Mechanical Engineering Careers and Skills
One of the incredible things about mechanical engineering is the wide array of positions that are available once you’ve obtained a degree. With projected employment growth of 9% between 2024 and 2034, up from the national average of 3% for all occupations, it is a great time to pursue a mechanical engineering degree (“Mechanical Engineers”). We will be exploring 8 potential career paths that have the highest amount of job listings from a 2021 study, along with a summary and the most important skills required for each position (Pollack et al.). These are all positions that require only a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, which represents 57.2% of all employed engineers in the United States as of 2023 (Hidalgo et al.). As discussed earlier, communication is the most heavily used skill in engineering. Engineering work is meant to solve complex problems, and to do so engineers frequently work in large teams which have different areas to tackle and problems to solve. Successful engineers are equipped with managerial and decision-making skills that aid them in delegating and ensuring task completion as well as making informed decisions and moving projects along smoothly. As these skills are integral to engineering work, they will largely not be highlighted individually. Figure 9 shows the distribution of the top 16 skills discovered in job listings from indeed.com in 2020.
Fig. 9 Top 16 Mechanical Engineering Skills from Elizabeth Pollack et al. "What Do Mechanical Engineers Do? A Content Analysis of Mechanical Engineers' Job Descriptions", 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, 2021, https://peer.asee.org/38040
Fig. 10 Mechanical Engineer Job Title Skills from Elizabeth Pollack et al. "What Do Mechanical Engineers Do? A Content Analysis of Mechanical Engineers' Job Descriptions", 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, 2021, https://peer.asee.org/38040
Mechanical Engineer
Unsurprisingly, the largest number of job listings came from the job title “Mechanical Engineer”. Along with the most generic title, Mechanical Engineer positions also have the broadest range of responsibilities and requirements. The actual roles vary heavily depending on the company and product or service they offer, so when looking at these roles it is best to be attentive to these factors to decide whether it would be a good fit for your skillset and interests. Having technical knowledge stands out as the highest in this role, as shown in Figure 10, suggesting that these positions may be more technical than other popular jobs in engineering.
Design Engineer
Design Engineers focus heavily on conceptualization and implementation in the design process. There is a large amount of computer-aided design (CAD) usage to ensure that parts and products meet specifications of customer needs. The outlier skills for this area include generating ideas and modeling, shown in Figure 11. There is often a distinction between design engineers and other engineers, as design is a large and often ongoing part of engineering work. Systems and mechanical parts are constantly being tweaked and changed to meet new customer demands like making use of new or cheaper technology.
Fig. 11 Design Engineer Job Title Skills from Elizabeth Pollack et al. "What Do Mechanical Engineers Do? A Content Analysis of Mechanical Engineers' Job Descriptions", 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, 2021, https://peer.asee.org/38040
Fig. 12 System Engineer Job Title Skills from Elizabeth Pollack et al. "What Do Mechanical Engineers Do? A Content Analysis of Mechanical Engineers' Job Descriptions", 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, 2021, https://peer.asee.org/38040
Systems Engineer
Systems engineers focus on every part of the product lifestyle, from design to testing and manufacturing to quality control and mass production and everything in-between. They typically have the largest overview of projects from a technical standpoint. They deal heavily with problem definition and implementation, shown in Figure 12, meaning they root out problems in systems and find ways to solve them.
Manufacturing Engineer
Manufacturing engineers create, acquire, and program machines to efficiently produce manufactured products. These positions require a heavy degree of coordination and planning as they create processes that turn raw materials into finished products. They can be seen as the next step closer to projects from systems engineers. The most significant skills required include implementation and management, seen in Figure 13. Manufacturing engineers often split their time between overseeing changes in factories and working in an office.
Fig. 13 Manufacturing Engineer Job Title Skills from Elizabeth Pollack et al. "What Do Mechanical Engineers Do? A Content Analysis of Mechanical Engineers' Job Descriptions", 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, 2021, https://peer.asee.org/38040
Fig. 14 Process Engineer Job Title Skills from Elizabeth Pollack et al. "What Do Mechanical Engineers Do? A Content Analysis of Mechanical Engineers' Job Descriptions", 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, 2021, https://peer.asee.org/38040
Process Engineer
Process engineers are the next step in the engineering project pipeline. They dig into the minutiae of how products are created by looking at the chemical and physical properties of materials and developing formulas and processes for creating products. As such, the standout skill required for this role is feasibility analysis (Figure 14), which is essentially testing to see the practicality and potential success of products. Process engineers are common in chemical and pharmaceutical fields.
Project Engineer and Manager/Director Positions
Project engineers often work under an engineering manager, acting as an intermediary between different engineering departments to coordinate projects. Manager positions involve overseeing a group of engineers, being responsible for hiring decisions and budget oversight, and are more people-oriented than almost any of these other positions. Directors are one step above managers, leading teams of engineers and are required to look more at strategy and the business as a whole. These positions typically require several years of engineering practice; however, some project engineering roles can be entry-level. These roles require high levels of communication and management, as can be seen in Figures 15 and 16.
Fig. 15 Project Engineer Job Title Skills from Elizabeth Pollack et al. "What Do Mechanical Engineers Do? A Content Analysis of Mechanical Engineers' Job Descriptions", 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, 2021, https://peer.asee.org/38040
Fig. 16 Manager and Director Positions Job Title Skills from Elizabeth Pollack et al. "What Do Mechanical Engineers Do? A Content Analysis of Mechanical Engineers' Job Descriptions", 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, 2021, https://peer.asee.org/38040
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Fig. 17 Product Engineer Job Title Skills from Elizabeth Pollack et al. "What Do Mechanical Engineers Do? A Content Analysis of Mechanical Engineers' Job Descriptions", 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, 2021, https://peer.asee.org/38040
Product Engineer
Product engineers address the user experience of manufactured products. They are responsible for researching, prototyping, and iterating on products to produce something that is practical, profitable, and user-friendly. They rank among the highest for modeling, feasibility analysis, evaluation, and decision making (Figure 17), which are all important aspects of product creation. Product engineers share a lot in common with design engineers, including a smaller percentage of management requirements, suggesting they may be a good choice for somebody looking for less leadership duties.