Quite obviously I don’t believe this having completed 2 engineering degrees and understanding the wide variety of roles MechE.'s actually serve in industry. There’s also the option of graduate school. A few of my friends decided to go straight in whereas a few of my friends wanted to get some work experience first before going back in.</p>