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mechanical engineering is definitely not
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for everyone mainstream media and the
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entertainment sector love to glamorize
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mechanical engineering by showing highly
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attractive men building cool high-tech
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gadgets spacecraft cars and machines
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this is extremely misleading and can
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give off a wrong impression while
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mechanical engineers do get to design
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and build things mechanical engineering
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is full of intricate problem solving
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challenges and calculations and isn't
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all fun in games so in this video video
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will find out if mechanical engineering
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is right for you and whether you should
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study or avoid it by asking several key
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questions related to your strengths
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interests and values now if you're
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watching this video you probably fall
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into one of the following categories
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you're currently a high schooler
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deciding between the hundreds of Majors
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out there you're a university student
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thinking about switching over from
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perhaps software electrical or chemical
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engineering or a non-engineering major
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to mechanical engineering or you're
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currently a working professional and
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planning to attend grad school for
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mechanical engineering whichever
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category you fall in it doesn't matter
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because by the end of this video you'll
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know exactly whether you should or
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shouldn't get into mechanical
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engineering the first question that you
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should ask yourself is do you like math
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and physics you don't have to have a
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burning passion for these but you have
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to be at least willing to sit down learn
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the material and practice what I've
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noticed is the best Engineers are the
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people who truly enjoyed math math and
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physics in school after all math and
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physics form the foundation of
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mechanical engineering principles you
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have to take a plethora of math classes
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like calculus differential equations
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statistics and linear algebra and
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undergrad many of the core mechanical
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engineering courses like Statics
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Dynamics mechanics of materials fluid
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mechanics thermodynamics and heat
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transfer leverage physics principles and
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Concepts to solve engineering problems
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so if you absolutely hate math and
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physics definitely avoid mechanical
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engineering and Engineering in general
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for that matter at all costs it's
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totally okay if you're bad at math and
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physics so long as you find different
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ways to improve the second question you
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should ask yourself is are you
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interested in creative thinking if you
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like being told what to do and borrowing
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ideas from others without doing the
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thinking yourself mechanical engineering
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will be challenging and is likely not
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for you most people think handson and
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technical skills or mathematical prowess
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when they think engineer however
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creativity is just as important
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especially for mechanical engineers
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creativity might not seem as important
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in University but once you get into
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industry it will be a huge game Cher a
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huge part of a mechanical engineer's job
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is to design products such as an iPhone
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Tesla or jet engine following the
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product development process the first
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stage of this process is the ideation
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phase where you come up with a bunch of
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design design ideas and evaluate them
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using a Pew chart creative thinking
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helps in generating Innovative designs
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that are functional and ergonomic once
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you have a concept you will need
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creativity to engage in the high level
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and detailed design of components and
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assemblies using CAD including
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mechanical features like holes screw
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bosses and ribs as well as the overall
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system design along the way you'll
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encounter all kinds of challenges that
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require you to think outside the box and
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find novel solutions to address them for
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example if you found out that the parts
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you designed don't fit together you need
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to be creative and find an effective
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method for determining the cause whether
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it's related to tolerances faulty design
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or a manufacturing defect and proposing
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a corrective action so if you're opposed
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to creative thinking you should not get
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into mechanical engineering however if
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you're open to the idea of engaging in
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creative thinking on a regular basis as
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part of your job but you aren't the most
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creative person person that's perfectly
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okay you can still become a mechanical
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engineer luckily creativity is a skill
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that can be developed and learned over
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time the science shows that a lot of
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things promote creativity some things
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that I like to do that help with
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creativity include playing an instrument
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reading books working out in the gym or
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even playing games like drawful
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Pictionary or that game where you write
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down as many words that you can think of
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that start with a specific letter or
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contain a certain number of letters
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moving on the third question to ask is
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do you like handson work mechanical
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engineers are portrayed in movies as
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people who have a knack for Designing
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and building their own gadgets from
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scratch like Tony Stark of course things
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and movies are exaggerated but
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mechanical engineers in addition to
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working in the office almost always do
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in fact work in a hands on environment
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like a test lab machine shop or
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manufacturing plant to build and test
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prototypes and products leveraging
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various machines and tools keep in mind
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that some jobs will definitely be more
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handson than others for my first
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full-time mechanical engineering job in
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Boston Massachusetts I spent about 50%
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of my time in the office and the other
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half either on the shop floor or the
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mechanical engineering lab aside from
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all the typical mechanical engineering
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work we did on a computer in the office
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we use 3D printers to print prototypes
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proof of Concepts and test fixtures as
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well as build automated testers we also
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had our own CNC machine drill press
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vacuum forming machine and bandaw that
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we used to make our own Parts when these
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machines broke down we were responsible
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for getting them back up and running
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again because our company was too stingy
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to hire technicians then at my second
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job in Silicon Valley there was
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literally zero Hands-On work and we just
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sat in front of a computer all day which
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is uncommon for mechanical engineering
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jobs so if you dislike Hands-On learning
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and working with tangible things like
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gears Fasteners Motors and raw material
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then mechanical engineering is
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definitely not a good option for you
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there are many ways to improve your
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handson ability if you're currently in
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high school or university the elgo or
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Arduino kit on Amazon is great for
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learning about circuits Motors and
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coding which are all important things to
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know as a mechanical engineer I'll drop
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a link in the description below for any
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of you who are interested also if you're
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a Gearhead and into engines and Building
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Things like me then I highly recommend
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checking out medieval bricks they offer
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a wide selection of very realistic
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engine building block sets from a quad
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cam V12 cylinder engine to a Titanic
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triple expansion steam engine I picked
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up this 1600 piece turbo fan jet engine
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set for Christmas and it took me about a
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week to assemble all of their kits
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include a stepbystep assembly manual
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like this by the way this video isn't
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sponsored I just wanted to share this
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with any of you looking to get your
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hands dirty and have some fun the kit I
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got was one of their more challenging
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ones to assemble but they offer kits
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with around 600 to 700 pieces for those
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of you who are less patient and just
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want to get something built so for any
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of you who are interested definitely
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check out my link in the description
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below question four you need to ask
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yourself is do you enjoy the process of
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solving complex problems do you find
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satisfaction in figuring out solutions
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to intricate complex engineering ing
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challenges the job of any engineer boils
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down to solving different types of
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problems whether related to products or
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processes as a mechanical engineer
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you'll come across problems that you
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would never imagine or deal with in
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school related to product design
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manufacturing project management
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budgeting and dealing with it in
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University you'll also be problem
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solving a lot whether it's on homeworks
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design projects or research the biggest
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difference between problem solving in
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school in industry is that real world
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problems are much more ambiguous and
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multifaceted involving technical aspects
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as well as economic social and
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environmental factors there will also be
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time budget and resource constraints
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problems in school are generally well
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defined with known parameters and very
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few constraints aimed at teaching
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specific principles or concepts so it's
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without question you'll be solving
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problems on a regular basis if you do
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get into mechanical engineering next ask
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yourself what are your career goals if
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your primary goal is rapid career entry
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without getting a degree After High
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School then mechanical engineering is
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not a good choice unlike some software
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engineering roles that don't require a
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degree all mechanical engineering roles
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require you to hold a bachelor's degree
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or higher however if you're considering
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mechanical engineering you're probably
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already planning on going to University
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now if you're someone who plans to make
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six figures as a mechanical engineer
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straight out of college it's pretty
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unlikely if you have less than one year
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of Industry experience your salary will
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likely Fall between 70k to 90k depending
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on your location and Company you'll
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likely need to have three or more years
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of experience before Hing six figures
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the starting salary of software
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engineers and data scientists will
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typically be a lot higher however if
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money isn't your top priority you'll
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definitely have a lot of opportunities
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in mechanical engineering for growth
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whether you want to stay in a technical
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track or transition into the managerial
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track the number of mechanical
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engineering jobs in 2022 was
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286,00 and it's expected to see a 10%
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growth rate between 2022 and 2032 which
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is way above 3% which is the average
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growth rate for all occupations
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mechanical engineering is also very
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Dynamic with continuous advancements in
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technology so if your career goals is to
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work in a field that's not evolving it
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will be best for you to consider a
00:10:02
non-stem related field now to climb up
00:10:05
the mechanical engineering corporate
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ladder and land jobs you'll need to
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prepare for mechanical engineering
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interviews which vary significantly from
00:10:12
company to company I helped you out by
00:10:14
putting together a list of 80 mechanical
00:10:17
engineering technical questions that I
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think are great to know check out the
00:10:20
link in the description below if you're
00:10:22
interested the last question to ask
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yourself is do you enjoy working in a
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team setting it's a common miscon
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ception that Engineers work
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independently in their cubicles and
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aren't the best at socializing or
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communicating with others while the
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latter might be partially true Engineers
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definitely do not work alone we work
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with people from all walks of life
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including other Engineers product and
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project managers machinists and
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technicians directors VPS and even CEOs
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to bring products to fruition now it's
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totally okay if you're uncomfortable
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working in cross functional team games
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but if you absolutely despise it you
00:11:02
probably should avoid Engineering in
00:11:04
general now to summarize you should not
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become a mechanical engineer if you hate
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math and science Hands-On work creative
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thinking problem solving or if you're
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looking to make six figures straight out
00:11:15
of college and becoming rich fast or if
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you're planning on skipping University
00:11:20
all right guys that's it for today as
00:11:22
always thank you so much for watching
00:11:24
and hope all of you had a happy holiday
00:11:27
let's accomplish big things in 2024 if
00:11:30
you found this video helpful be sure to
00:11:32
check out my video here where I talk
00:11:34
about everything you need to know before
00:11:37
getting into mechanical engineering and
00:11:39
I will see you in the next one
00:11:46
peace
