Beginning your career can be a stressful thought process as you look to your future. For me, I have always had a decent background as to what career fields I might be interested in. What I didn’t know was how or what these professions entailed. One of my main interests is Mechanical engineering which has two basic parts. The first part is the base field of engineering itself and the second part is which specific branch. Engineering puts problem solving and the usage or creation of materials together in order to create change. An engineer will begin as an undergraduate student. This will be after you have determined the specific branch of engineering that you will go into, However most undergraduate students will take similar courses of math and science when going into an engineering field.
Undergraduate study consists of one or two years depending on the students preference to get a bachelor’s degree in engineering. Most colleges will only have basic engineering degrees, but there are also many schools that specialize in different kinds of engineering. After an engineering degree is received a student will then have to transfer to a university in order to study the specific branch of engineering. Some students prefer the engineering degree to the mechanical degree because of the cost of the courses. A mechanical graduate degree will cost more per semester due to the extra studies in that branch. A mechanical engineering graduate could take from four to seven years, Four years for a bachelor’s degree or seven years for a masters.
Mechanical engineers will have to be licensed if they are to do create change in people’s lives or the environment. Students who study Engineering will be tested and eventually given this license. For most companies a bachelor’s is usually the minimal. A master’s assures a higher starting salary and ample opportunities for advancement inside the business. Students in high school should have good grades focused in on math, chemistry, physics, and mechanical courses. To become a successful engineer starting at a high school level will put you ahead of the game especially when you are sure what kind of engineering you want to do. Helpful qualities a mechanical engineer should have consist of being a good decision making, creative, analytical mind, and a capacity for detail.
The everyday life and work of a mechanical engineer are at first seen to be repetitive, but as time goes by work will vary with projects and assignments. The average engineer works from thirty-five to fifty hours weekly. If you are ahead of schedule then your hours may be less. Depending on which branch of engineer you venture into, you will either wear an everyday uniform or semi formal clothing around your workplace. Mechanical engineers will mostly work at a desk or inside of an office, wearing semi formal clothing. Outside work is minimal because mechanical engineers mainly design equipment.
Almost any college or university will have an engineering program available for you. To put all you will learn into use engineers will have to be able to apply the principles of math and science within the challenges they face. An engineer will think clearly of the plan for the problem, but also speak and write clearly so that instructions are not misunderstood by their colleagues. Constant study will be needed to keep up with new developments in engineering. And due to those constant designs and development engineers will be in demand.
The average salary for an engineer without experience is $37,900 annually, and for a master’s is about $45,800 annually, and for the doctoral is $56,700 annually. A management position in a mechanical engineering department or a university can make close to $50,000 annually. After many years of different types of engineering one may become independent and reach earnings of $50,000 to $200,000 annually. Most Presidents and vice presidents will make about $100,000 to $200,000 annually.
Another career that has sparked my interests is Research and Development Scientist II which involves engineering new chemistries for use in the semiconductor industry. This involves every thing from literature research, to conceptualizing new chemical structures and proposing methods of synthesis, synthesizing new chemistries, characterization and screening of chemistries, process experimentation and validation, intellectual property protection and packaging. Particular duties vary with project needs.
Work may involve everything from purchasing raw materials necessary to make a proposed molecule, synthesizing the chemistry, characterizing the material, or screening it to see if it has the properties the business is looking for, building or modifying process tools to try the chemistry, developing process methods and validating the chemistry for that process, packaging it for use in delivery systems, and sending it to customers. An owner of several of the laboratories where this work is performed will have a much higher salary then any starting chemical researcher. With lab ownership comes the responsibilities of writing lab specific procedures and standard operating procedures, performing and approving. Safety reviews for experimental work, maintaining lab equipment and chemical inventories. In addition, being a member of the corporate safety committee and emergency response team, each of which require training and certifications.
First Began to see the direction the work would lead, and decided programming was too stationary while in college, and there would be a lot of competition from students that were more interested in it than most. There are two ways to go, both will get you there ,but it is important to choose which best suits your goals and lifestyle. The first is slow and at your own pace. The other way to go, is for the more driven people that have made a definite
Choice and want to pursue it aggressively. You can still do your undergraduate at a pace that gets you “A”’s and be accepted. Surround yourself with people that have silicate inserts, or have done it before you ,and you will learn what you need to do and develop relationships and references that will open those doors for you.
