To professional mechanical engineers: How can I get started?

Question

Hi
I'm nearly 14 and very interested in becoming a mechanical engineer. I have put extra focus on my maths studies at school and am going to get a robotics kit for my birthday. I was just wondering, as a question to those of you who do it for a living (whether it be in weapon design, manufacturing etc) how I can properly get set on that path? What programming languages should I focus on? what mathematical concepts should i grasp? basically, best way to get started.

Answer 1

Yes, RossK does have good advice on being prepared for class. I had a situation in school where I had to miss some time and I ended up studying the book and that helped a lot. However, you might have to be selective on what you read to prepare ahead of time. Regardless, a good practice.



Writing is also a good skill to have. So is sketching. If you become good at sketching, you can express a lot of ideas on paper so that people can see what you see in your mind.



These days, there are so many examples on the Web of projects that you can do. It is a great resource and you should use it to gain the practical experience of building what you design. Electronics is very prevalent on the Web. Kits are good to get started but eventually, you should design your own projects and put together a list (Bill of Materials or BOM) if parts you need and order them yourself. This will often end up costing less than kits and give you the practical experience. You will also have to start building a bench, chest or whatever full of tools.



Here are some good sites or search terms to help you get started:

Instructables,

Make,

Hackaday,

Arduino,

Processing,

Linux,

C/C++ - kind of like the Latin of programming languages but still widely used,

Raspberry Pi,

Parallax, and

YouTube.



Use your available library systems (school, public and community college/university) for books on all kinds of subjects.

Answer 2

I will have to qualify that I am an electrical engineer, not mechanical, the process, except for specific coursework, is identical. Taking all of the advanced math classes available, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, analytical geometry, pre-calculus, calculus if it is offered, is the best foundation. Writing is often overlooked but is all important, especially if there is course in technical writing. Physics, followed by chemistry is also important. As for programming language, I would recommend focusing on C as that has been most prevalent for many years now, and you can get complilers for free.



Work hard on developing good study habits. This probably doesn't seem that important in junior high and high school, but it definitely will be in college. If you don't already do this, get in the habit of studying book material and work through example problems before the instructor lectures on the same material in class. That way, you will be pre-loaded with questions and everything the instructor says makes sense. This makes doing homework and studying for exams a breeze, and the increased efficiency of this study habit will reduce total study time and result in improved homework/exam scores.



After that, just follow your passions. Try to find the opportunity to talk with professionals in mechanical engineering and get as much knowledge about the different industries who employ them from aerospace, engine design, vehicles, robotics, etc.; career days are great. Also get inolved in local clubs that may be involved with robotics, computers, light aircraft, experimental vehicles, to name a few.

Answer 3

RossK has sage advice, especially good communication skill (writing and verbal). Does your school have machine shop courses where you learn about mills, lathes, and other tools of the trade? Does your school offer mechanical drafting courses? If so, take those courses. One of the biggest hurdles to mechanical engineers getting out of college is understanding what can be accomplished with tools. Drafting is required to communicate your ideas and designs to machinists and others.

Answer 4

RossK has given you some very good advice. At your point in life it is all about the basics in math and science. I also agree that good writing skills are also very helpful.