The Comparison of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Career Choice - Term Paper Example

 Mr. /Ms., Me (and my colleague, if there is one) have chosen to compare a critical decision which many pre-engineering students have to face in their life. It is the career decision of whether to take up Electrical engineering or Mechanical engineering for their undergraduate programs. The report will cover the various aspects of how the two courses differ and how a student can successfully reach a decision based on certain criterion described in the report. Sincerely, Introduction The world today is full of career paths and different goals which people of all ages and interests can pursue according to their own wishes. This though leads many of the students in a fix. The reason is that many cannot successfully decide which specific field they want to take up. As human beings are evolving into a very technologically advanced being, the fields of Engineering are getting more and more specialized. The most popular choice however remains the fields of Electrical and Mechanical engineering. The students who wish to pursue their career in either of these fields however, remain confused as to which fields to choose solely because they do not have the required knowledge to make such an important decision. As a result, many students end up taking the wrong decision and by the time they realize it, it is too late and their future becomes dark. Purpose In this report, this question has been discussed at length. A through research has been undertaken to find out just what exactly the two fields require from a person, and crucially, how the two differ in terms of coursework and future career opportunities. Findings This section covers the two fields from three different perspectives. Firstly how these two fields differ and what they focus on will be discussed. Then in terms of education and knowledge required of the field will be discussed. Lastly both fields will be analyzed to find the future career opportunities. Mechanical Engineering As the term suggests, the mechanical engineering program focuses highly in mechanics and motion of objects. It applies the principles of Physics in a very constructive way to bring about new equipment and technology to help make our lives easier. (Johnson & Sherwi, 1996) 1) Academic Focus Mechanical Engineering involves the analysis of design, manufacture, and the maintenance of all types of mechanical systems. These can be automobiles, aircraft, and miscellaneous systems, manufacturing plants, industrial equipment and machinery. (Johnson & Sherwi, 1996) 2) Coursework Being such a wide and very broad field, a student is required to study all sorts of courses relating to all types of scientific phenomenon. The general courses that students have to take up are the following: (Johnson & Sherwi, 1996) Statics Dynamics Strength of materials and Solid mechanics Instrumentation and measurement Thermodynamics Fluid mechanics Mechanism design Manufacturing technology Hydraulics and pneumatics Engineering design Mechatronics and the control theory Drafting 3) Future Career Opportunities The courses specified above mean that the student will be required to study all the basic and advanced concepts of how things basically work. It will be required of them to know and research how one thing leads to another and how the chain of processes goes on to make one single process work and create a basis for the next consecutive process. Not only will the students only be required to research from books, thesis, journal articles and the internet, they will also be provided the first hand opportunity of actually working on real projects with big companies. This will be a part of the courses and all successful application of theory will be judged here. Students with a passion of machines and interest of working in a very outdoor and active environment will be well suited to this field. (Washington University) Electrical Engineering As this term suggests, the student of electrical engineering will be required to fulfill his tasks of designing and building of electrical circuits. This is an immensely important and growing field because virtually the whole world today runs on computers and other electronic equipment. (Hambley, 2004) 1) Academic Focus The information and knowledge required in this field gives the electrical engineer a competitive edge over other engineers from different fields. This also means that the student of electrical engineering will be more specialized to his work than other engineers as he will be studying the core components of machines and equipment which are basically the same except for a few different arts added or subtracted. (Hambley, 2004) 2) Coursework (Iowa State University) AC & DC Fundamentals Electronics Devices Microprocessor Fundamentals Industrial Circuits and Equipment Fluid Hydraulics and Pneumatics Industry Wiring Methods 3) Future Career Opportunities The courses here seem to be very few. But closer inspection reveals that these are only the very basic titles given. These topics will not be ‘’gone through’’ in the whole academic training. These courses are few because of the reason that they will be covered in the greatest depth possible by the instructors. Electrical engineering requires much more lab work than other engineering and is mostly done while sitting on a bench indoors in an air conditioned room. This therefore is for the more introvert of people who do not like to work in groups and still have a great brain to work out all the complicated circuits and diagrams. (Hambley, 2004) Recommendation Both the fields are interesting and requires a lot of effort from the side of the student. However my opinion is to go for the electrical engineering side as its future looks brighter. Obviously if one is passionate about a field, that person would prefer that field only. But we do jobs so that we can earn and live a good life hence passion should sometimes be left as a hobby while future prospects in a field should be followed. Conclusion This brief report is now being concluded with the comparison of mechanical and electrical engineering career choice. But before the verdict is given, there is one point to be taken into consideration. It’s just that the profession of an engineer is only ever chosen by students who are very dedicated and passionate about that particular subject. The students look at the subject as more than just an academic career path and something which will give them a bright future. They see it as something which makes them happy while they do it, and this is what engineering is all about. This is the reason why the world today is what it is today; because the engineers didn’t just stick to the guidelines to invent something new. They thought out of the box and kept doing something they love doing which resulted in so many great and ingenious inventions. This is what engineering is all about. Crazy ideas made into reality for the betterment of human kind. This moves me on to the real conclusion. The fact is, no matter how different both the fields of engineering seem, they are both equally tough and equally easy in places. It just depends on the student which sort of life he/she wants to lead and most importantly which kind of work will be most enjoyed doing, otherwise, he/she will join the rest of the crowd who just looked at the incomplete picture and jumped into the sea which pulled them into its currents never to return them to their dreamed lives. (The Princeton Review, 2005) Works Cited 1) Allan R. Hambley. Electrical Engineering: Principles and Applications. Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. 2) Anthony Johnson, Keith Sherwin. Foundations of Mechanical Engineering. CRC Press, 1996. 3) Iowa State University. Electrical Engineering. Electrical Engineering. 1 March 2008 http://www.eng.iastate.edu/explore/ee.pdf 4) Princeton Review. Guide to College Majors: Everything You Need to Know to Choose the Right Major. The Princeton Review, 2005. 5) Washington University in St. Louis. Why Major in Mechanical Engineering?. Advantages of Mechanical Engineering Degree. 1 March 2008 http://www.me.wustl.edu/reasons.html Read More