Many people seem to think that the field of my career choice is boring and uninteresting. However, mechanical engineering is just the opposite. People in the ME field get to use the knowledge that they learned in college and apply it in any way they choose to. There are many sub-fields that mechanical engineers can break into such as manufacturing, construction, power, nuclear and medical. All ME's perform the same tasks though: research, develop, design, manufacture and test machines and other mechanical devices. This is a long, but exciting, process that allows the engineer to put their own ideas and thoughts into, so that at the end of production, the ME can call it his own work. This is the most enjoyable aspect of being a mechanical engineer, because you are able to see directly how your hard work has impacted the world and perhaps made it a better place.
New technologies that the company that I work at such as the double displacement piston pump and the Wobble Drive really advanced the efficiency and quality of the fluid handling industry. Without mechanical engineers, and the knowledge and background that they have in an array of subjects, those technologies would not exist today and a lot of wasted money and effort would be the result.
Numerous medical products, such as mechanical hearts, would not be in existence if it weren't for mechanical engineers, which are products that greatly enhance some people's lives and perhaps lengthen their lives greatly. ME's are able to calculate very important properties that the mechanical heart must be able to withstand such as stress, strain and time until failure in order to pick the right materials and forming processes for the heart to ensure that it is able to function exactly how "real" hearts do and for a great length of time. Other engineers do not have a broad enough education to evaluate these properties and make a valid decision or assumption, based on the numbers obtained through research.
Mechanical engineers allow ideas to come to life and be a reality by making them possible. Without ME's, products and technologies would never get past the drawing board, and therefore the idea would never benefit anyone or generate any profit. We know the limitations, both by cost and physics, that we are constrained to, unlike some of the other engineers or managers that we work with who might have a good idea but not realize the amount of resources or cost and time that must go into the production process for the idea. Many people think that mechanical engineers just sit in front of a computer all day, designing a bunch of products on a 3-D CAD program, and that's it. Well that is actually not correct at all. ME's are involved with almost all steps of production, and are in the company's shop a lot of the time, looking at problems that a certain prototype may have, then working out a solution to fix it.
Mechanical Engineering has a very bright future, specifically in the relatively new but very important and interesting fields of nano-technology and bio mechanics. Materials designed by nano-engineering are lighter and stronger than other materials, making this applicable in all fields of engineering. Bio mechanics is something that will save people's lives and enhance the quality of life for people who are born with defects or had tragic accidents. As you can see, ME is going in the right direction to make ideas that were dreamed about centuries ago a reality in the near future.
I didn't know mechanical engineering had anything to do with the biology side of things like designing a human heart. I also noticed the small jab at other engineer types in paragraph four. :P I'd never really thought about there being any rivalry or animosity between engineers but I suppose it makes sense. I liked how you described mechanical engineering. It made it clear what you do on the job.
ReplyDeleteI like how you made the specific things Mechanical Engineers do such as make mechanical hearts. I've never heard of that before. Just goes to show that Engineers save lives!
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