How to Find success As A Mechanical Engineer

After having weighed your options throughout your final years of high school, you have shortlisted mechanical engineering as one of the degree paths that interest you the most.

How do you find success as a mechanical engineer? Is it even the right career for you? While it has been a wildly successful path for the likes of Anura Leslie Perera, there are a number of things you need to take into consideration before deciding to focus on mechanical engineering in the years ahead.

How to Find success As A Mechanical Engineer
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1) Are you passionate about the field? 

Many people get into engineering because they are looking for a career with high earning potential. As tempting as this may be, avoid pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering because you find its six-figure salaries attractive.

If you don’t make it through the process, you will have wasted many thousands of dollars on tuition and associated costs, all with nothing to show for it.

If you do manage to get a job in mechanical engineering, you will hate every moment of it, which is no way to spend 30 to 40 years of your life.

If you love working with your hands and have a mind for how mechanical components go together, then continue to explore the possibility of pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

2) Study math and physics diligently

Of all the subjects that you will take in the course of pursuing a mechanical engineering degree, courses in physics and math will be the most important.

Most of the problems that a mechanical engineer solves will involve concepts that are addressed in the various physics courses that you will take in college.

As far as math goes, you will need to be well-versed in subjects such as calculus, trigonometry, differential equations, and more.

If you are the type of person that takes joy in tackling these two subjects, mechanical engineering might be the right career choice for you.

3) Do you like to work with your hands?

If you have no reservations about rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty, then many of the jobs that await you in the field of mechanical engineering will fit you hand in glove.

While there are office jobs where you won’t have to go anywhere near a mechanic’s garage or factory floor, these domains are usually reserved for those that have put in their time in these grimy environments.

Besides, if money is a motivator for you, you might want to remain in the field anyway, as the renumeration for these ‘dirty’ jobs is typically higher than those situated exclusively within a high-rise office tower.

4) Which branch do you wish to specialize in?

You might think that mechanical engineering is a rather specialized sector underneath the engineering umbrella, but you will find that there are a number of different paths you can go down with this degree after graduation.

From aerospace to robotics, there are a wide range of fields that can make use of your talents, but many of them are completely different from each other.

Be sure to do research on them all during your first year of school so that you will know the electives you will need to take to qualify for the career path that makes the most sense for you.

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