The Job Description
Mechanical engineers basically design tools and machines for engineering and civil purposes and they often work as a team to develop new machines. engineering is a vast area with diverse scopes and applications including air pollution control engineer, automotive engineer or manufacturing engineer among others.
Mechanical engineers can choose their own fields of specialization including instrumentation or bio engineering to become subject matter experts in their respective fields and industries. Mechanical engineers should have a good aptitude in science and mathematics and should have an inquisitive mind to explore the machine parts. They should be physically fit as their job might require long hours of hard manual work involving work at odd hours.
Education and Training
Engineers should at least have a bachelor’s degree in engineering. Advanced degrees or business administration degrees are useful to land upon lucrative jobs. Most of the employers are keen on making sure that their employees keep abreast with the latest happenings in the engineering world and support education throughout the careers by sponsoring the education expenses.
There are many online courses too that could be helpful for mechanical engineers who wish to work full time. Just browse through the college directory of your area to find the various part time advanced courses which can be helpful for those who prefer to do a work- study program.
Promotional Scope
Mechanical engineers start their career as assistants to senior engineers where they gain hands-on experience in the various projects. Once they gain enough experience, they move on to become supervisors or managers depending on the employee’s caliber.
Mechanical engineers with advanced degrees can become research directors or they can even set up their own consultancy services or manufacturing companies to become entrepreneurs. The annual salary package of mechanical engineers in the year 2005 was $50,236 per year. Other benefits include paid holidays, insurance and retirement plans.