What a mechanical engineer really does
You pick the parts, find out why things break, and argue for the design change that stops it from happening again.
FieldScience and engineering
Preparation (O*NET Job Zone)Considerable preparation needed
What the work involves
What fills a typical week for mechanical engineers, built from O*NET occupation data.
- Reading drawings, schematics, and test reports to understand how a machine works and where it fails
- Selecting components like bearings, motors, fasteners, and materials against load and life requirements
- Investigating returned or failed parts and recommending a fix
- Answering questions from production, service, and other engineers about how a design should work
- Checking customer specifications for feasibility, cost, and maintenance needs
- Working with drafters and CAD models to turn a change into released drawings
What the days are like
What people in the job know
- You are rarely alone with a problem. Most of the day involves talking with other people about the design. Contact with others: 74% constant contact (O*NET Work Context)
- You get real freedom to decide how to solve a problem once you are trusted. Freedom to make decisions: 50% a lot of freedom (O*NET Work Context)
- Precision matters nearly all the time, not only in final drawings. Importance of being exact or accurate: 39% extremely important, 56% very important (O*NET Work Context)
- Disagreements with other teams happen often, usually between design, manufacturing, and sales. Conflict situations: 27% once a week or more, 32% once a month or more (O*NET Work Context)
- Reading other people's drawings and reports is the top rated task, ahead of designing new things. Task rank 1, importance 83: Read and interpret blueprints, drawings, schematics, and computer reports (O*NET Tasks)
How people get into it
Most mechanical engineers have a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering (52% of O*NET respondents say it is required, and Job Zone 4 means most roles expect one). Graduates usually start as junior or associate engineers learning the company's products under a senior engineer. A PE license is optional in product design but common in building systems work.
The Firstday trial, easy to hard
Three simulated tasks with AI coworkers who message you, react to your work and coach with questions. Nobody scores you.
What the trial can't show: The trial skips building 3D models and drawings in SolidWorks or similar CAD, running finite element analysis, and the hands on work of handling parts, running tests in a lab, or standing on a production floor with safety glasses on. Real failure investigations can take weeks of testing; here the results are handed to you.
Reading about it is one thing.
Find out how the work feels to you before you spend on a degree, course or job change. Your first trial is free.
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Job details on this page are built from O*NET OnLine, 17-2141.00. This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.