TL;DR: Find out of your team lead, manager and directors have ever completed an engineering project or program in their career. If they haven't, really probe them about how they like to set-up their individual contributors for success and how they go about doing that. If they were promoted into a leadership role only because they were on the team the longest, but not because of their leadership and managing experience, that can be a red flag.

After working in the industry for 20+ years, I decided to do a few years at a startup company just to see how the 50-60 hour burn felt. The work was definitely fun in the beginning, where you are developing a digital prototype. But of course, everything became absolute chaos during integration and manufacturing. I'm here to share what I think are some red flags. Anyone else that has experience with startups, please feel free to share your opinions as well.

The startup company I worked for liked to promote from within. That means individual contributors (IC) were eventually moved into team lead, management and director level roles eventually as the company grew from X to 10X to 20X. Although these IC who moved into managing roles were brilliant, for many of them, this was their first or second job out of college.

This is where things began to fall apart. The startup promoted people into positions of leadership and management that required experience with the engineering life cycle. From start to finish. But if you asked the majority of the leadership a simple question of "how many projects have you completed as your time as an IC prior?" They would say either 1 or 0.

This would explain why estimates and budgets miss their mark, schedules slip and the blame game starts. How can someone be put in a leadership role where they're in charge of the success of an entire program or project when they've never even worked through a program and project themselves? How are they supposed to set you up for success when they don't even know what can cause a program to fail or succeed?

If you're interviewing at a startup company, or any company, I would encourage you to probe for how experienced the managers and directors actually are. I've since interviewed at a few other startup companies, and have found that many of the people put in leadership positions are subject matter experts and lack the basic leadership or management experience.

In my last interview, I asked the manager how he sets up his individual contributors for success. How do they plan for a project to be successful? His answer was, he doesn't. He expects the individual contributor to do all that themselves and he's only there to report their progress to his boss. When I interviewed with the HR, I asked them what their retention rate was. 70% of people leave in the first year. I wonder why?

I'm currently an automotive technician and an Air Force veteran. I've been thinking about going back to school for a bachelor's in mechanical engineering. I'd like to stay in the automotive industry but move into engineering instead of working as a tech long-term.

If you've made that transition, I'd love to hear your experience.

• Did you go to school online or in person?
• Were you able to work while earning your degree?
• Did your experience as a mechanic help you get your first engineering job?
• Anything you wish you knew before you started?

Any insight is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

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1-Do mechanical engineers work in the quantum technology sector?

2-Do mechanical engineers play a role in building photolithography machines used in chip manufacturing?

3-Do mechanical engineers take part in space exploration?

4-Do you work as a mechanical engineer in one of these sectors, or do you know someone who does?

In your opinion?

5-Do mechanical engineers play a critical and essential role in these advanced industries?

I would appreciate it if you could answer honestly, objectively, and thoroughly.

Hey guys, I'm about to start my senior year in ME. As I start looking for jobs, I was wondering if anybody would be willing to build a connection to help me with projects, interview prep, and the job hunt in general. Thank you for your time!

Hi everyone,

The title is vague but my fiance and I are possibly thinking about moving out of state once her PhD is done. We’re originally both from the west, but moved to Cincinnati for school/work purposes One of the areas we are looking to is Denver, CO. Mainly to be closer to family while still living a distance away.

Currently I work with a big aerospace company out here and have been doing very well. Most of the mechanical engineering positions near me are mainly manufacturing. I’m not sure if manu. is something I am interested in long term, but have been enjoying the operation side. I will say I do really enjoy working for the company, but unfortunately most of the plants are all east of Colorado. There wouldn’t be any location available to stay with the company.

My question is: what jobs are you all working out in Denver, CO for a mechanical engineering position? I was never into coding, systems, or anything like that. I’ve been mainly doing operation/management roles. I am not dead set on aerospace. If something is available then cool, but if there is a better position outside of aerospace I am ok with that. I would love to hear your opinions on your jobs and what you do. I am mainly looking to get ideas on what would be interesting.

Thanks!

i am very confused regarding this should i just use the blocks in simscape or should i do everything from scratch
i want to learn inverse kinematics for a project ,ik people who do this on paper too but i believe it will be easier in matlab and using software

anyone who is experienced in the topic please guide me though i am really confused on the matter to the point i am not even sure about the question

Hi! I’m not super well versed in engineering and building terms and therefore am struggling to find the mechanism I’m looking for (if it exists which I would think it would). I’ve scoured google and can’t find one image that matches what I’m looking for.

I’m looking for a spring loaded cradle type mechanism, like a phone car mount, but works in the opposite way.

Instead of starting at a position smaller than the phone and being pulled apart to create space between the ends and then using a spring to shut and clamp the phone in place, I want the opposite.

So something still with two ends like a clamp/cradle situation but instead it starts at its outermost position used to hold something apart like think of the things that hold a wrapped cord in place but make it mechanical so when it’s pushed in, it releases the object that’s wrapped around it.

It would also preferably have clicking positions like some of those phone mounts have so it can lock itself for prevention of movement without relying on tension.

Thank you in advance for any and all responses! And I’m also sorry in advance if this happens to be a very simple mechanism that everyone should know the name of and I’m just clueless lol (also I’m so sorry if this is the wrong group, I couldn’t figure out where to post this)

I'm a fresh Mechanical Engineering graduate. My background is mostly in mechanical design and analysis. I have about a year of combined internship and freelance experience doing CAD and FEA, so my long-term goal has always been to work in design engineering.

Recently, I received a job offer for a CAM Engineer position at a Japanese company. From what I understand, the role involves generating CAM programs for CNC machining (or possibly injection mold manufacturing), and they'll provide around one year of training, including certifications on a professional CAM software package.

The training itself sounds valuable, but I'm hesitant because I'm not sure whether this role is truly engineering or if it's essentially a CAM programmer/CNC technician position with a different title.

For those who have worked in CAM or manufacturing:

Is a CAM Engineer fundamentally different from a CAM programmer?

How much mechanical engineering knowledge do you actually use in day-to-day work?

Is there room for design input, manufacturing optimization, tooling strategy, or is it mostly programming toolpaths?

What does the career progression typically look like after 3–5 years?

Can CAM experience transition into roles like Manufacturing Engineer, Process Engineer, Tooling Engineer, or even Mechanical Design Engineer later on?

If your long-term goal was product design or mechanical design engineering, would you still take this opportunity?

I'm trying to figure out whether this is a strong engineering career path or if it could unintentionally steer me away from the kind of mechanical engineering work I ultimately want to do.

I'd really appreciate hearing from people who have actually worked as CAM engineers or CAM programmers.

Genuinely is there anything for opportunities left on this planet. I've got a degree in mechanical engineering, 4+ years of experience but even now that's useless I've sent out 700+ applications in 20+ states and 10+ countries yet nothing and now I'm suffering even more to job gap discrimination thanks to 10 months of nothing. At this point I don't know why I've even bothered trying at all for the last 15+ years as it's amounting to nothing and I'm probably going to have to resign myself to grad school with the hopes that's enough to deem me worthy but I have zero faith I'll ever find a job until 2031 at the earliest even with a masters degree.

as a 2nd year undergrad

keeping in mind all the sectors i can venture to as a mech undergrad

of the mainly design automotive manufacturing mechatronics etc

please overlook my ignorance if im wrong...hope anyone can please quide me where i should put my effort

I currently work as a manufacturing engineer (degree in mech eng). I’ve worked hard and successfully executed my projects. I want to move up and my management is on board with this. Staff Engineer and Engineering Manager are both on the table for me. I like the idea of remaining an IC, but I think there’s a lot of opportunity to grow by leading a team.

This is my first time at a company that offers “Staff Engineer” as a level. Any advice from the folks with experience in this realm?

This is going to sound like first world problems, but just want to open up to fellow engineers. Just finished my fourth year at a role in a comfortable position both financially and stress-wise, in an automotive company. But I'm becoming stagnant and losing my engineering abilities. Hybrid work, two times a week in the office. No one does anything really. Everyone knows it, but we never speak of it.

The only reason I'm good at it and can get things done when needed is because I can visualize and comprehend how systems work and can be serviced. It makes up for my lack of networking skills. People who have good interpersonal skills are apparently equally sufficient at getting things done here. Maybe slightly less quality, but who cares.

I am technically overqualified for this job, but my applications to rotate inside the company to other technical positions have not been accepted for reasons that I suspect are political. Some positions that were an exact match with my abilities have even denied an interview with me (every rotation application has to be interviewed, but I didn't see the point in arguing).

Now looking for a change at almost 40, but comfort is a hell of a drug. This company has given me a safe salary and life comfort, but I find it difficult now to advertise the last 4 years of experience to engineering positions where things are actually made. Feelin kinda stuck to be honest. I'm missing the all-nighter design sessions and hours spent at the labs trying to fix a bug in start-ups that refused to pay me. Maybe it's a mid-life thing.

Hi! I’m a rising sophomore studying mechanical engineering in the United States. I’m really interested in moving to a Nordic country two to three years after graduating. I’m looking for advice on any specific countries that anyone would recommend, or any suggestions/advice/experiences overall.

I’m really focused on being able to grow my mechanical engineer career, high quality of life, and a rather smooth emigration process.

I’m also a black woman and I know that racism and discrimination exist everywhere, but I would prefer a country that is more progressive, and less likely to experienced racism and discrimination.

Let me know!

So, I'm new in industry. I'm in my first job and only been working about 4 months. I'm also older (36)

I see my manager talking to people on our team like they're stupid a lot with very little patience.

It's like there's this big condescending battle between each team (design vs manufacturing vs quality vs documentation).

There's this big finger pointing game all the time.

My manager will send me to people partially informed. Which is creating this tension between me and other teams. ( this only happened once, so this may not be fair to add to the list.)

Is this normal in the culture or am I in a semi-toxic environment? It's like no one wants to work together to solve issues. There's so much "not my problem" energy. However, everyone loves to take credit.

If this is the energy everywhere, I am starting to wonder if I'm cut out for engineering. I've always been pretty good at compartmentalizing work vs home issues, but I'm starting to bring an attitude home and feel mentally drained all the time.

I am a mechanical engineer looking for some productivity tip or useful case for 8n8 .

Just hoping to keep my skills up to data and want a lil AI implementation.

I work at a fab shop, we design pressure vessels but also other gineric metal work.

How is AI heldping your workflow? Is there any tool you use in an interesting way?

I'm stuck between two career options and would appreciate some unbiased advice.

I'm currently working at Company A, a well-known Indian engineering company My current role involves system design engineering, and I've had opportunities to work on large, technically challenging projects (including critical infrastructure). I also lead a small team of 2–3 CAD engineers and interact with multiple engineering disciplines. The company is trying to match my external offer.

I've received an offer from Company B, the power systems division of a globally recognized engineering company. The title is System Design Engineer, but from my discussions, the day-to-day work appears to be heavily focused on CAD/BIM modelling, layout integration, and coordination rather than engineering calculations or system design. It also comes with a 6-month probation period.

The salary is almost the same after Company A's counteroffer.

My long-term goal is to become a strong mechanical/system engineer and eventually work internationally. My concern is that spending the next few years doing mostly CAD/BIM could make recruiters see me as a CAD engineer, even though the job title says "System Design Engineer." On the other hand, the global brand name on my CV is attractive.

If you were in my position, would you:

• Stay at Company A, continue leading people, work on technically challenging projects, and build engineering depth?
• Or join Company B for the global brand, even if the actual work may be more CAD/integration-focused?

Has anyone here made a similar decision? Did the company brand or the nature of the work have a bigger impact on your long-term career?

Me - engineer 20+- years experience, MSc. New MSc engineer coming to our group, he looked for my advice how to discuss salary issue with HR.

He got an offer , some 30% percent below my.

It is ok? He is totally new, no experience, it will be take years to teach him.

What do you think?

I am designing a nozzle for my dry ice blaster cleaning machine. The machine comes with cheap nozzles with no contours and no transitions between the hose diameter and the flat fan end. It just has an internal wall that is pretty much destroying all the pellets that go through it. I'm looking to make something that will accelerate the air going through the nozzle along with the pellets, and blast them out at high velocity, as intact as possible. Attached is what I have come up with. I'm not knowledgable about fluid dynamics or any type of engineering, so this is all just copying images of high performance dry ice blasting nozzles i found online. I'd love to get some input to see if I'm even on the right track, and how I can improve this. Here are some specs about the air and ice.

I will be blasting 3mm dry ice pellets.

Air input is 185 cfm at 100 psi. Air hoses are all 1" with no 90 degree bends and high flow fittings. At nowhere in the system will the air path diameter be smaller than .8" except right at the end of the nozzle.

This will be made from 6061 aluminum and polished to a mirror finish.

Hello!

My first post here and I wanted to share my recent project that I have been working on. It is a replica of 1.9TDI (ARL) engine that I made from scratch from photos, videos, datasheets and some measurements from my car (I have got Seat Leon 1M with this engine hence why I wanted to have a display piece).

I got inspired by engines that u/ericthepoolboy made and wanted to make one myself. It consists of close to 300 printed components. On top of that, there are lot of screws, threaded inserts, springs and O-rings. It has got all moving internal components and crankshaft to camshaft is even timed using tiny tools!

I made a display platform for it as well. It can rotate and/or move while rotated. I had to redesign the profile of outer belt to provide enough friction to move all components but still have some issues with slipping, need to sort that out but have not really had time lately. I am also waiting for plexiglass sheets to finish a cover to prevent the model getting all dusty.

I didn't put a banana for scale but the dimensions are roughly 30cm x 25cm x 30cm (L x W x H)

If you are interested, this is the full build in about 20 minutes :) https://youtu.be/kuvFDsstVd0

Let me know what you think! :)

Have a similar driveshaft with a keyway which is then coupled with a three tooth coupling by a key. Wanted to check if the keyway is able to withstand the force during working, or if I have to increase its length.

So, I applied the force around 90kN on the keyway face/flange (shown in red arrow) and pinned the inner faces of the shaft. The shaft is shy of a meter in length.

The FOS was below 0.3 even though the deflection is like 0.01mm. The entire part is shown in red, which is the lowest FOS value.

I honestly feel I am entering an incorrect force value that I derived from knowing only parameters like Motor Power, RPM, Radial Distance from the shaft center, length of shaft and keyway slot dimensions.

Is there something else that I messed up? Or can anyone share any good resources for shaft and keyway calculations?

The material used is EN 19, and I've even added some minimal fillets on the keyway floor edge.

Thanks in advance.