First Draft

Alex Smith

Professor Kerr

EN 101-23

September 7, 2011

Mechanical Engineering

                Mechanical engineering is a specific branch of engineering, which is a career that basically finds out how and why things work. Mechanical engineering requires a serious education, but can provide you with great job opportunities and salaries. Mechanical engineers design and develop everything you can think of as a machine. (Michigan Tech)

                Becoming a mechanical engineer is not the simplest of tasks. Before you even graduate, getting into an engineering program is very competitive, and only the most qualified are accepted into a school’s program. The only required degree is a bachelor’s degree, although due to competition and the job market it is recommended to continue an extra one to two years full time and receive a master’s degree. In fact many jobs even have a minimum requirement of a master’s degree. (Mechanical Engineer Jobs). Even higher up than that, a researcher or lecturer at a university must have a minimum of a doctorate degree. (Mechanical Engineer Jobs). Mechanical engineers whose work affects the lives of people or whom work privately must be licensed in the state of which they work. (Mechanical Engineer Jobs). In order to receive a license you need a minimum of a bachelor’s degree plus four years of work experience in the industry before you qualify to sit for the state engineering exam, which you then must pass in order to receive your license. (Mechanical Engineer Jobs)

                The jobs that await mechanical engineering majors are almost endless. There is really no specific type of job that mechanical engineers are limited to stick with. Seventy five percent of mechanical engineers go into manufacturing. (Mechanical Engineer Jobs). But that’s not all; they can also go into fields such as robotics, automatic transportation, and air conditioning. (Michigan Tech). And from within these fields, what you can do in your field expands out too. You can choose to work and fix things, construct from scratch, modify and perfect, or even invent new things. Mechanical engineers are a huge part of the technological revolution that has taken place in the past few decades.

                Salaries are just one of the perks to mechanical engineering. An average salary is approximately $69,850, with the top ten percent at $104,900, and the bottom ten percent at $45,170.  Starting salaries vary on degree. A starting salary for a mechanical engineer with a bachelor’s degree is approximately $54,128; a master’s degree $62,978; and a doctorate degree $72,763. (Mechanical Engineer Jobs). Mechanical engineering is a career with many options. If you like problem solving, being creative, hands on-understanding, networking, leadership/conflict resolution, or knowledge management then you will enjoy this career. (Michigan Tech). They say that you never work a day in your life if you love what you do, for mechanical engineering this saying definitely applies. There are so many things that  you can do in this career that anyone who does it is bound to find something they enjoy and can continue to do throughout their life.

                Mechanical Engineering  is projected to grow about four percent by 2016. (Mechanical Engineer Jobs). It is the study of how things work and, more specifically, how to design new products. (Education Portal).