Mechanical Engineering is a diverse subject that interest in designing and manufacturing everything from small and simple parts to a hugely complicated system. The main role of the Mechanical Engineer is determining problems and looking for the most effective solution with the lower cost and without consuming much time. ( Columbia ) (1-3)There is a long list of technical skills that every engineer must have, improve and apply them in both personal and business life to achieve the professionalism, such as mathematics, programming, system analysis, and report preparation.
Mechanical Engineers need to know the laws of nature for Electromagnetics, Mathematics can enhance intellectual maturity, Math is more than just a tool for problem-solving. Mechanical Engineers have to know the mathematical relations in the computers to use and apply them to make the work done. Mathematical and statistical skills are required to be applied in the process of analyzing and designing solutions. Computer programming helps the Mechanical Engineer, especially in the robotics field and any system needs to be programmed. Report preparation skills are essential for the Mechanicals Engineers to describe the problem and the steps occurred until finding the best mechanical solution. Besides the technical skills, there are some general and social skills that every Mechanical Engineer must have and apply in his work to be succeeded, problem-solving, creativity, teamwork, communication, and critical thinking about the surrounding life are examples of those skills.
Problem-solving takes a big part of the nature of the work of the Mechanical Engineer, the problems can be solved by mechanical or thermal systems. The process of inventing and designing a new product required a high level of creativity. Mechanical Engineers often work with people who are not Mechanical Engineer such as computer scientist or architects for solving problems, they need to be able to work with the others. Mechanical Engineers often develop products for clients, they must be able to communicate with others to explain the way machines or devices work and to make their ideas clear to the clients, this can’t occur if the engineer has a lack of the communication skills.
Thinking outside the box is important for reaching a unique creative solution. I own these skills, so I guess that I’m qualified to be a skilled Mechanical Engineer. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, Mechanical engineers need many skills, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics, and Critical Thinking are the most important. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, Mechanical engineers need Various skills, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics, and Critical Thinking are the most important.
Figure (1) shows the need for some skills for the Mechanical engineers. My surrounding environment such as family and friends say that I have some essential skills every Engineer must have to be successful in his career. Accepting criticism without being defensive, being flexible and cooperative while working. I believe that having those skills lead the person to be a great Mechanical engineer.
Mass & Energy balances, heat exchange, and Microsoft Excel are not necessarily technical skills that Mechanical Engineers have to be experts at, it could improve their levels of work, but they can work efficiently without them, those skills are more specified for the Chemical Engineers and rarely used by the Mechanical Engineers. As well, designing using Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator could be time wasting for the Mechanical Engineers, because they do not support the work nature of the Mechanical Engineer. AutoCAD and SolidWorks are the best alternatives for the Photoshop or Illustrator, they include the tools Mechanical Engineers need daily. actually, I’m not capable of communicating with others well, but I’m taking some courses to enhance and improve that important skill, it’s an essential skill that every Engineer should have.
Mechanical engineers are mainly involved in analyzing problems to find out how could the mechanical and thermal devices fix a certain problem, developing and testing the prototypes they create or design. Research, marketing, and administration are sub-skills associated with practicing Mechanical engineer. The Mechanical Engineer must be able to change and adjust the design as much-needed after the tests. (5)Usually, the most time of the Mechanical engineers day is spent in the offices, laboratories, and factories.
Travel is required for some Mechanical Engineers who need to visit the work sites before the manufacturing process of the final prototype needed for solving a mechanical problem, but not every Mechanical Engineer have to travel around the world. Occasionally, the mechanical engineer needs to head out to the field of working to gain additional information about the problem that he is trying to find a solution for.( ????? Typical Work Environments) ()According to a statistical study by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a diverse range of companies employs the Mechanical Engineers. engineering and architecture by far are the largest employers of the Mechanical engineers compared to the other companies by 21 percent. The results were announced at 2010.
Domestically, Aramco and SABIC are the top companies that any Mechanical Engineer would love to work in, absolutely it is a dream for any Mechanical Engineer to find a job in one of these companies because for sure any employee there will be developed and improved every single day. Aramco and SABIC are the pioneers in providing a unique environment for the engineers. Aramco is a Saudi company based in Dhahran, founded in 1933. Aramco holds the interest in exploration, production, and processing of oil. Aramco is the leading company in its field in Saudi Arabia. Aramco employs over 70,000 workers from more than 80 different nationalities.(Aramco) SABIC is a public company based in Riyadh, founded in 1976, Ranked among the world’s largest petrochemicals manufacturers.
SABIC has a global workforce of over 35,000 talented workers(sabic). SABIC has operations in more than 50 countries around the world. The work environment in both Aramco and SABIC doesn’t depend on a certain type of engineer, operations are managed and achieved by all kind of engineers so the work can be done to the fullest. (8)According to Al-eqtisadiah newspaper, the number of the Engineers in Saudi Arabia is approximately 230,943 distributed in various fields of engineering.
The number of the Mechanical engineers is approximately 40,650. the Bureau Of Labor Statistics announced The approximate number of the Mechanical engineers in the United States, the number reaches 288,800(BOLS). 93.1% of the Mechanical engineers in the U.S. are men.
(DataUSA) (9)
