Mechanical engineering, the broadest of all Engineering disciplines deals with design and production of tools, machines and all other mechanical equipment to be used in industries. The industry offers a wide choice of options extending across many interdisciplinary interdependent specialties. Mechanical engineering is concerned with all types of machinery in industries and all aspects of their mechanism and functioning; the design, development, construction, production, installation, operation and maintenance; such as large steam and gas turbines, components of thermal power stations, internal combustion engines, jet engines, machine tools, air conditioning and heating machines, refigerators etc to name a few. They not only design and create new products, but also develop materials for them and ways of making them.
In a way, mechanical engineers are involved in creating the future. They are the driving force behind many of our technology and industrial processes including innovative products like mobiles, PCs and DVD etc in our modern world. The work of a Mechanical Engineer can be extremely challenging and fulfilling, requiring? IT, design and analytical skills together with an ability to work as a team. As their work involves production, transmission and use of mechanical power and heat, they have to analyse the different materials used for the machines and their tolerances, investigate the different energy sources and the power they generate and the design problems if any. When designing and making a commercial product they have to take into account all the business and marketing aspects to make sure that the product is affordable. They share interests with many other engineers like civil engineers in structures and stress analysis; Electrical engineers in electronics, computing and control theory; Aeronautical Engineers in fluid flow and turbomachinery etc and also design tools needed by other engineers for their work. They work as part of a team with other engineers as well as financial, business and management professionals on a project together. Mechanical Engineers are also responsible for maintenance and repair of the devices. Care has to be taken that the plants give maximum output and the machinery is properly maintained.
The specialisations include in areas like thermal engineering, design, and production engineering etc. Mechanical engineers work mainly in manufacturing firms. They can find work in administrative and managerial positions in government departments or public and private sector industries or do research as well as teaching in Research and teaching institutes. They could also opt for technical sales / marketing or work as independent consultants.?
EDUCATION
A Bachelor of Science (BS) / Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Mechanical Engineering is offered at many universities in the United States, and similar programs are offered at universities in most industrialised nations. In the U.S., Japan, Germany, Canada, Taiwan, South Korea & etc, Mechanical Engineering programs typically take 4 to 5 years and result in a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering or BSc (Mech Eng), but some countries like Singapore, Malaysia, India, and Nigeria offer a 4 years Bachelor of Science (BSc) / Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) degree with Honors (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering at most colleges. In Australia & New Zealand requirement are typically a 4 years Bachelor of Engineering (BE or BEng) degree, equivalent to the British MEng level, which includes a work experience component of around 13 week in the final year of study. A BEng degree differ from a BSc degree in that the students obtain a broad based education consisting of information relevant to various engineering disciplines.
Most Mechanical Engineering programs are accredited in the U.S. by ABET to ensure similar course requirements and standards between universities.
Some Mechanical Engineers go on to pursue a postgraduate degree such as a Master of engineering /Master of science, a Master of management(MEng.Mgt), a Doctor of philosophy in Engineering (DEng) or an engineer's degree . The Master and Engineer's degree may consist of either research, coursework or a mixture of the two. The Doctor of Philosophy consists of a significant research component and is often viewed as the entry point to acadmia .
After being awarded a degree, Engineers may seek lincensure by a state government. To become a licensed Professional Engineer, an Engineer must,pass the comprehensive FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) exam, work a given number of years as an Engineering Intern (EI) or Engineer-in-Training (EIT), pass the Principles and Practice or PE (Practicing Engineer or Professional Engineer) exam.
In the United States, the requirements and steps of this process are set forth by the National counsil of Examiners for engineers and surveying (NCEES), website , a national non-profit representing all states.
The purpose of this process is to ensure that engineers possess the necessary technical knowledge and real-world experience to Engineer safely. Some Mechanical Engineers choose to become licensed; those that do can be distinguished as Professional Engineers by the postnominel title PE, as in: John Wilfred, PE. A distinction similar to practicing engineer status is the Chartered engineers('CEng') status awarded by some European, Asian and Oceanic engineering organizations. "In most modern countries, certain engineering tasks, such as the design of bridges, electric power plants, and chemical plants, must be approved by a Professional Engineer or a Chartered engineer ." In the UK current graduates require a MSc, MEng or Beng (Hons) in order to become chartered through the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, unlike in many other European countries, the term Engineer is not legally protected within the United Kingdom. Once certified the engineer is designated the title of Professional Engineer (in the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea and South Africa), Chartered Engineer (in the U.K., Ireland, India and Zimbabwe), Chartered Professional Engineer (in Australia and New Zealand) or European Engineer ( much of the European Union). In the USA and Canada, only a licensed engineer may seal engineering work for public and private clients. This requirement is offered by state and provincial legislation such as Quebec's Engineer Act. In other countries, such as Australia, no such legislation exist. Pratically all certifying bodies maintain a code of ethics that they expect all members to abide by or risk expulsion. In countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA, Mechanical Engineers make up around 0.25% of the labor force. Outside of these countries, it is difficult to gauge the demographics of profession due to less meticulous reporting on labor statistics. However, in term of mechanical engineering graduates per capita, mechanical engineering graduates would probably be most numerous in countries such as Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.