What is mechanical engineering and what type of jobs do mechanical engineers perform? Mechanical engineering is an ancient profession with a wide range of types of jobs.

Design and Manufacturing are jobs that mechanical engineers do.

History of Mechanical Engineering

Since ancient times when gears and motion was required for people to get work done, mechanical engineers were needed. Training for mechanical engineering was refined in the 1800's after scientists like Sir Isaac Newton, helped to better define formal scientific theories. The age of machines greatly increased the demand for mechanical engineers. Steam power and turbine power was developed in the 1800's. This energy was used to power other machines, used to make products and goods throughout the world. The 1800's and early 1900's were a time of great advancement in mechanical engineering. Scientists and innovators such as Thomas Newcomen, James Watt, George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla helped innovate new ways to provide power to the budding industrial revolution. In the early 1900's men like Ranson Olds and Henry Ford re-invented the way things are made. They used mechanical design to create machinery and processes to build things faster and more efficiently.

Mechanical Engineering Today

Today mechanical engineers design motors, automated systems, and many more complicated machines. Today most machines run on electricity or with an engine that burns fuel. Engineers must understand how to use the energy wisely so they can perform the most amount of work. Mechanical engineers must also make their designs safe and to last as long as possible.

How to Become a Mechanical Engineer

In order to become a professional mechanical engineer, education and training are required. The things that mechanical engineers design, like cars and machines, must be safe. To keep the machines safe, mechanical engineers must work under the guidance of a professional engineer and pass a test. Mechanical Engineers need a professional license to practice engineering on their own.

In the United States and in many other countries, a 4 year degree at a qualified engineering college is needed. A mechanical engineering degree gives the engineer the understanding needed to design real working machines. After completing a college degree, mechanical engineering candidates need to pass a fundamentals of engineering exam. After passing the fundamentals exam, a mechanical engineer candidate is considered as a trainee. The trainee must practice under the guidance of a professional engineer for 4 years to move to the next level. After 4 years of professional experience, the mechanical engineering candidate is then ready to move on. They may then take the professional engineer's license exam. Upon receiving a passing grade on the exam, the trainee, then becomes a qualified professional mechanical engineer.