Necessary to love cars and engines to be a successful mechanical engineer?

[Daniel]

Then I think about mechanical engineering, stereotypical image of cars comes to my mind. But I'm not interested in cars and engines. However I like the course structure of MechE : physics,chemistry,gears, DRAFTING.
Any mechanical engineering specialists out there?

[Doppelbock]

You do not need to love cars and engines to be a successful mechanical engineer. ME's design and build lots of things, not just cars/engines.

[lowbrass]

Aeronautical / Spacecraft Design (Pro-E, AutoCAD)
Architecture / Construction (accurate blueprints, floorplans, 3d renderings)

Finite Element Analysis (render something and plug-in the physics to explain how the object reacts)

[AgentofGaming]

I don't think you need to be interested.
I like Computer, so you can only guess which engineering discipline I'm in.
However I met some computer engineers that wanted to be home designers.

What's more likely to help is if you like Calculus and vectors.
Oh and I think they make all engineers learn programming (at least in UofT).

As well there are many subbranches within an engineering discipline, some should suit better than others.
Just take Electrical and Computer Engineering and theres: Photonics and Semiconductor Physics, Electromagnetics and Energy Systems, Analog and Digital Electronics, Control, Communications and Signal Processing, Computer Hardware and Computer Networks, Software, Bioengineering.

For my example I didn't like my Vector/Multivariable Calculus, so I would hate to be in Electromagnetics. However programming is okay for me and no calculus in it so software ends up looking better.

[rwyatt365]

Alas, you don't need to love cars or engines to be a successful Mech Engr (*sigh*). Like Doppelbock says, ME's design a myriad of things besides cars and engines...but who would want to do that?!! ;)

[BloozeGit]

I finished my undergrad degree in ME about 2 years back and I would say that cars and engines are but one small speck in the ocean of opportunity. They just happen to get more attention since everyone likes a nice set of wheels (I know I do), but there's lots of other stuff out there like robotics, aeronautics, astronautics (hope I got the term right), precision manufacturing, nano-machining, consumer products etc. Even if you don't end up practising as an engineer I have friends who started working in banks and such.

On a personal note, for my final year project I was working on a drilling implement for an exploration robot meant for the Egyptian pyramids, and we shared a lab with another group of guys who were working on a race car for Formula SAE (Student Automotive Engineering I think). Sure they got a lot more publicity and media attention (ours was supposed to be kept "secret" anyway) but at the end of the day we were just two groups of students pursuing different areas of mechanical engineering to our interests.

Anyway, right now I'm doing a postgrad course in acoustics, where some ME knowledge does come in handy. In fact, my future career will probably combine aspects of both, hopefully for the salary of both too :laugh: So if your interest in physics and how stuff works is already there, consider ME as a starting point.

[rwyatt365]

Formula SAE
SAE = Society of Automotive Engineers
Formula SAE = (from wikipedia)

The concept behind Formula SAE is that a fictional manufacturing company has contracted a student design team to develop a small Formula-style race car. The prototype race car is to be evaluated for its potential as a production item. The target marketing group for the race car is the non-professional weekend autocross racer. Each student team designs, builds and tests a prototype based on a series of rules, whose purpose is both ensuring on-track safety (the cars are driven by the students themselves) and promoting clever problem solving.

PS - I have a ME degree and I've been in IT for the past 25 years. There have been plenty of times when I've had to use engineering knowledge to understand some of the IT things that I've done.

[Zilal]

I considered ME since I love designing things, inventing and building prototypes. I especially love designing experiences for people, and I would love to do some kind of interactive exhibit design for museums someday. I have done a little of that already, at a small facility that didn't care I had no degree.

In the end I passed up ME because I'd rather be working outdoors than at a computer. But I'm certain you can do a lot more than car stuff with it.

[slut poacher]

a fascination with cool hardware should be motivation enough. i am a mechanic by trade, engineering would have been one of my first choices. (i cant sit at a desk, the schooling would have killed me) when somebody says "hey check out that ferarri" my first thought is "hey check out that rolling electrical fire". these days i get revved up by just about anything that pushes the limits of technology. the 3 industries that have the coolest toys are the ones with the biggest budgets. aerospace, military, formula 1, i would kill to be a part of any of these 3. the componentry for me is the biggest draw, not the finished product. i dont want to pilot the space shuttle but i would love to look under the hood. eg:what kind of material are they using for the engines nozzles, what kind of pumps do they use to flow that amount of fuel, how do they vector the thrust if they vector the thrust. i could go on and on. there are so many things to get enthused about in engineering that its having wheels is not a prerequisite.

[SMKN LS1]

I'm a little biased, as an ME that loves to work with cars. However, I've found that my outlook is the minority in my company. Most ME's I work with don't have similiar interests - some enjoy fishing, others make family a priority, and then there's me. My interest has developed into a lifelong hobby, not a career.


Note that our company is in the material handling industry, which allows me to use many different facets of our ME training. I work with powertrain gearing, structures (statics, dynamics, FEA), process controls (thermo, heat xfer, PLC's), and some NVH analysis (vibrations...) Of course, don't forget the need to be proficient at basic engineering software: Solidworks, AutoCAD, Excel, etc... I'm not recruiting anyone, but here's more info on this particular industry: To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


Beyond these typical ME areas, all successful, career-oriented engineers must become good at project management, product management, and other business-like concentrations. Usually, ME's will learn these skill sets in the workforce, not in college. A MBA is a good choice to jumpstart this learning early on, if salary is important to you.


So, in the end, whether you care about cars really isn't the big question. Becoming proficient with the use of your college-born toolset should be your biggest focus at this point. Build a strong foundation through mastering these tools as quickly as possible and any industry will be happy to have you.


p.s. Co-ops and internships will likely set you up for your first job, as they are typically in related industries. If you don't like cars, I would advise you to avoid the automotive industry during that time. I have a close friend in a tier-two supply company, and he doesn't really care about cars. Although he's good at what he does, he doesn't have passion for it.

[Daniel]

I finished my undergrad degree in ME about 2 years back and I would say that cars and engines are but one small speck in the ocean of opportunity. They just happen to get more attention since everyone likes a nice set of wheels (I know I do), but there's lots of other stuff out there like robotics, aeronautics, astronautics (hope I got the term right), precision manufacturing, nano-machining, consumer products etc. Even if you don't end up practising as an engineer I have friends who started working in banks and such.

On a personal note, for my final year project I was working on a drilling implement for an exploration robot meant for the Egyptian pyramids, and we shared a lab with another group of guys who were working on a race car for Formula SAE (Student Automotive Engineering I think). Sure they got a lot more publicity and media attention (ours was supposed to be kept "secret" anyway) but at the end of the day we were just two groups of students pursuing different areas of mechanical engineering to our interests.

Anyway, right now I'm doing a postgrad course in acoustics, where some ME knowledge does come in handy. In fact, my future career will probably combine aspects of both, hopefully for the salary of both too :laugh: So if your interest in physics and how stuff works is already there, consider ME as a starting point.


The project with the pyramid drilling robot seems exotic.

The only negative thing about meche I have is this image of a greasy engine in my head. It’s so brutal and imprecise. I think I'm more into NASA mars robot stuff or nanotechnology - clean and precise.

[AgentofGaming]

Nanotech?

Have you considered Engineering Science (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)?

Although it is tougher than the regular Engineering...


AEROSPACE
BIOMEDICAL
COMPUTER
ELECTRICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE
MANUFACTURING
NANOENGINEERING
PHYSICS
ENERGY SYSTEMS

[Zunite]

I recommend a ME degree for pretty much getting into any engineering field you want.

Downside is that you'll have bigger classes than if you specialize... Case in point - I had a class size of about 40 throughout undergrad in my aerospace engineering classes, the one mechanical class I took had a class size of over a 100.

[Freak]

No you don't need to love cars and engines to be a successful ME. Although I don't know how you define success here, to simplify the success thing I would measure it in terms of money that you can make out of it ...

I am working within the Energy (oil/gas exploration & production) Sector. All I can say about the success is that you can at least pay your bills and can retain some extra cash ...

One last thing to say is that INTJ engineers tend to retain their jobs during the economic recessions ! ! !

[Motor Jax]

i love working on my vehicles

not at all that good (referring to my manuals often)

but i love doing it anyways