Where can a degree in mechanical engineering take me?

[Antonio V]

Hi! I'm currently studying my mechanical engineering degree at a good uni in the UK . I've been doing really well so far, but I don't really know where I want to take it. I know the obvious places like working for a car company/aeronautical/manufacturing etc. are obviously the main option, but I'm wondering if there are also less obvious options? What are the more interesting areas I could apply for? I'm just hoping to find some work that will give the opportunity to travel and will be an interesting career path!

 

[Randy Beikmann]

I've been a mechanical engineer for 32 years in the automotive industry. This is a very international business as I'm sure you know, and involves every discipline of mechanical engineering. Economic downturns can make it a rough ride sometimes though. Maybe that's true everywhere. But I have found it extremely interesting because the innovation is constant, and the way we engineer keeps changing (for the better, mainly).
One good thing about mechanical engineering is the variety. I have a cousin who works for an industrial pump company, and he travels everywhere they're used (almost every country). I know some that work in machinery monitoring and diagnostics, by measuring their vibration. Another works in accident investigation and reconstruction, which I think would be fascinating.
Good luck in finding your ideal path!

 

[WhatIsGravity]

Mechanical engineering is the most general engineering path, and as a ME myself, I would say such a degree will take you wherever you want to go. If you really want to travel, check out the technology side of geophysics. Gravity, IP, magnetics and seismic. Pretty cool technology, and with an ME understanding; good money, and travels all around the world.

 

[Shaun_W]

Hi! I'm currently studying my mechanical engineering degree at a good uni in the UK . I've been doing really well so far, but I don't really know where I want to take it. I know the obvious places like working for a car company/aeronautical/manufacturing etc. are obviously the main option, but I'm wondering if there are also less obvious options? What are the more interesting areas I could apply for? I'm just hoping to find some work that will give the opportunity to travel and will be an interesting career path!

Energy, chemicals, pharma, power, electronics, software, medical.

Also finance, accounting, banking, insurance, IT, consulting, teaching, civil service.

 

[jdirtFOREVER]

As a mechanical engineering graduate in an industrially starved region of the United States, I suffered a life changing injury that caused me to rethink my vocational worthiness, but after a few rehabilitation stints at entry level firms (test technician, project support, etc) I took a job through the government in the patent system which I've found to be rewarding. I had to move a few hundred miles, and I'm not exactly designing the next mission to Jupiter, but I never wanted a life dedicated to my work. I wanted money, and an engineering degree seemed the shortest route to that end. I take comfort in the fact that I didn't try very hard in school but I'm still valuable because I have that degree. Work to live, don't live to work. Don't believe you need to do something big to be a worthwhile human. Find comfort wherever you are, with who you are, not where society suggests you might be if you bought a better car.