By Mia Hanuska
“I want to be a mechanical engineer!” 8-year-old Mia exclaims. I can recall trying to write an opinion piece in the third grade on why mechanical engineering is the best career choice—but I didn’t even know what they do. I mean, sure, engineering: math, physics, other smart-sounding things…self explanatory, right?
Mechanical engineering, or ME, is the most popular major out of the seven engineering majors. In college, MEs take a STEM-heavy courseload, with math as a major factor. Studying as a mechanical engineer, students find themselves in classes such as thermodynamics, fluid and solid dynamics, systems and controls, heat transfer, and more. Mechanical engineers are known as the universal engineers—it’s quite easy to find a job in other fields of engineering with an ME degree. The technical elective requirements to take classes in specialized fields, such as aerospace, also mean despite formally having a mechanical engineering degree, outgoing MEs can have experience in other fields as well.
Once they graduate, what do they even do? Mechanical engineers build, design, and test machines that make the products filling everyone’s everyday lives. From cars to fridges, mechanical engineers are the backbone of society. MEs work at car companies (Honda, Mercedes Benz, Tesla), technology companies (Apple, Google, Microsoft), water filtration companies, chemical companies (DuPont), and more. Without their work, you couldn’t drive to school—not only would you not have a car, but you also wouldn’t have the traffic lights and stop signs, tires, or side-of-the-road speedometers that play a large role in commutes. Mechanical engineers are the reason the world runs the way it does. Building and designing amazing machinery in exchange for only four years of college—what an amazing deal!