Career: Mechanical Engineers
Every day you come in contact with many machines. There’s the clock radio that wakes you up, and the car, bus, or bike you take to school. You use calculators, computers, stereos, and phones throughout the day. Finally, you come home and use the microwave, stove, refrigerator, and electric can opener as you help with dinner.
Our lives are a lot easier today, thanks to the mechanical engineers who imagined and built these tools. In a world where we depend on machines more than ever before, mechanical engineers keep things running.
Mechanical engineers develop, build, care for, and improve tools, machines, and systems.
Did You Know?
- Mechanical engineers are working in the cutting-edge field of nanotechnology, developing high-performance materials and devices the size of molecules.
Are You Ready To...?
- Design new gadgets and improve old ones
- Read reports and interpret data
- Be part of a team
- Present your ideas to others
- Focus on details while checking for problems and safety issues
- Keep learning new skills and technologies
It Helps to Be...
A creative, curious, and logical problem solver. Mechanical engineers need to be visual thinkers who can turn data and theories into useful devices.
Make High School Count
- Take advanced math and physics.
- Sign up for computer-aided drafting and design.
- Work on your writing skills -- you’ll need to write reports that explain your ideas.
- Take shop class. You’ll need to know how machines and tools work.
- Study a foreign language. That way, you’ll be ready to cope in an increasingly global manufacturing industry.
Did You Know?
- Robots may soon be doing everything from preparing meals to mowing lawns.
Outlook
Government economists expect job growth for mechanical engineers to be as fast as the average for all careers through 2014.
Compensation
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the average yearly earnings of mechanical engineers in 2006 as $72,580.
A 2005 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers showed the following average salary offers for graduating mechanical engineering students:
- Bachelor’s degree candidates: $50,236
- Master’s degree candidates: $59,880
- Ph.D. candidates: $68,299
