Engineering in a
Nutshell
How can you tell someone what a mechanical engineer is and
what they do in just one blog entry? Well I am going to give it a shot. There
are a plethora of fields that a mechanical engineer can go into, not to mention
the many different jobs that are in the many fields. Mechanical engineering jobs range from heating and cooling to weaponry
experts. For mechanical engineers, our job in short is to design new parts,
make the parts and then test them in the field.
The Job
The designs (for new parts and machines) and testing jobs each require a little bit of a different person. If you are looking to go into design engineering you need to keep a few things in mind. First off you have to like looking at a computer screen and being in an office because that is where most of your time will be spent. Second, you need to be able to problem solve when it comes to designing and try to think of things that no one else has thought of, some of the greatest things we have today seemed very “silly” when they were designed. For any of the engineering branches you need to keep the customer in mind, and this is especially relevant in designing new products. You are making parts for the customer so if you make an item that no one can use, no one wants, or it makes the task harder, you are not doing your job and will not be very successful as an engineer.
From talking with and meeting some professionals in the field there are a few things that I think are common between all mechanical engineers. First, I think that most engineers are interested in making the world a safer and better place. By designing and testing higher quality and safer products we make the world that much better. Most engineers like to solve problems (no not just math problems) but real everyday complications. There is nothing that feels more accomplishing then figuring out a dilemma to help someone.
The Job
The designs (for new parts and machines) and testing jobs each require a little bit of a different person. If you are looking to go into design engineering you need to keep a few things in mind. First off you have to like looking at a computer screen and being in an office because that is where most of your time will be spent. Second, you need to be able to problem solve when it comes to designing and try to think of things that no one else has thought of, some of the greatest things we have today seemed very “silly” when they were designed. For any of the engineering branches you need to keep the customer in mind, and this is especially relevant in designing new products. You are making parts for the customer so if you make an item that no one can use, no one wants, or it makes the task harder, you are not doing your job and will not be very successful as an engineer.
From talking with and meeting some professionals in the field there are a few things that I think are common between all mechanical engineers. First, I think that most engineers are interested in making the world a safer and better place. By designing and testing higher quality and safer products we make the world that much better. Most engineers like to solve problems (no not just math problems) but real everyday complications. There is nothing that feels more accomplishing then figuring out a dilemma to help someone.
Values of an Engineer
To be a good engineer there are certain values that you need to have, especially when designing. While designing parts you don’t just make them as fast and cheap as possible because many people can get hurt from your rushed work. The company you work for may push you to use the cheapest material and make the parts low quality.. If you know people may get hurt by your weak parts you need to step up and say no to making the part this way because someone may be injured. There is also the part of the job where if you are working for a company (whether testing or designing) and you are making something that is secret you need to keep that to yourself and not tell unauthorized people. This could have a very bad effect on your company and could also give the competitors a leg up.
Something to Ponder
Without mechanical engineers this world would not be the same. Imagine if everything mechanical was taken out of this world. Some examples would be, any vehicle, appliances, tractors, equipment, and the list goes on. People use things all the time that somewhere along the line a mechanical engineer designed, made, or tested. According to Teaching Tomorrow’s Engineers the mechanical engineering field is always changing and will hopefully be able to keep up with ever growing
No comments:
Post a Comment