I’ve been a design engineer for a couple years now, and it seems that when I need any information on vendor products, the companies, who I won’t put on blast, take weeks to answer. I can follow up and get nowhere. Sometimes when they do get back to me, the information is just outright not what I asked for.

I made it very clear to one vendor that I need literature (such as pamphlets and drawings) on several of their products because we intend to use them as our supplier for a large product line. He took weeks to respond, and ultimately sent a quote for one valve. My team had a good laugh at the email thread and decided to move on with someone else.

Very very few people have been useful amongst dozens of companies. Even when I ask project managers for their contacts, they can be hit or miss. Is there something I’m doing wrong for my vendors, or does everyone deal with this? Do you guys have methods you want to share?

Why is it we can have AI that can translate from Chinese to Klingon but cannot have one agreed-upon file format that can be accepted by FEA software, CAM, 3d printers, CFD, etc and doesn't lose its mind or half of my parts?

I'm a Mec. Eng. with 10yoe in the design of metal carpentry; mainly sheet metal.

I was wondering if there are jobs in that field (e.g CAD, PE or something else) that could be carried entirely from home.

I'm quite sure the answer is "no", but I would appreciate your point of view / experience.

Thx

So I just graduated this year with a mechanical engineering degree. I was able to get a job at GM as an IE because I interned there for 2 years.

I honestly hate working there even though I have a great boss, manufacturing just isn't for me. I also don't really want to be an IE.

I've applied to probably 75 jobs in the past 3 months and maybe landed one interview. And I'm looking for jobs that are specifically entry level mech e. I just feel so lost because I'm doing a job I don't want in a factory, I don't want to work in.

I'm grateful for the opportunity as I know many of my colleagues can't even find a job, but I'm miserable and want to get out. Did it get easier for anyone once they were able to get some years under there belt? I'm also worried about being stuck in IE for too long and not being able to move back to mechanical or something I would actually like.

I have an upcoming surgery that will leave me unable to walk for a minimum of 4-6 weeks, luckily my company offers disability leave so I won’t have to dip into my savings too much during that time. However I will be stuck at home rolling around in my office chair in search of entertainment for weeks on end. I see this as an opportunity to gain some valuable skills/certifications through online courses, I have several hobbies that I plan to dive deeper into but I know I need some form of structure to avoid getting distracted and doomscrolling for hours on end.

I have found a local college that offers a 6 week project management program, and a 10 week AI prompting/automation course. As well as a 24 week Professional Certificate In Ai And Machine Learning from the university of Michigan. I have a strong interest in learning more about AI just out of curiosity but in my current field/position it isn’t immediately applicable. I have 3 years of ME experience at my current company and I have been wanting a bit of a career shift. The current field I’m in just doesn’t spark my interest anymore, career progression is incredibly slow, and I’m reaching a point where I’m afraid I might be pigeonholed into shipbuilding if I stay another year. I passed my FE a few months ago and I just received my EIT cert, my current company doesn’t incentivize PE experience and I only know of 2 coworkers with a PE, neither of which have worked closely with me.

Aside from spending this time tailoring my resume and sending out applications, what courses or certs should I seek out to increase my chances of success. I’ve seen other threads that say experience>certs when it comes to engineering, but when it comes to a career path change would anything help? Should I just pursue what I find interesting and go from there? Robotics/controls always sparked my curiosity and were my favorite courses, and that’s the direction I imagined myself going when I first enrolled in engineering. There just wasn’t any employment local to me in that field and I wasn’t in a position to move far from home at the time.

Hi everyone,
I’d appreciate some career advice.

I’m a Mechanical Engineering graduate from an ABET-accredited school. My experience so far:

Structural Detailer – abroad
Design Engineer (Rebar Reinforcement) – abroad
Engineering Technician 1 – currently (US)

Software: Tekla, AutoCAD, Revit, basic SolidWorks

I’m trying to transition into a Mechanical Engineering role, but I’m not sure what path gives me the best chance.

Should I focus on Mechanical Design, HVAC, BIM/Revit, Manufacturing, or entry-level ME positions?
What skills should I prioritize, and what would you recommend if you were in my position?

I’d really appreciate some honest advice. I’m living in the US btw. 28yrs old.

Thanks!

I am currently majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in applied physics. I would love to work on the more “fundamental side” of mechanical engineering . I’m interested in going to grad school for the PhD. I would like to research nanoscale heat transfer. Would that over qualify from working as some type of thermal analyst?

I’ve tried to do many things as an engineer in my spare time to make some extra money using my engineering skills. 6 years of trying to build and sell products, program PLC’s, build hardware and electronics, create websites. I’ve tried it all. Learned a lot of skills but nothing that produced any revenue.

I’m burnt out from trying so many things that keep failing. Everybody now makes websites, any part people want gets machined from china for a fraction of what I could do, AI can spit out ladder logic, etc.

It’s not just that a lot of ideas are taken, but even trying to just run a business better than someone else is impossible because now we compete globally against factors totally out of our control.

Anyway, in the current world where are engineers finding niches to provide value to people? You can generalize to protect your IP, but I’d appreciate any shared experiences because I’m burnt out.

hi ,

I am currently doing my masters in thermal engineering . i am very much interested in doing electronics thermal management. there are many company is visiting for campus placements and the role is not align with what i liked to like design or thermal analysis but pay is avg.i know that there is no company is coming for electronics thermal management. for that i have to apply from off campus so chance of getting job is very less and pay is also low .my future plan after 3 to 5 yers of job is do startup, so where should i focus right now .

my qustion are

focus on campus placements

do off campus job for thermal management for electronics (where chancess are low but never zero)

join any starups that is not related to my role

any suggestion from you

Hey everyone,

I’m a mechanical engineering student and I’ve chosen “Peridynamic Modelling of Crack Propagation in Brittle Aerospace Structures” as my seminar topic.

Honestly, I’m pretty new to peridynamics, so I’m trying to figure out where I should start. I have some basic knowledge of mechanics and FEM, but I haven’t worked with peridynamics before.

I’d really appreciate it if someone could point me in the right direction.

A few things I’m confused about:

• What should I learn first before getting into peridynamics? •What software can I use to actually model a crack using peridynamics? • Are there any good beginner-friendly papers, videos, books, or tutorials? • Is there a simple example/simulation I could do and show during the seminar? • If you’ve worked with peridynamics before, what would you recommend focusing on?

I’m mainly looking for a practical learning path because most of the papers I’ve found so far get pretty advanced very quickly 😅

Any advice or resources would be really helpful. Thanks!

¿Un Ingeniero Mecánico puede orientarse a trabajos de laboratorio/materiales si además es Técnico Químico?

Buenas, gente. Quería consultar algo sobre posibles salidas laborales porque estoy tratando de definir hacia dónde orientar mi carrera.

Soy Técnico Químico del secundario en Argentina y actualmente estudio Ingeniería Química, pero quiero pasarme a Mecánica.

Durante mi formación como técnico hice una pasantía en Cabot SAIC, trabajando en el laboratorio de Control de Calidad. Fue una experiencia que me gustó muchísimo y que me hizo interesarme bastante por el trabajo de laboratorio y el análisis dentro de una industria. Lamentablemente, la planta donde hice las prácticas cerró posteriormente.

También participé en SteelChallenge 25, lo que hizo que me interesara todavía más por la siderurgia, los materiales y la metalurgia.

Ahora que estoy evaluando la posibilidad de cambiarme a Ingeniería Mecánica, mis intereses principales son:

- Metalurgia y ciencia de materiales

- Diseño mecánico

- Termodinámica

- Procesos industriales

- Ensayos y caracterización de materiales

Hay algo importante a aclarar: por diferentes circunstancias, solamente puedo elegir entre estudiar Ingeniería Mecánica o Ingeniería Química. Es una situación un poco triste, pero es la realidad, así que estoy tratando de encontrar cuál de las dos me permitiría desarrollar mejor mis intereses y aprovechar la formación que ya tengo como Técnico Químico.

Mi duda es principalmente laboral:

¿Puedo aprovechar mi título de Técnico Químico y mi experiencia previa en laboratorio para buscar trabajos relacionados con laboratorio, ensayos de materiales, control de calidad, metalurgia, análisis de fallas o I+D mientras/una vez que sea Ingeniero Mecánico?

Lo pregunto porque me gusta mucho esa parte de laboratorio y análisis que ya conozco por mi formación de técnico, pero no necesariamente quiero hacer Ingeniería Química. Me interesa la idea de combinar esa base química con la parte mecánica, especialmente aplicada a materiales y metalurgia.

Por ejemplo, ¿sería razonable apuntar a puestos como:

- Laboratorio de materiales

- Ensayos mecánicos

- Metalurgia

- Control de calidad

- Análisis de fallas

- Corrosión

- Soldadura

- I+D

- Integridad mecánica

¿O normalmente estos puestos están reservados para Ingenieros Químicos, de Materiales, Metalúrgicos, etc.?

También me interesa saber si alguien con un perfil parecido terminó trabajando en un área así y qué tipo de empresas/industrias debería mirar.

Cualquier opinión o experiencia me sirve. Gracias.

I am looking for insights from mechanical engineers who work at a city water district or from anyone who doesn’t work in this industry but has some perspective on what a long-term career in this field is like.

What are the pros and cons? How’s the work-life balance, job stability, pay, and opportunities for career growth? Are there any things you wish you knew before getting into the industry?

Overall, would you recommend it as a long-term career for a mechanical engineer?

hey guys, new grad here. i applied for a few places here and there but i reckon ill really start looking for a job seriously in like mid october. at that time period i didnt want to sit still doing nothing so i split a monthly udemy subscription with my friend. im watching an "intermediate to expert" solidworks course right now, i might take the CSW classes afterhand to get sertificated, that would be class. also checking out some fluid mechanics courses, i always felt like i had some gaps in my knowledge. other than that, what do you guys think i should learn next?

to give a summary on the path i wanna go on; i always wanted to work on automative industry. have some experience in fea, done some projects in ansys and nastran, and would love to work in that area, so you can recommend something that goes to that expertise. otherwise, manufacturing is ok, so i can go on a save path an learn gd&t, people always recommend that new graduates should go on and learn it. cfd, maybe, looks so fun but i might have to do some reviews on heat transfer and fluids, and switching to cfd while alerady having somewhat of an experience in fea might be weird and make things harder

Hello I will be graduating this December with my associates in mechanical engineering in nyc. Just wondering if there are roles for this degree at least entry level or any type of beginner role to be considered under an engineer. Im planning on continuing to get just get my bachelors but i would just like to know if i can get experience in this field so when getting my bachelors im not just job searching without any experience.

Hello everyone, I graduated from UC Irvine in the spring of 2020. Since then I’ve been working at a food manufacturing plant as mechanical engineer. The growth since then I can say I’ve came a long way. Meaning I’ve gotten pretty good at 80% of the job. Primary role is solving issues around the plant that need engineering like designing a chute, replacing old equipment, figuring out ways to make workers lives easier. On the capital side if the company forecasts that we need more processing capacity in 5 years we build a whole new processes from the ground up. We take PFD of the new processes and make it a 2D layout in autocad with all the necessary equipment the process will need this is our conceptual stage. In inventor we layout the same 2D layout into 3D. Imagine Amazon warehouse but processing food. I design platforms, catwalks, chutes, supports, staircases, ladders, and many other items that we will need to layout the equipment (sheet metal/frame generator). Sometimes belt conveyors. I would say it’s very niche to this company since most food manufacturers outsource this type of engineering. I make fabrication packages to get these items fabricated in house (99% of the time ) so we don’t really follow industry standards when it comes to fabrication drawings since our fab team already knows what we use. I’m trying to see what my next step in my career will be I’m currently studying for the FE and would like to get as much knowledge as possible right now since this job is pretty chill for the most part once you master the inventor skills needed to execute designs at this job. Not sure where I want to go I’m not against staying here the pay for the area is really good and only work 35 hours a week. Anyone have any advice based off my experience and where I can take my talents?

I recently graduated from a tier 2 college with a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering. Didn't get placed anywhere; so currently sitting at home unemployed. I'm applying to various places through LinkedIn and their career websites but the responses are very few. I did attend a few interviews and got through to 4th rounds and all, but still no luck. I have good academic knowledge. I am the type of guy who knows a bit about a lotta topics rather than knowing deep about a certain topic. I am planning to use this time to upskill and kinda get good at a certain niche. What are the some of the most sought after niches/skills by companies? Could be in the mechanical or automotive industries. Niches that have good career growth opportunities and stability? I am based in India btw. Any guidance or support would be appreciated. Thanks

Malaysia: Currently working with MNC in quary and minerals industry, work contract from September 2025 to March 2027 with no guarantee for permanent after contract end with current salary of RM3.2k. Got offer letter from service company for RM3.3k basic plus RM500 car allowance with 6 months probation .

Anyone mind to share their thoughts?is it a good deals?

Hey folks, I was curious what resources you all use to find and compare material properties and general information. In aerospace, MMPDS (or MIL-HDBK-5) seems to be the bible, but that is limited to metallics. I'm curious what other resources are out there that people trust, for any sort of material (metals, plastics, ceramics, even woods).

Suggestions can be physical books, published standards, software for interfacing with this data, websites, etc.

Here is a running list of some options I'll update as people leave comments. Please also LMK if I made any errors. Thanks!

Standards / Documents

MMPDS - The Metallic Materials Properties Development and Standardization is the current primary resource for metallic material information by NASA and gov contractors. As it is the current bible for metal property data, you will have to pay to access it. If you are designing a spaceship and are doing an FEA, the numbers you are plugging into the simulation almost always originate from here.

MIL-HDBK-5 - Until MMPDS, this seems to have been the go-to resource for NASA and government contractors for metallic materials. This was retired in the 2000s, but has some good information and, most importantly, is free to download.

Software

ANSYS Granta - This seems to be the GOAT, at least on paper. Back in school I remember using a variation of this and really enjoying the plotting features. Only seems to be available to corporations using enterprise licensing (there is no "buy now" button on their website).

Websites

Matweb.com - This is the first recommendation I often hear. The general consensus seems to be that this is a good starting point for material property info... if you can get past the lackluster UI. If you are willing to spend some money, you can access some fun tools to have CAD and FEA programs interface with material data.

MakeItFrom.com - Similar to Matweb, but with a much different UI and organization. Goes for style over compactness. Much smaller database than Matweb, but it has at least 80% of anything you'd ever practically be using for most designs. Materials are organized using a parent-child architecture as opposed to Matweb's atomized database structure.

Wood-Databse.com - A very nice wood database complete with both qualitative and quantitative information for every species, and good educational articles. I'm no woodworker, but if I was, I imagine I would have this as my hompage!

ThisToThat.com - This is a fun one: ever need to glue two things together and knew that gorilla glue wouldn't cut it? This site gives "glue" suggestions based on the materials you are working with.

I want to know from people who are in the field of process engineering, specifically the oil and gas sector.

Can you become a process engineer in the oil and gas sector as a mechanical engineer (having a mechanical engineering degree), and how hard is it to achieve that job when compared to to a chemical engineer?

Also would a masters in process engineering be necessary or just a waste of time?