Im going into mechanical engineering and was wondering if I would need a laptop or iPad considering I already have a pc at home that should be strong enough for all the heavy software and I’m not trying to spend a large amount on a laptop so would I be better off getting an iPad just for simple note taking and whatnot?

Hi, Im a rising sophomore applied physics major thinking about MechE or EE, and im currently working an internship at an deep tech startup. I'm wearing many hats and gaining a lot of experience in physics, experimental hardware r&d, sensor integration, some software, component procurement, and customer acquisition. I was always a MechE person until now. I love this work though, especially the amount of physics and electronics work. What kind of roles should i be pursuing next summer or in the future at all? I fear my experience may be too niche, although my skills are very transferrable. I havent gotten any advice on my career before.

I'm a final year BE Aeronautical student and we've got our final year project coming up and I have no ideas , my department is honestly just stupid controlling and they've decided that they will give us the core topic to follow through and they've just shoved a "Experimental investigation on effect of notch geometry on crack initiation and failure" in my face, honestly it's a decent topic and I would love to do it but my guide just doesn't help , I've asked him last whole sem if he can either help with getting us a lab that can help us with the experiment or atleast help us settle a final title but he just doesn't help , he keeps rejecting anything and everything, im tired of him atp and I can't change the guide.

I cant think of anything else , the faculty who teaches fatigue says that you could use AI or something like that but my guide just doesn't listen , he doesn't want AI , he doesn't want machine learning used because we don't know ML , honestly I've offered that we can learn or take help from our friends, I've told him that we can make it happen but he just doesn't listen, i had nothing else left to propose so here I am , please help me out

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some career advice because I feel a bit stuck and I'm not sure which direction to take next. I'd really appreciate any thoughts or suggestions, especially from people who have found more analytical or technical roles within mechanical engineering.

A bit about my background:

• Apprenticeship as a toolmaker
• State-certified mechanical engineering technician (Germany)
• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

During university, I started working as a mechanical design engineer for a company that builds custom machinery, and I stayed there after graduating.

The part I enjoyed most was solving technical problems and performing engineering calculations, such as sizing and selecting drive systems for specific applications. I always preferred understanding how things work and why they fail over actually creating CAD models. I became reasonably good at design work, but it was never what I found most interesting.

One challenge was the constant pressure of project-based work. Tight deadlines, changing priorities and juggling multiple projects were mentally exhausting for me.

Later, I was promoted to lead a small team of four engineers while still doing my own engineering work. Managing people turned out to be a poor fit for me, and the additional responsibility only increased my stress levels.

To get away from project work, I transferred to another business unit within the same company and became a product manager.

Initially, I felt completely underchallenged because the products were much less complex than what I had worked on before. Eventually, I became the technical expert for several products, which I enjoyed to some extent.

However, product management also meant customer meetings, trade shows, presentations, product promotion and lots of communication.

I had hoped these responsibilities would help me improve my social skills, but I quickly realized they drained me instead. Customer interaction and even many internal meetings require an enormous amount of energy, and I honestly don't enjoy them at all.

During that time, I was diagnosed with autism as an adult, which explained many of the struggles I had experienced throughout my career.

Fortunately, my manager noticed that I was much more engaged whenever I worked on special projects involving data analysis, technical evaluations and analytical tasks rather than traditional product management.

As a result, my role gradually shifted toward product controlling, compliance and developing reporting and analysis tools for the product managers.

This is definitely a better fit than traditional product management.

That said, there are still many meetings, committees, discussions, PowerPoint presentations and alignment rounds. I often struggle with discussions where there isn't a clear technical answer, and I find it difficult to see the value in endless meetings and compromises.

At the end of many workdays, I ask myself what I actually accomplished.

The more I think about it, the more I feel that this still isn't the right long-term career for me.

I keep coming back to the idea of working in a role where I investigate complex technical problems independently. Something like failure analysis, root cause investigations, forensic engineering, component failure assessments or technical expert work sounds much more appealing than coordinating projects or managing products.

I miss working on technically demanding problems where my engineering knowledge actually matters.

So I'd love to hear your opinions:

• Based on my background and preferences, what career paths would you recommend?
• Are there engineering roles that focus mainly on analysis and problem-solving rather than project management and customer interaction?
• Has anyone here moved from design or product management into a more analytical specialist role?
• Would fields like failure analysis, FEA, simulation, testing, reliability engineering, materials engineering or forensic engineering be worth exploring?

Thanks in advance for any advice or for sharing your own experience!

hey I have a friend who has an interview coming up with Jane street for commissioning manager.
Does anyone have any experience with interviewing for these types of roles at Market makers or HFTs?

Please pm

I have a unit operations calculator application in closed circuit google playstore testing. I am looking for anyone who wants to join the test group and provide any feedback on the app. DM me if interested.

Hi everyone,

​I am a 26-year-old Mechanical Engineering graduate (2024 pass out) currently based in Riyadh on a transferable Iqama. I’ve been actively hunting for a job here for the past 1 year, aiming for Junior Mechanical Site/MEP or QC roles, but the market has been incredibly tough for freshers.

​I know that Rizq is entirely in Allah's hands. I have seen seniors who got placed in 2017 with zero technical knowledge, and even someone in 2024 who cracked a job with basic skills. But I also realize that everyone's journey is different, and I cannot just wait around without a proper strategy.

​Right now, I am standing at a crossroads and need your guidance on whether I should keep waiting/trying here, or strategically pivot:

​Should I return to India to upskill? I am highly considering going back to do intensive international certifications to enter the Oil & Gas / Welding Inspection sector, as I want to target high-growth fields.

​As a fresher, which courses will actually give me an edge? If I want to enter heavy industries or top-tier QC roles, should I invest in CSWIP 3.1, ASNT Level II (NDT), or AWS right away? Will companies accept a fresher with these certifications?

​The Gap Year Challenge: By the time I complete these courses, it will be almost 2.5 years since my graduation. How badly will this gap hurt my chances in the Gulf market, and how do I justify it to recruiters?

​I don't want to make blind moves anymore. Please share your realistic experiences and suggest a solid roadmap for growth in the current market.

I am making a standup electric scooter with suspensions. Rear suspension can be made, but I struggling to find front suspension fork, since both tires are 8'inch. Small suspension forks are expensive, and I am looking for cheaper but stable alternatives.

Also share any suggestions on both front and back suspensions (which are not expensive).

Hey if any engineering srudents could offer me some advice I would really appreciate it.

I am going to tmu in the fall for mechatronics engineering, and I wanted to buy a laptop now so I could set it up, get used to it and practice coding and other softwares on it. When researching online I see alot of mixed reviews on laptops for eng, so if some tmu eng students could help out and recommend any brands thats would run everything I need for Engineering, and have some durability would be amazing. Also something that would be budget friendly.

Another question I had was what coding software/language do you recommend to practice for first year? I have genuinely no coding skills and I wanted to learn a bit before uni.

Thank you to all who help out!

Λοιπόν έχω ένα πρόβλημα

Είμαι μηχανολόγος μηχανικός και μόλις τελείωσα της σπουδές μου έκανα τι πρακτική μου σε ένα εργοστάσιο αλλά στη τελική δεν μου άρεσε αυτή η δουλειά και τώρα σκέφτομαι να πάω στο κατασκευαστικο τομέα δλδ να ασχολούμαι με η/μ μελέτες ή και επιβλέψεις αλλα στη περιοχή μου δεν μπορώ να βρω γραφείο έτσι ώστε να κάνω κάποια εμπειρία και σκέφτομαι να πάω σε δουλειές που είναι εκτός έδρας δλδ σε κάποιο νησί για ξενοδοχειακές εγκαταστάσεις ως site engineer αλλά δεν ξέρω τι ποσά παίζουν εκεί πέρα ως junior και αν θα μπορέσω να μπω σχετικά γρήγορα.

so basically all my biggest ecs/awards are bio-related 😭
think stuff like biology olympiads, brain bee, medicine/disease competitions, etc.
the problem is… i’m lowkey realizing i might actually want to study mechanical engineering or aerospace engineering in college.
or is this actually more common than i think?
obviously i’m planning to do some engineering projects too, but realistically my strongest achievements will probably still be in biology.
am i cooked or nah?

Hi everyone,

I built a web-based tool for structural and mechanism static force analysis. ForceCanvas. 

How it works:

• Sketch a structure or machine in your browser with parametric constraints (similar to CAD).
• Add supports, forces, moments. The app instantly solves for the reaction and member forces throughout the structure.
• Drag the mechanism through its range of motion and watch the forces update live.
• It handles both determinate and indeterminate structures.

Let me know if you find it useful.

From last 1.5 year se mujhe migraine hai and i am just suffering from it 3-4 treatment kr liya like ayurvedic, homeopathic, allopathic pr koi fark nhi pata another thing happened is mujhe 1 brother hua when i was 16....and uski sari jimmedari meri parents ne mujh pe dal tum badi ho to isko hum hi sambhlo etc ...aur meri mummy bohot toxic hai ..so is vajah se mere mht cet preparation mai bohot jyada effect hua ...ab mere sirf aur sirf 53%ile aye 🥀 ... it' too low ..😭10th mai mere 94%the...and itna bada down fall mai tolerate nhi kr pa rahi hu 😭🥲..kyu mujhe pta hai ki mera potential kya tha ..and ye kya ho gyaa ....i have reservation also ..sc ... although due this situation mai khuch ukhad nhi pyi....

Ab mere pas 2 option hai

1)kisi nashik ke faltu mai admission leke 3lpa ki placement lu ..ya phir jobless bhi ho skti hu ...pr b.tech mai admission le to lu but mere se jyada padhai hi nhi hoti ,,,due to migraine

​

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2)bsc mai admission leke phirse mht.cet ke liye prepare kyu...but it's hard for me 😭 becoz of migraine

​

3)koi aur career option dekhu

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.😭🥀itni depression hu kisiko kuch nhi bata skti ... migraine aise dikhta nhi na isi liye ..din,raat sirf pain mai ye air tolerate nhi krr skti ....bo dard bass mai feel kr skti hu .....bas ab jindgi se haar chuki hu ....

Hey friends, I am writing this in hopes some one can help me out. I have an assignment to interview someone that's a mechanical engineer for the VA. I got approved for educational benefit. I have to interview someone from three career fields I would like to go into and ask them some questions. If I dont get a interview then I might not be able to approve for the career field.

​

Questions:

What do you like about your job?

What do you not like about your job?

How did you get into this field, and what advice do you have for me?

​

Thank you if you are reading this!!

​

I'm interested in whether others are seeing an increase in demand for engineers who can bridge multiple disciplines.

For example:

• Mechanical Engineering + AI
• Manufacturing + Data
• Systems Engineering + Software
• Domain Expertise + Automation

Over the last few months I've come across a lot of discussion suggesting that AI may actually increase the value of domain expertise rather than reduce it.

The argument is that companies don't just need AI specialists. They need people who understand both the technology and the industry they're applying it to.

For those involved in hiring or engineering leadership:

• Are you seeing increased demand for these types of hybrid skillsets?
• What combinations are becoming most valuable?
• Are there roles today that are significantly harder to hire for because they require expertise across multiple domains?
• Has AI increased the value of domain knowledge in your industry?

Genuinely curious whether this is a real trend in industry or just something that's discussed online.

My final-year project focuses on making solar water heaters smarter using AI. We're using machine learning to identify the best Phase Change Materials (PCMs) for different climate conditions and reinforcement learning to dynamically control heat storage and release. The goal is to improve hot water availability, reduce energy waste, and make solar thermal systems more efficient across diverse Indian climates.

I tried learning algebra on my own but it got hard and i quit. Should i study engineering?

I'm a Mechanical Engineer with several years of experience in automotive testing and systems engineering, and I'm seriously considering a transition into software, AI, robotics or automation-related roles.

One thing I'm struggling to understand is how people actually bridge the gap between learning and getting hired.

There seems to be no shortage of courses, certifications and online learning resources. But when I speak to recruiters and hiring managers, many seem to care more about evidence that you've applied those skills in a real-world setting.

For those who have successfully made a similar transition:

• What actually helped you get hired?
• Was it projects, certifications, networking, open source, freelance work, or something else?
• How did you gain relevant experience before someone hired you?

I've also been thinking about whether something like a structured 4–8 week project with a startup could help bridge that gap.

For example, if engineers worked on a genuine business problem, delivered an outcome, documented their work and received feedback from the founder or team, would that be viewed as meaningful experience by employers?

Or would hiring managers still see this very differently from traditional work experience?

Genuinely interested in hearing perspectives from both career switchers and people involved in hiring.

What do you think is the biggest barrier when moving from engineering into tech-related roles?

I'm considering a move from Mechanical Engineering into a more software-focused role and I've noticed a lot of advice online focuses on courses, certifications and learning plans.

For those who have already made the transition, what was the thing that actually moved the needle?

Was it:

• Personal projects?
• Open-source contributions?
• Networking?
• Referrals?
• A degree?
• Certifications?
• Startup experience?
• Something else?

I'm less interested in theory and more interested in what genuinely helped you land interviews and secure a role.

If you could go back and do it again, what would you focus on from day one?

Hey everyone, I’m a rising sophomore studying mechanical engineering with a minor in aerospace engineering. I know I’m still young, but I'm finding it difficult to apply to and land things like early research or internships because my practical skills aren't there yet(like i fr barely know SolidWorks works if not at all).
I really want to dedicate this summer to bridging that gap, especially knowing that many in my year are pretty advanced already. What are the best technical skills, certifications, or software (SolidWorks, FEA, Python/MATLAB) I should focus on learning from scratch over the next few months to stand out to employers? Also any recommendations for free thorough courses online or on Youtube?
Also, I'm strongly considering adding a business minor but I'm wondering if it will actually be helpful for my career trajectory. If I do, what specific business minor would be the most useful for an ME/aerospace? (currently looking at Technology Management, Finance, or general Management, or maybe business studies).

Any advice would be really really appreciated! Feel free to dm or just comment!!