r/MechanicalEngineering • u/AutoModerator • Sep 01 '26

Quarterly /r/MechanicalEngineering Career/Salary Megathread

10 Upvotes

Are you looking for feedback or information on your salary or career? Then you've come to the right thread. If your questions are anything like the following example questions, then ask away:

  • Am I underpaid?
  • Is my offered salary market value?
  • How do I break into [industry]?
  • Will I be pigeonholed if I work as a [job title]?
  • What graduate degree should I pursue?

Message the mods for suggestions, comments, or feedback.

5 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/yaoz889 • Mar 23 '26

2026 US Mechanical Engineer Survey Results

553 Upvotes

I would like to thank you everyone for participating in the annual 2026 ME Salary survey. Total respondents was a little over 600, so less than last year, but about 589 US responses.

Past Results Link

Background:

Here are the main results. It took about 2 hours to "clean" the data manually. Afterwards, I basically used Gemini to create the graphs + tables, since last time it literally took me about 7 hours to do everything manually on Excel last time and there were still questions. The key points and takeaways from the data is a combination of AI and editing the information to be more readable (still took 4 hours). In addition, I wouldn't worry about math too much, since Gemini basically just used python code to decipher the edited CSV file.

Industry:

Industry Number of Respondents
Manufacturing 175 (29.7%)
Aerospace/Defense 173 (29.4%)
Technology (FANG, AI, Robotics, etc.) 54 (9.2%)
MEP (HVAC, Construction, etc.) 38 (6.5%)
Utilities (Power, Renewables, etc.) 35 (5.9%)
Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices 31 (5.3%)
Oil and Gas 28 (4.8%)
Consumer Goods 15 (2.5%)
Government 11 (1.9%)
  • There were some other industries like nuclear, logistics, and etc. but the few data points aren't included in the table for brevity. The data was included in the total set though
  • A majority of the mechanical engineers trends will use the Aerospace/Defense and Manufacturing data since there is the most data that is available

Salary and Year of Experience:

*Note: Total Compensation/Salary = Base Salary + Bonus + RSU + Base Salary * 401k Match

If you want to look at one graph and table to explain the progression track here it is:

YOE Range Median Base (Unadj) Median Total (Unadj) Median Base (COL Adj) Median Total (COL Adj) Count
0-1 Year $87,000 $96,036 $81,699 $87,368 43
2 Years $84,000 $91,046 $84,615 $90,909 71
3 Years $94,550 $105,965 $94,082 $102,289 62
4-5 Years $104,000 $119,770 $94,881 $107,762 116
6-8 Years $120,000 $136,800 $112,500 $127,911 119
9-12 Years $125,500 $146,985 $123,444 $142,555 96
13-20 Years $157,290 $181,840 $144,254 $171,731 64
20+ Years $196,500 $211,426 $163,399 $191,042 15

Key Takeaways:

  • The "Benefit Gap": The space between the solid lines (Total Compensation) and the dashed lines (Base Salary) represents the added value from annual bonuses and employer 401k matching. For a mid-career engineer (6-8 years), this extra value is roughly $16,800 on average.
  • Late Career Leverage: As engineers gain seniority (13+ years), the gap between base salary and total compensation grows significantly, suggesting that bonuses and incentive programs make up a larger portion of the package for senior-level and leadership roles.
  • Purchasing Power: The COL Adjusted lines (Orange) consistently track below the un-adjusted lines (Blue), highlighting that high-paying mechanical engineering roles are frequently located in markets where the dollar doesn't stretch as far as the national average.

Education:

  • Majority of the respondents are at max a bachelor degree holder. However, there is still a significant number of master's students

Now about the age old question: does having a Master's degree lead to higher future salary?

Short Answer: In general, the answer is yes if there is a chance to specialize. It is explained in the table below:

Industry Career Stage Education Median Total (Unadj) Median Total (COL Adj) Count
Aerospace & Defense 0-3 Years Bachelors $96,664 $95,201 44
Masters $116,600 $108,316 15
4-7 Years Bachelors $125,410 $110,659 39
Masters $173,000 $148,432 9
8-15 Years Bachelors $161,750 $140,202 33
Masters $154,905 $149,658 16
15+ Years Bachelors $207,080 $187,505 7
Masters $211,426 $207,872 5
Manufacturing 0-3 Years Bachelors $88,220 $93,452 52
Masters $93,740 $91,850 6
4-7 Years Bachelors $108,992 $106,701 45
Masters $129,800 $128,407 12
8-15 Years Bachelors $135,425 $142,440 44
Masters $136,298 $129,984 8
15+ Years Bachelors $182,650 $187,127 5
  • Now you can see that for manufacturing, the benefits is not as prominent, while it is evident in aerospace. This makes sense, since Aerospace have very high specialization salary, for instance: hypersonic or eVtol which pays a ton for total compensation based on years of experience.
    • Answer: if your company pays for your masters, do it, but it doesn't seem that beneficial near the end of your career.

Internships & Coops:

Key Insights:

  • The "Experienced" Majority: A combined 85% of respondents completed at least one internship or co-op. This underscores how critical early-career work experience has become for landing a full-time role in mechanical engineering.
  • Co-op Advantage: The 20% of respondents with "3+ Internships" often represent those in formal co-op programs (where students rotate between school and work over several years). These candidates typically command higher starting salaries shown in the table below:
Industry 0-1 Internship 2+ Internships New Grad Premium
Aerospace & Defense $82,000 $91,500 +$9,500
Manufacturing $74,000 $82,000 +$8,000
MedTech $80,500 $89,000 +$8,500

Certifications:

Here is the graph of a major certifications from the survey:

We always see a question on whether certifications are worth it:

Aerospace & Defense: Certification vs. Total Compensation

Experience Education Has Cert? Median Unadj. Total Median Adj. Total Count
0-3 Years Bachelors No $97,900 $95,426 41
Yes $95,040 $64,653 3
4-7 Years Bachelors No $125,315 $106,672 36
Yes $128,580 $138,258 3
8-15 Years Bachelors No $159,660 $139,839 31
Yes $280,425 $177,895 2
Masters No $151,410 $142,043 13
Yes $209,658 $216,142 3

Manufacturing: Certification vs. Total Compensation

Experience Education Has Cert? Median Unadj. Total Median Adj. Total Count
0-3 Years Bachelors No $88,020 $91,944 43
Yes $90,450 $99,746 9
4-7 Years Bachelors No $108,805 $106,615 36
Yes $108,992 $106,701 9
8-15 Years Bachelors No $135,000 $136,541 31
Yes $136,000 $151,111 13
Masters No $152,212 $122,728 6
Yes $134,815 $141,636 2

Key Findings:

  1. High-Experience Premium in Aerospace: The most dramatic impact of certification appears in the mid-to-late career in Aerospace & Defense (8–15 years). Engineers with a Bachelors and a certification earn a median total compensation significantly higher than those without. Even among Masters holders in this range, certified engineers have a median total comp of $209k vs $151k for non-certified.
  2. Manufacturing Stability: In the Manufacturing industry, certifications (often Six Sigma or FE/PE) lead to a very modest increase in un-adjusted base pay, but a more noticeable improvement in COL-adjusted pay. This suggests that certified engineers in Manufacturing may have more flexibility to find high-paying roles in lower-cost-of-living areas.
  3. The "Entry-Level Paradox": For junior engineers (0–3 years), having a certification (likely the FE) does not immediately result in a salary premium. In fact, in Aerospace, the un-adjusted median for those with certifications was slightly lower, possibly because those engineers are still in entry-level rotation programs where pay is standardized regardless of credentials.
  4. Masters + Certification: For those who already have a Masters, adding a certification provides a significant late-career boost (as seen in the 8–15 year group in Aerospace).

Answer: Certification can be worth it for select industries. PE is known for civil to open doors and increase pay.

Job Titles:

Job Role Category Number of Respondents Percentage
Mechanical Engineer (General) 229 38.9%
Design Engineer 97 16.5%
Project & Systems Engineer 59 10.0%
Management & Leadership 55 9.3%
Manufacturing & Process Engineer 54 9.2%
Specialized (Thermal, Stress, R&D) 34 5.8%
Other / Misc 61 10.4%

Key Insights:

  • General vs. Specialized: Nearly 40% of respondents identify with the broad title of "Mechanical Engineer," which often includes generalists or those in mid-level positions.
  • The Design Dominance: Design Engineering is the second largest single group, reflecting the high demand for CAD-based design and product development across aerospace, tech, and manufacturing industries.
  • Transition to Leadership: About 9% of respondents hold titles in Management & Leadership (Manager, Director, VP), which led to a higher salary
  • Project and Systems focus: 1 in 10 engineers focuses on Project or Systems Engineering, highlighting the importance of multidisciplinary coordination and technical management in modern engineering projects.
  • The Specialty Niche: The "Specialized" category includes highly technical roles like Thermal Analysis, FEA, Simulation, and Research & Development, which often require higher educational levels or deep domain expertise.

Salary Grade vs. Salary:

Grade Level Industry Median Annual Salary Typical Experience (YOE) Sample Count
Level 1 (Entry) Aerospace & Defense $88,400 1.0 year 39
Manufacturing $80,250 2.0 years 39
Level 2 (Mid) Aerospace & Defense $102,273 3.8 years 48
Manufacturing $95,000 5.0 years 71
Level 3 (Senior) Aerospace & Defense $130,000 8.0 years 57
Manufacturing $119,600 9.0 years 50
Level 4 (Lead/Manager) Aerospace & Defense $170,500 11.0 years 22
Manufacturing $136,000 11.0 years 11
Level 5+ (Principal/Director) Aerospace & Defense $206,000 20.0 years 9
Manufacturing $136,500 14.0 years 4
  • Efficiency of Experience: In Aerospace, engineers tend to reach Level 2 and Level 3 roughly 1–1.2 years faster than those in Manufacturing, while also earning more.
  • The Level 4 Ceiling: In Manufacturing, the salary jump from Grade 3 to Grade 4 is roughly $16k, whereas in Aerospace, that same promotion yields a massive $40k jump in median base salary.

Which Industry Pays the Most?

Major Caveat: at 16+ YOE, the data points are only a couple, which skews the data upward.

Based on the comprehensive US survey data, the Technology (FANG, Robotics, AI, Consumer Electronics) industry emerges as the highest-paying sector for mechanical engineers when considering total compensation (Base Salary + Annual Bonus + 401k Match).

Tech Compensation Package:

Years of Experience Avg. Total Comp (Unadjusted) Avg. Total Comp (Adjusted for COL) Number of Respondents
0-2 YOE (Entry) $117,316 $100,292 7
3-5 YOE (Junior) $180,854 $138,040 17
6-10 YOE (Mid-Level) $182,773 $134,543 14
11-15 YOE (Senior) $259,993 $220,256 11
16+ YOE (Principal) $244,775 $177,043 5

The Oil and Gas industry stands out as the second most lucrative sectors for mechanical engineers, particularly as they reach senior and principal levels. While Tech offers the highest overall unadjusted compensation, Oil and Gas actually offers the highest Cost of Living (COL) Adjusted compensation, meaning your real purchasing power in this industry is the highest among all major sectors.

Years of Experience Avg. Total Comp (Unadjusted) Avg. Total Comp (COL Adjusted) Number of Respondents
0-2 YOE $95,864 $83,178 5
3-5 YOE $117,289 $111,155 7
6-10 YOE $138,959 $139,773 7
11-15 YOE $204,097 $219,757 6
16+ YOE $408,040 $399,276 3

Overtime Pay:

Industry Trends: Overtime pay is slightly more common in Manufacturing (where production deadlines are rigid) and Consulting/EPC (where hours are billable to clients) compared to R&D or Aerospace.

Work Hours:

Work Hours Category Number of Respondents Percentage
Exactly 40 Hours 337 57.2%
41-45 Hours 146 24.8%
46-50 Hours 49 8.3%
<40 Hours 50 8.5%
>50 Hours 7 1.2%

Key Observations:

  • The "40-Hour" Standard: Over half of the engineers surveyed manage to stick to a strict 40-hour week, which is a positive sign for work-life balance in the profession.
  • Moderate Overtime: Roughly a quarter of engineers work an extra 1 to 5 hours a week (41-45 hours total), often representing "straight time" or expected professional dedication without formal overtime pay.
  • The High-Hours Exception: Only a small fraction (under 10%) report working more than 45 hours consistently. This is significantly lower than in fields like investment banking or high-tier management consulting, suggesting a relatively stable lifestyle for most US mechanical engineers.
  • Flexibility: About 8.5% of respondents work fewer than 40 hours, which often aligns with part-time roles, senior consultants, or companies with flexible "9/80" schedules where some weeks are shorter.

401k Summary:

Match Rate Range Count of Responses Percentage
4% - 5% 211 35.8%
1% - 3% 125 21.2%
6% - 7% 120 20.4%
8% - 10% 65 11.0%
No Match (0%) 56 9.5%
> 10% / Other 12 2.0%

Key Takeaways:

  • The Industry Standard: A 4–5% match is clearly the most common benefit, covering over a third of the surveyed population.
  • High-Tier Benefits: Roughly 13% of engineers receive a match of 8% or higher, which often indicates highly competitive benefit packages in specialized industries.
  • Retirement Security: The low percentage of "No Match" responses (under 10%) highlights that retirement contributions are a standard and expected part of total compensation in the US mechanical engineering market.

Remote Work Distribution:

Remote Category Number of Respondents Percentage
Fully In-Person (0%) 248 42.1%
Mostly In-Person (1-39%) 163 27.7%
Hybrid (40-60%) 118 20.0%
Fully Remote (100%) 38 6.5%
Mostly Remote (61-99%) 22 3.7%

Key Insights:

  • The "Hands-On" Requirement: Over 40% of mechanical engineers are required to be in the office or on-site 100% of the time. This is significantly higher than other engineering fields like Software or Data Science.
  • The Hybrid Standard: Roughly 48% of the workforce has some form of hybrid flexibility (ranging from 1% to 60% remote). Many companies now allow 1–2 days of remote work for documentation, CAD modeling, or administrative tasks.
  • Fully Remote is Rare: Only 6.5% of mechanical engineers work fully remotely. These roles are typically in specialized areas like pure Simulation/FEA, Project Management, or Sales Engineering where physical hardware access is not required daily.
  • The Hybrid Middle Ground: The 40–60% range (often 2–3 days per week) is a common "sweet spot" for engineering firms trying to balance teamwork/lab time with employee flexibility.

Paid Time Off (Days):

*Note: one issue is many jobs had unlimited sick time, which I just added 10 days. Next time I will edit the form to separate the sick days so it makes more sense.

PTO Category (Includes Sick Days) Number of Respondents Percentage
0–10 days 30 5.2%
11–15 days 112 19.5%
16–20 days 160 27.9%
21–25 days 100 17.4%
26–30 days 61 10.6%
31+ days 32 5.6%
Unlimited 78 13.6%

Key Insights:

  • The " 3 - 5 Week" Benchmark: The majority of mechanical engineers (over 45%) receive between 16 and 25 days of PTO.
  • The Rise of Unlimited PTO: About 13.6% of respondents now have "Unlimited" PTO.
  • Generous Packages: Roughly 16% of engineers receive more than 30 days of PTO, which is often a hallmark of high-seniority roles, government/defense positions, or companies that reward long tenure.
  • The Lean End: Only about 5% of respondents are on the low end with 10 days or fewer, suggesting that a minimum of two weeks of PTO is a standard baseline for the industry.

Now some of you might have questions regarding years of experience and PTO:

Average PTO by Experience (Fixed PTO)

Experience Level Average PTO Days (per year) Typical Range (25th-75th Percentile)
0–2 Years 16.9 10–15 days
3–5 Years 19.6 15–20 days
6–10 Years 21.1 20 days
11–15 Years 24.5 20–25 days
16+ Years 26.5 25–30+ days

Analysis of the Trend:

  • The "Standard Jump": Many engineers start with 15 days (3 weeks) and see their first significant "tenure bump" to 20 days (4 weeks) after reaching the 5-year mark.
  • Senior Perks: By the time an engineer hits 15+ years of experience, a 5-week (25-day) or 6-week (30-day) PTO package becomes the new baseline.
  • Job Hopping Factor: The data suggests that while tenure within a single company increases PTO, "job hopping" every 3–5 years also allows engineers to negotiate higher starting PTO tiers at their new employers, effectively "skipping" the long wait for tenure-based increases.

Health Insurance:

Satisfaction Level Number of Respondents Percentage
Free / Excellent 38 6.5%
Good (Low Premium/High Coverage) 211 36.3%
Average 288 49.5%
Poor (High Premium/Low Coverage) 41 7.0%
Other / Misc 4 0.7%

Key Insights:

  • The "Standard" Plan: Almost 50% of engineers describe their insurance as "Average," highlighting that standard employer-sponsored health insurance is common but not particularly outstanding in terms of premiums or coverage levels.
  • Competitive Benefits: Over 42% of respondents fall into the "Good" or "Free" categories. The 6.5% who receive "Free/Excellent" coverage likely work for highly competitive tech firms, established defense contractors, or companies that use premium benefits as a retention tool.
  • Under-Served Minority: Roughly 7% of the engineering workforce feels their health insurance is "Poor," usually characterized by high out-of-pocket costs and high monthly premiums.

Biggest Cons for Mechanical Engineering:

Category Typical Concerns Mentioned
Workload & Hours (112 mentions) High pressure, tight deadlines, long hours, and poor work-life balance. Many mentioned "start-up energy" even in established firms.
Salary & Compensation (73 mentions) Low raises (2–3%), "salary plateauing" early in the career, and the absence of stock options or significant bonuses compared to tech.
Remote Work Limits (47 mentions) Frequent requirements to be in the office or on the manufacturing floor with "no remote option" or "No WFH" (Work From Home) policies.
Career Growth (35 mentions) Concerns about "pigeon-holing," slow internal promotion tracks, and becoming "stagnant" in one technical area.
Red Tape & Bureaucracy (26 mentions) Excessive paperwork, slow corporate processes, "red tape," and inefficient management systems.

Biggest Pros for Mechanical Engineering:

Category Typical Benefits Mentioned
Salary & Comp (86 mentions) Competitive base pay, annual bonuses, and strong 401k matching programs.
Work-Life Balance (75 mentions) Flexible schedules, reasonable working hours (standard 40h), and generous PTO.
Culture & People (70 mentions) Great teammates, supportive management, and a collaborative "team-first" environment.
Interesting Work (65 mentions) Designing "cool" products, working on challenging technical problems, and having a clear mission.
Job Stability (28 mentions) Long-term security, consistent demand for the role, and the stability of established firms.
Remote/Hybrid (27 mentions) The ability to work from home part-time or have flexible geographic location.

Direct Insights from Engineers:

  • On Work Quality: "The actual work we do is really interesting, fun, and rewarding. Getting to see a design go from CAD to a physical product is the best part."
  • On Culture: "Great coworkers and a team environment where people actually mentor you instead of just giving you tasks."
  • On Flexibility: "Remote flexibility and a management team that trusts you to get your work done without micromanaging your hours."
  • On Compensation: "The total compensation package—including the 401k match and the annual bonus—makes the technical pressure worth it."

Now for Improvements on Suggestions on the Survey:

  1. Regarding the COL instructions: totally my fault, sorry for not catching it. All of you were able to figure it out, but changed instructions from 0 - 2, so it makes a lot more sense now.
  2. Adding a column for manager and IC: totally good suggestion, already added to new survey for 2027
  3. Regarding adding gender or age: I will not add this into the survey just to make it more anonymous. I really do not see the value in this data, and I recommend just using government data to find the data.
  4. Regarding the health insurance question: I have implemented the change on making it have three questions: annual premium, annual deductible, person coverage. I really did not want to make this part too complicated with max out of pocket and copay and etc. I think the premium, coverage and deductible is acceptable amount.
  5. Edited the salary section to organize the % 401k match, salary, bonus, RSU to be in the same section making it easier, but separated the questions.

Comparison from the 2024, 2025 and 2026 Reddit Survey Results will be in another post, since this post is getting insanely long. Again, any other improvements or suggestions, please just comment below.

TDLR: Just check the 1st salary graph if you want the main results.

65 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/RightHistory693 • 24m ago

I have mastered the art of pretending to work

• Upvotes

I have mastered the art of pretending to know what I am doing.. I am so bad at what I do but I manage to make everyone think that I'm so good at it lol.

7 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/FawazDovahkiin • 5h ago

So, I’m a recent grad, and found that drones are really not that hard to make, why isn’t there more DJIs AKA civil use drone companies?

11 Upvotes

Seems like there is a very few options for a very spacious and easy to get into market.

I mean the drone components aren’t many, and nor they are hard to manufacture. So you can build drones from the ground up, excluding motors perhaps, but other than motors the rest are designable with simple straightforward mechanical and circuitry. I feel like it very manageable.

Is it the control part?

I’m not super versed in the drones domain but I have a very good understanding of it, so it kinda seems weird to me that it is not well invested in

33 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/Puzzleheaded_Bear750 • 9h ago

For those who took an unconventional path

18 Upvotes

I’m a mechanical engineer a few years into my career, and I’ve been wondering what other paths are out there beyond the usual engineering jobs.
I’m stuck looking for conventional jobs and I'd like to hear from engineers who ended up doing something completely unexpected, but still get to apply their engineering skills and genuinely enjoy what they do.
What do you do, how did you end up there, and what makes you love it?

11 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/TheWizzardofSomerset • 6h ago

Mechanical Engineering Career Change

7 Upvotes

I have found myself in part of the country (UK) and looking for a job where there seem to be more Mech Eng jobs in building services, nuclear, aerospace etc. I have around 7 years experience as a mechanical engineer but this has been in medical devices, robotics and product development. My degree was also mostly focused on robotics and automation

Have I got much of a chance with these jobs or am I cooked ? Wondering if anyone else has made a change like this recently and how they found it ?

4 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/Narubintane • 5h ago

Engineers who moved to Japan, how did it go?

5 Upvotes

And do you have any life lessons for an ME bachelor?

5 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/SnooBunnies3320 • 6h ago

Master’s in Mechanical Engineering in Germany: what should I focus on to become a mechanical design engineer in the vehicle industry?

5 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I’m 27 and doing my Master’s in Mechanical Engineering at a German university and would like some advice from people already working in the industry.

My background:

  • B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering
  • Hands-on experience with CFD
  • Experience with CATIA

My goal: I want to become a mechanical design engineer. What I enjoy most is creating new products: designing something, simulating it, finding out what’s wrong, and iterating until it works. I’m most drawn to the vehicle market, either cars or bikes. Ideally I’d also build some knowledge in battery systems and EV components, since that’s where a lot of the industry is going.

These are the modules I’m consideringfor now:

  • Design and methods: Product Development, Maschinensystemtechnik, Multidisciplinary Design Optimization
  • Simulation: Finite Elements, Applied CFD
  • Manufacturing and materials: Joining Technology, Material Selection
  • Vehicles and drivetrains: Drivetrain Systems for Vehicles, Vehicles Concept: Development and Simulation, Fundamentals of Electric Vehicle Propulsion 1 and 2
  • Batteries: Battery Systems, Batter Storage, Battery Applications, Li-Ion Battery Production

My questions:

  1. Which skills or subjects do you actually use day to day as a design engineer in automotive or bike development?
  2. How valuable is it to go deep on one simulation area (FEA, CFD, NVH, or something else), compared with staying broad?
  3. Is a battery or EV focus a good bet for a design role, or is it better to build strong fundamentals first?

I’d also appreciate hearing about anything you wish you had studied or done during your Master’s. Thanks in advance!

2 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/Important_Field_8096 • 2h ago

Hydroelectric detection help

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

2 Upvotes

I’ve posted before showing some drawings of what the design should look like. Design 3 looked the best to me so I built it, but now I need help for how I should detect watts and or just convert this ac to dc to power a led within the remaining budget of $6.94(started from 50).

Also I know it looks ugly rn, I 3d printed a nozzle and a bracket for it so I can screw it into the enclosure. I’ll also probably do some painting or wrapping and get a better top.

Go on my page for design details

6 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/darnoc11 • 1d ago

How much of your day is actually spent working?

76 Upvotes

I am at my second internship and my first “office job”. I mostly just update drawings all day which can get pretty monotonous, and as someone with ADHD it can be pretty difficult to stay on task (I’m usually coming off my medicine when I get to work after class).

This just makes me wonder how things are going to look once I’m in the work force full time. Do most people spend the majority of their time being productive? How frequently do you take breaks and for how long?

I’m a relatively high performer, I produce good work, and my boss/coworker are happy with what I’ve done so far and already offered me back for the summer (I rejected because I have a different offer with a much better company for nearly 2x the pay). I just feel guilty about how much time I spend slacking off, but it’s the only way I’ve been able to stay sane.

TL;DR: How much of your time do you actually spend being productive vs. taking breaks? I’m worried about the amount of time I spend doing nothing.

37 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/Infinitely_Grateful • 10h ago

Career change at the age of 40

5 Upvotes

I am 36 years old and considering pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, specialising in Mechatronics, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering, in Germany as an international student. If I receive an offer from a university of applied sciences, I may take out a student loan to finance my education.

My biggest concern is whether I will face age discrimination when looking for an engineering job after graduating at around 40, and how significantly it could affect my chances of finding employment.

I have been considering this career change for some time because I have struggled to progress in my current career and have been working in the same position for the past 11 years. I see engineering as an opportunity to start a new career, develop practical technical skills, and improve my long-term prospects. However, I am also aware of the financial risks involved in taking out a student loan and the uncertainty of securing a job after graduation.

If transitioning into engineering does not work out, my backup plan is to pursue an online Bachelor’s degree in Data Science and AI from IIT Guwahati (IITG) through Coursera while continuing to work full-time. Since IITG is a reputed institution and the programme is relatively affordable, I hope that earning this degree could strengthen my qualifications and improve my chances of career advancement in my current field.

Given my age, professional background, financial situation, and career goals, which path would be the more sensible choice: pursuing an engineering degree in Germany or studying Data Science and AI online while continuing to work in the UAE? (I am more inclined towards doing an engineering degree)

THANK YOU for taking the time to read!

8 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/BeautifulCommon141 • 21h ago

Feeling stuck 5 years into my Mechanical Engineering career

29 Upvotes

Hey all,

To preface, I’m not really sure what I’m looking for with this post, but advice would be appreciated. I’m just feeling very lost after a sobering realization that I am not saving well towards retirement.

Backstory:

I graduated from UMass in late 2019 and struggled to find employment during the pandemic until late 2020. I’m now in what I would otherwise consider to be a dream job here locally in Mass, but the pay is subpar for living where I am, and it doesn’t come with benefits outside of health insurance. For reference, I make $30/hr (gradually increased from $22/hr when I started in 2021) and I take the bus to work. Ideally I’d be making $62k/yr off of that, but I had an event happen in 2023 that left me feeling gradually more and more depressed, and I started missing buses more often from all the lost sleep. (Extremely) Thankfully I have an incredibly forgiving boss and have become very important at work. This year I’ll have made probably closer to $50k because of it, but I’m steadily climbing out of that hole in my sleep/hours and considering a car to become more consistent.

I went through extreme burnout from academic overload in college and have been feeling very imposter-ish post-graduation. Really I feel like I’ve mostly lost any passion I might’ve had for work outside of what I do, and even now I’m very distractible. I’ve since been diagnosed with ADHD as of this year (explains a lot of the burnout; I’m on meds now that help me concentrate better but come with their own issues) and have social anxiety/possible cPTSD issues that tend to make me deeply self-isolating. Realistically though, this job is so accommodating that if it even just came with benefits, I don’t think I’d ever want to change a thing about it.

Now:

I’m 29M (although recently gender-questioning, so that’s another fun layer on top of all this), have a bachelors in mechanical engineering, and 5 years experience with what I guess you could call project engineering — although at times it feels like a glorified drafting engineer position. I handle mostly CAD work, create fab drawings for parts made either on our shop floor or via subcontracted tube/sheet laser (flat or folded), coordinate pricing and purchasing for subcontracted laser work and occasional steel ordering, create quotes & submittal drawings for customers, do very light coordination with customers directly, perform costing for components, and make occasional CAD renders for products on our website.
We have a niche creating brackets for customers in the entertainment industry (mostly), and some business relationships with major manufacturers that help keep our business afloat during entertainment’s dead season.

For the most part, there is minimal real, creative work that happens in my role specifically; my boss interfaces with customers almost exclusively to determine what hardware they need from us and then feeds that information down the line. We do a lot of custom work, but the boss comes up with 90% of our designs and basically tells me loosely what I need to draw, in keeping with our design factor. I will sometimes provide input to streamline a design or suggest alternatives when we aren’t meeting our design factor, but for the most part he just has an incredible knack for this stuff that I couldn’t even come close to. He’s worked in the industry we provide for and has developed a superpower for it as his special interest. I hardly need to perform any involved mathematics outside of basic tear-out calculations for bolts, and picking adequate cuts of steel for the weight load limits we need our products to carry. I try to apply basic rules of thumb for welding applications to determine what stitch to specify on welded components too, but for the most part it’s just making sure that our brackets will hold the weight we need it to hold within our product-wide safety factor (double checked by our in-house PE). Jobs with custom hardware and jobs where our customers need drawings for either submittal purposes or stamping purposes are most of what sustains my work, and in the lulls of that kind of work I tend to be more involved with making our standard products more presentable to the industry via our website or via brochures to companies that refer our hardware to their customers.

It’s deeply prideful, fulfilling work to be able to see the things I do create being made on our shop floor, and to be able to provide for an industry that I enjoy being on the consumer side of; at concert venues, I always find myself looking around to see if our hardware was specified. I am especially thankful not to be working in the defense industry (apologies if that’s a divisive perspective here) — but in lieu of proper benefits, and with the local housing crisis + lack of rent control causing my landlord to jack my rent up $250 in the last two years (despite living in designated low-income housing!), I’m finding it very difficult to see myself meaningfully saving towards retirement, or feeling secure if anything ever happened to make our business go under (or if, for any reason, I specifically lost my job). Truthfully, sometimes I worry that if my boss (in his early 60s now) either died or retired, I might be facing a significant restructuring in my work that leads to me becoming more obsolete. Admittedly we’ve been experiencing staffing issues on our shop floor too that have been stressful to not really have a pulse on, all on their own. All in tow, if anything WERE to happen, I don’t know how the skills I’ve acquired translate to the greater field of engineering; but I feel terribly that I may only be just past entry level after all this time, in a field that I know all too well experiences dozens if not hundreds of applicants for any given job.

10 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/Life-is-beautiful28 • 13h ago

Applied Materials Mechanical Engineer NCG Interview – What Questions to Expect?

7 Upvotes

Hi everyone!
I recently received an interview invitation for the Mechanical Engineer – New College Grad (BS/MS) role at Applied Materials

Has anyone interviewed for this or a similar role? What technical questions were asked? Were they focused on mechanical design, GD&T, heat transfer, materials, FEA, or general engineering fundamentals?

Any insights or preparation tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
(I have a background in mechanical engineering and materials science, along with industry experience in mechanical design and R&D.)

1 comment

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/MX_LED • 4h ago

Manufacturing Engineers in MA

0 Upvotes

Hey guys, Im a ME graduated almost 10 years ago in Brazil, I have been working since in a Cabinetry Manufacturer in RI, I have beeing working closely with production, CNC Routers but I am stuck now at basically doing simple drafting all day long, material lists and simple CNC Programming.
I really would like to find an opportunity to work for a bugger structured manufacturing company where the engineering principles are better applied where you have processes in place.

I would love some guidance from experienced engineers in the Manufacturing Field what should I learn and study and where to learn that to have a better chance finding a better job.

Thank you!

2 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/Classic-Spring-2729 • 14h ago

Career change.

6 Upvotes

I'm currently working as a Ford mechanic for some years now, I make a good living I would say more then others. I recently turned 40 and really considering changing careers and going for mechanical engineering. Automotive industry in dealerships is changing a lot especially for the technicians. Am I crazy for even trying to make this change? I have some courses for my Associates degree and will continue my schooling. I just asking for advice for this career change. Thanks in advance

14 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/thedadesigns • 10h ago

Senior Industrial Product Designer

3 Upvotes

Hi, I’m looking for a senior industrial product designer to develop original, premium brass stair rod and architectural hardware designs from scratch. The aesthetic should be warm, refined, timeless, and tactile, inspired by Rejuvenation and Schoolhouse.

The scope includes concept development, 3D CAD modeling in SolidWorks or Rhino, manufacturing-ready brass casting/forging drawings, and high-quality concept renderings.

Do you have relevant experience with brass hardware or architectural metal products? Please share your portfolio and examples of technical drawings for manufacturing.

4 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/ZTN_Scythe • 15h ago

Should I tell companies where else I'm interviewing?

5 Upvotes

A very frequent question I get when interviewing for new grad roles right now is what my current offers and other interviews look like. Is it a good idea to be honest and let companies know that I'm interviewing at other places? Should I lie and say that I'm not?

4 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/Crodokill71 • 7h ago

Montage roulements convoyeur léger

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1 Upvotes
0 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/Crazy_John • 7h ago

Drafting, Documentation, and ADHD.

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1 Upvotes
1 comment

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/iwantmommies • 1d ago

How do I reduce fingertip numbness from all the mouse clicking I do while I use CAD and FEA software all day everyday?

17 Upvotes

Hello, I work 40 hour weeks as a mechanical design engineer and around 36 of that is spent using either a CAD software(Inventor) or FEA software(ANSYS). This involves a lot of mouse clicking and keyboard clacking which makes my fingertip numb by the end of the day. I am going to see a doctor about it, and the main aim of the post is to get mouse/ keyboard and other device recommendations as well as practical tips to reduce the amount of clicks I need to do to get the same amount of work done.

My current setup is:
Logitech MX Master mouse
3D connexion space mouse compact
Logitech MK710 keyboard

35 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/Crimson_Pay149 • 15h ago

Solidworks student vs For Makers

2 Upvotes

I just graduated with a mechanical engineering degree and unfortunately lost my schools solid work license. I am considering paying for solid works for makers. Would anyone be able to help me if there are any big differences between the two? I would also be open to other software suggestions. Thanks!

3 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/murky_Water6 • 20h ago

Internship advice

4 Upvotes

Not for me, but my younger brother. He’s finishing up his 5th year at university right now and wants to get into aerospace. He had some rough patches his 3rd and 4th year, and hasn’t been able to snag an internship to gain quality professional experience.
Most internships he’s been applying to this year state the intern “must have one or more semesters left by date of hire”, which is an issue since he’s officially done Winter 2027. I suggested heavily leaning into his senior design project and getting some face to face networking to fill the gap.
How would you go about getting an internship if you were him? Based in SoCal, if that helps at all.

2 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/Entire-Party-532 • 1d ago

Seriously what do manufacturing engineer do?

104 Upvotes

I was a quality engineer hoping to be a manufacturing engineer. The manufacturing engineer at my last company just wrote procedures that no one reads and spent six months worked on making a "table" on Solidworks which I could of made in a couple days. The second company I worked at the manufacturing engineer just did first piece inspection and was in charge of all the cnc machines. Was he a machinist and first piece inspector or a manufacturing engineer? Any tips on how to get out of quality?

72 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/Jus5555 • 20h ago

Background + Conflict of Interest check for New Grad Nuclear design role - Is this Normal?

3 Upvotes

I'm currently interviewing with a nuclear design company. It started as a procurement role, but I've since been referred to the design department, and it was hinted that I could get an interview for a design role.

On Friday I got an email saying I'm "moving to the next steps" and that they'll only share more information after a background check and conflict of interest check.

I still have another interview with them booked for procurement (in-person interview #3 😭) so I'm assuming these checks are for a separate interview with the design team.

A few questions:

  1. Is a background/COI check typical before a design interview for the nuclear industry, or does it usually happen at the offer stage?
  2. How long does it generally take for the forms to be sent out, and for the checks to clear? I haven't received them yet.
4 comments

r/MechanicalEngineering • u/Negative-Emu-3344 • 1d ago

Career Help

8 Upvotes

Hi Ladies & Gentlemen,

I’m just looking for a bit of guidance and to hear other people’s experiences within the industry.

I’m a 23-year-old M&E consultant in the UK, two years into my career after graduating. I was fortunate to secure my current position, especially considering I wasn’t at the top of my graduating class and really struggled during my Uni Degree.

I’ve genuinely enjoyed the work and the challenges that have come with it. When I first started, I was mainly doing CAD drafting, but over the past year or so, I’ve developed a much better understanding of mechanical building services, particularly within Public Health. I’m now proficient in software such as AutoCAD and Revit, including scripting for both, and I’ve also had the opportunity to work across electrical services, including containment modelling, lighting calculations and Amtech calculations.

My main concern is that, despite the progress I feel I’ve made over the past two years, my salary has remained at £25,000 a year, with no indication that a pay rise is coming any time soon. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to stay motivated when I feel I’m developing my skills and taking on more responsibility, but my salary hasn’t reflected that growth.

I understand the job market is particularly difficult at the moment, which makes the situation even more frustrating, as moving elsewhere doesn’t necessarily feel like an easy option.
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been in a similar position, particularly those working in M&E or building services consultancy. Is this kind of progression normal in the early stages of your career? Would you stick it out and continue gaining experience, or start looking elsewhere for better opportunities?
I’m enjoying the industry and can see myself building a career in it, but I’m struggling to work out whether I’m being impatient or whether it’s reasonable to expect more at this stage.

Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.

14 comments