Being a mechanical engineer

Siemens
kakashi7

Go to company page Siemens

kakashi7
Nov 16, 2020 48 Comments

I am feeling lost being a mechanical engineer. I don't see much growth in the career (TC, promotions, etc.). Any advice is appreciated

comments

Want to comment? LOG IN or SIGN UP
TOP 48 Comments
  • Google
    paused.

    Go to company page Google

    paused.
    I think the silver lining with being a ME as opposed to SWE is that you don’t face ageism - if anything, the more seasoned you are, the more it pays off for you. You will be looked at as an expert as you advance in your career and your degree will always hold value. ME career path age like fine wine.. slow and steady, but SWE career path starts off on a high trajectory very early on in career, but hard to project 10-20+ years.
    Nov 18, 2020 2
    • Applied Material
      eKSY04

      Go to company page Applied Material

      PRE
      Lam Research
      eKSY04
      Kind of agree
      Nov 18, 2020
    • Investment Bank
      Coasts

      Investment Bank

      Coasts
      I agree with this, my daughter has ME bachelor's degree and an AE master's degree. She does not have the same salary as a SWE, but it is decent. She has many 50+ year old engineers in her group. Also, as she works for a defense contractor, she does not have to worry about being pushed out by visa holders because US citizenship is required.
      Nov 22, 2020
  • Tesla
    xunU24

    Go to company page Tesla

    xunU24
    As a fellow mech eng my recommendation is to try to develop some software skills as mechanical engineers that are decent at coding are very valuable. The best suggestion is to see what kind of simple software tools you can develop to make your team’s job easier. My first crack at it was developing a mobile app on powerapps for engineers to collect data in the field. Now I have progressed to stuff that is far more advanced in a company I enjoy working for.
    Nov 16, 2020 2
    • Siemens
      kakashi7

      Go to company page Siemens

      kakashi7
      OP
      Thanks for the advice. I currently spend about 30% of time developing scripts using software's API for automating simulation tasks. From past 4 months, I am looking for positions in the software development group which also requires mechanical degree. No luck yet
      Nov 16, 2020
    • Amazon
      readme.q

      Go to company page Amazon

      readme.q
      Scripting won’t teach you programming
      Not use of data science and algorithms that you’ll encounter in interviews
      Nov 18, 2020
  • Lyft
    iFfE26

    Go to company page Lyft

    iFfE26
    Change career path to SWE if TC is main concern. On average, mechanical engineer TC will never be close to SWE.
    Nov 18, 2020 0
  • Tesla / Mgmt
    t3$l@

    Go to company page Tesla Mgmt

    PRE
    Tesla Motors
    t3$l@
    I would say none of these are telling you the one option you have, be good at what you do. I have been a mechanical engineer for all my career. You'll make more money than most PMs and probably close to software engineers with similar experience. Do what you are good at and enjoy doing, it is better to be great at what you do rather than an average software engineer. If you think you can be among top 1 percent software engineers, go for it.
    Nov 20, 2020 3
    • NVIDIA / Field Ops
      achchakid

      Go to company page NVIDIA Field Ops

      achchakid
      I agree with you, but as an early grad, unless he's going to be paid well it's hard to stay inspired and contribute better. Believe it or not, money drives enthusiasm and motivation. I would say find a middle ground where you earn well and you enjoy what you do as well. You only live once, you can sacrifice knowledge for pay for sometime but after that it's not practical unless you want to start a company or business using that experience.
      Nov 29, 2020
    • Tesla / Mgmt
      t3$l@

      Go to company page Tesla Mgmt

      PRE
      Tesla Motors
      t3$l@
      Azzur, 180k is easy without stocks and probably close to what you'll make 2 years in after graduating with stocks.
      Dec 2, 2020
  • Learn to code.

    t. ex-mech eng and current PEng
    Nov 18, 2020 2