How Can I Stand Out in My Mechanical Engineering Major?

[Ali sulieman]

Can you give me some advice about what I can do to be distinct in my university major "Mechanical Engineering"

thank you

 

[phinds]

Define "distinct" --- that is, what does it mean to you? HOW do you want to be distinct? You could just wear a yellow beanie and that would make you distinct, in the normal meaning of that word, but I doubt that that is what you are after.

 

[berkeman]

in my university major "Mechanical Engineering"

Are you at university yet? What year are you in your studies?

 

[Ali sulieman]

Define "distinct" --- that is, what does it mean to you? HOW do you want to be distinct? You could just wear a yellow beanie and that would make you distinct, in the normal meaning of that word, but I doubt that that is what you are after.

In fact, I am seeking the true competence of an engineer in terms of his ability to work in a team and being able to understand the topics of specialization in an excellent manner, so that I want to be qualified to work in companies, knowing that I can pay for courses and seminars and take many courses.
Even if you can add, there is no objection

 

[Ali sulieman]

Are you at university yet? What year are you in your studies?

Yes, I am in university and I am still in my first year, so I will start
Lectures from next week

 

[berkeman]

The main advice I would give (in addition to studying hard and doing well in your classes) is to get some experience early with designing and building things. Is there a metal shop class available to you at your university? Usually ME shop classes will give you experience with the various machines, including CNC machines. Plus you will usually get to build some fun projects during the course, which will help you to stay motivated in your studies.

My other recommendation is to learn to use a CAD drawing tool early, and then export some simple projects and fabricate them using a 3-D printer. Do you know what CAD software packages your university uses? If you can get hold of a student edition of that package early and start using it, that will put you ahead of the other ME students in your class. Does your university have any 3-D printers available for students to use?

 

[phinds]

I agree with Berkeman and would add that you might find it advantageous to do practical experiments to get a "feel" for how things work. There should be examples on-line of the kinds of things you can do on a limited budget and modest time.

One of the things you are likely to study in ME is structures. If I were you, I would do something that I KNOW you can find on-line, which is build popsiclestick constructs (bridges, catapults, etc) and then stress them to get a feel for what joints are strong and what are weak.

You may think this is childish. If that's what you think, you'll make a lousy ME.

 

[gary350]

It would be great if we all had a crystal ball to tell our future but we don't. 1 of my college professors used to say, take a wide variety of classes and get a wide variety of experience because no one knows where they will be in 5 years or 10 or 20 or 30 years.

The thing that helped me the most was working in factories getting to see what machines are making. Another thing college professors used to say, go to 100s of job interviews even if you don't want to work there, get a tour of the factory to see all the machines and what they do. My brain thinks in pictures I can see videos of machines running in my head.

I took shop classes in high school. I went to tech school first and took electronics. I worked in a factory every summer when school was out. I worked as a tool & die maker for 2 years that was amazing good experience. One thing leads to another. I worked factory maintenance 1 year also. I have visited probably 300 to 400 different factories.

The most fun job I ever has was design engineer. If a customer came to us and wanted 5000 of a certain part every 8 hour shift I could run videos in my head and have the machine & tooling pretty much built and running in 2 minutes. Then we had to actually do it and make it work.

In the beginning I had no clue what job I wanted to do for the rest of my life, it turned out to be a lot of jobs 1 after the other, what every was interesting and added to my work experience. If you get a wide range of job experience that makes you more valuable at work. If your the smartest person at work you will always have a job and never have trouble changing jobs. Education never stops we learn new things every day.

You also need to learn what type person you are, do you want to set at a desk 8 hours every day doing math calculations and making drawings or are you more of a hands on person, you get more accomplished faster if your both.

 

[phinds]

@gary350 if would really be helpful if you would learn to write in paragraphs, not huge blocks of text.

[fixed by a Mentor now]

When I (and I think many people) see something like that, my thought is, if this guy can't organize his thoughts any better than that, then they are not likely to be worth reading.

EDIT: Also, it's even worse for someone whose native language is not English (as is the case w/ the OP) to decipher such a block.

 

[phinds]

[fixed by a Mentor now]

Thanks, Mike

 

[Ali sulieman]

Well actually I liked all of your advice and I will take them seriously as they were excellent ideas

But I have another simple question: What about accounting, management, finance, and marketing courses? That is, what can be useful in the field of mechanical engineering, because I hear about these courses a lot.Knowing that I have taken into consideration the issue of bifurcation in knowledge, I would like to inquire about these courses specifically.

thanks a lot.....

 

[berkeman]

But I have another simple question: What about accounting, management, finance, and marketing courses? That is, what can be useful in the field of mechanical engineering, because I hear about these courses a lot.

From my perspective, the only reason to take an accounting or finance class would be to help you in managing your money once you start working. I don't think they would be directly applicable to working as an ME.

As for management classes, I would hold off on that type of class until you have worked for a while as an ME and decide that you want to move into management. Often (In my experience here in Silicon Valley), you just transition into management and spend more of your time managing people and schedules, versus working directly on the designs. I do know some engineers who got their MBAs while working (taking the classes part time) because they were aiming to move up into senior management.

 

[gary350]

Well actually I liked all of your advice and I will take them seriously as they were excellent ideas

But I have another simple question: What about accounting, management, finance, and marketing courses? That is, what can be useful in the field of mechanical engineering, because I hear about these courses a lot.Knowing that I have taken into consideration the issue of bifurcation in knowledge, I would like to inquire about these courses specifically.

thanks a lot.....

If you want to own your own business then you will need, accounting, finance, marketing, management courses. If you work for someone else you can take those classes later if needed. If your the boss you hire people to do, accounting, marketing, etc but its also good to know how to do those jobs so you know the people you hire are doing a good job.

Job experience is worth several times more than an education. Education might get you a job but not a good paying job. You have to work your way up. Stay at each job 2 or 3 years to get different experience. Education & experience will both get you a better job and more experience. A combination of several job experiences makes you more valuable to your next employer. Give your self a 5% to 10% pay raise each time you change jobs. I once quit a job for 10% less pay because I knew 2 years experience will give me a 30% pay increase at my next job.

Be sure to take jobs you like it is terrible to force yourself to go to work every day to a job you hate. It is also terrible to work with certain people.

 

[Lnewqban]

In fact, I am seeking the true competence of an engineer in terms of his ability to work in a team and being able to understand the topics of specialization in an excellent manner, so that I want to be qualified to work in companies, knowing that I can pay for courses and seminars and take many courses.
Even if you can add, there is no objection

You are getting prepared to do a huge range of technical work, even to take jobs that do not exist yet.
That technical work frequently branches out to organizational and management activities.

A solid educational base is key to obtain in the phase you are now at.
Common sense, observation and hands on are also valuable skills to be developed.

The next and most difficult thing to master: to effectively communicate and work with persons who know less than you will.
"Experts" are also difficult creatures who will cross your path more than once.

Believe in yourself, no matter what happens around you.
Best!

 

[symbolipoint]

The main advice I would give (in addition to studying hard and doing well in your classes) is to get some experience early with designing and building things.

That is all which is important, GENERALLY.

 

[symbolipoint]

Well actually I liked all of your advice and I will take them seriously as they were excellent ideas

But I have another simple question: What about accounting, management, finance, and marketing courses? That is, what can be useful in the field of mechanical engineering, because I hear about these courses a lot.Knowing that I have taken into consideration the issue of bifurcation in knowledge, I would like to inquire about these courses specifically.

thanks a lot.....

One must concentrate, and focus on the main goal of "Engineering" or whatever your chosen field is to be. With that, learning from a variety of other fields and related fields can be useful; or in some cases very useful.

 

[symbolipoint]

From my perspective, the only reason to take an accounting or finance class would be to help you in managing your money once you start working. I don't think they would be directly applicable to working as an ME.

Hard to say. Many people may earn a degree in Accounting, and become employed to help account at a company for INVENTORY purposes.

 

[gmax137]

Stay at each job 2 or 3 years to get different experience.

This may make sense early in your career. After that, not so much IMO. I would be wary of hiring someone with 25 years in and 8 or 10 different employers.

I do agree that a broad background is valuable. Another approach to get that, is to start with a large company and move from department to department, and location to location. One advantage to this is getting known by "everyone," including the higher-ups. As opposed to being "that new guy, you know, what's-his-name."

 

[Ali sulieman]

Well, thank you all. The university started a week ago and is in a prestigious position. The educational staff there are all master’s and doctoral graduates from America and Canada. They started putting pressure on us from the first week through the speed of offering the curriculum, the approaching test date, and the constant warning that we should develop our capabilities to suit the university. What should I do? I can only improve my level of mathematics and physics so that I can develop to excel in engineering

 

[Choppy]

What should I do?

Yes, engineering programs are challenging. And you'll find that unlike high school, you're in a class full of people who have already excelled in math, physics and other technical subjects and the professors will tend to teach to the abilities of the leading students. Here are some general tips on how to deal with this.

• Put a lot more time into your studies. Being an engineering student is now your full time job.
• Learn to manage your time effectively. Keep a detailed personal calendar with homework/project deadlines and test/exam dates. Set up your schedule to balance your time and among the different demands. Include personal time to avoid burn out.
• Learn how you study most effectively. Some people need to study with background music. Others need a dead quiet environment. Some need to solve every problem in the textbook. Others learn to recognize when they've mastered a skill and their time can be more effectively spent on more advanced problems. Some people need to encounter a concept in a real world application before it makes sense.
• Make friends with like-minded students who are succeeding in their studies. Study with them. Offer to help when you can. Sometimes the best learning occurs through late night discussions or debates among peers.
• It can also help to join an engineering society or team. Among other things this will help you to forge relationships with more senior students who've been through your classes and can offer program-specific advice on how to be successful. (It can also help for developing networking contacts later in your career.)
• Take advantage of professors' and TAs' office hours. But don't abuse them. You can and should ask lots of questions, but make sure that you've put your own thought into each question before asking for help.
• Take good care of yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally. Get adequate sleep. Eat properly. Exercise. Socialize. Incorporate down time into your schedule.

 

[apostolosdt]

I heard this story while an undergrad student. I don't know if it is true, so, please, don't take it at face value.

A student approaches a demanding professor and asks him for advice. "Prof, I've followed all your suggestions, and yet I cannot conclude my daily study duties on time." The professor asks the student if he completed this task, that task, and that task. "Yes," says the student, "I've done everything you advised me to do; still, I'm running out of time by the end of the day. I'm desperate!" The professor looks puzzled. "Strange," he murmurs... but then asks: "Do you sleep during the night, maybe?"

 

[WWGD]

To the OP. If you want a job in your area, seek an internship and start networking with those in/near your area of specialty.