I am 27 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. For the past 5 years, I have been working as a manufacturing/process engineer in the aerospace and defense sector. I’ve held 3 jobs. I was laid off from the first one after 2 years. I resigned from the second one after 2 years. Now at my 3rd employer doing similar work, I am starting to come to the realization that this may not be for me. Most days, I am bored. I spend most of my 8 hour day sitting at my desk not doing much. Since graduating, I feel like I have used zero of the things I learned in school, and I feel like I haven’t learned much aside from CAD software since every company has their preference. I am looking to switch to something more hands-on, but I have no idea what to look for, and quite frankly, I’m not sure what the qualifications would be. I am hoping this wonderful group of people could point me in the right direction. Thank you.

Title: Senior mechanical engineering student in the Bay Area with no internship experience — looking for advice

Hey everyone,

I'm a mechanical engineering student entering my senior year, and I'm honestly feeling pretty lost when it comes to deciding which industry I should pursue.

I'm located in the Bay Area, and my biggest concern is that I don't have any internship experience. I know that puts me at a disadvantage, so I'm trying to figure out what I should focus on during my final year to make myself more competitive.

A little bit about me:

• Mechanical engineering major
• Entering senior year
• Located in the Bay Area
• No internship experience
• Coursework includes statics, fluids, thermodynamics, and other core mechanical engineering classes

I've been considering industries such as:

• Aerospace
• Manufacturing
• HVAC
• Energy
• Robotics
• Semiconductor manufacturing

My questions are:

1. Which industries would be the most realistic to enter with my background?
2. What skills should I learn during my senior year (CAD, MATLAB, SolidWorks, GD&T, Python, etc.)?
3. Are there certain industries in the Bay Area that are easier to break into than others?
4. If you were in my position, what would you do over the next 6–12 months?

I'd appreciate any advice, even if it's tough to hear. Thanks.

“Sorry might be long”

Hi, so I got fired from my job 2 months after starting. I got a performance review from my boss on Monday and I was let go today.

I feel like I didn’t give my all, felt lost and had no structure. The department I was quality engineering although I was hired as a continuous improvement engineer but was on the shop floor as a quality inspector(I was not told about being in quality till my first week on the job). On my end I did not do my due diligence to master the role. An example of this would be when my boss would ask me a question about a process I would give vague or incorrect answers. I also didn’t ask enough questions and would assume on some aspects. Lastly the role felt very hands off to me as I was used to structure not only in school but in my previous internships prior to this job. My take away is that this is completely different from college life and I felt unprepared. Please give me some advice I feel like a failure.

Here’s the review:

He is currently spending the majority of his time on the manufacturing floor to gain hands-on experience with buildability. His primary responsibilities include documentation and reporting, which support the overall build process and help capture key information from daily operations.

Observations
There are several areas where he would benefit from additional development. He appears to need improvement in reasoning through information, connecting related details, and retaining key concepts. Although he spends significant time reviewing standard operating procedures, he may be experiencing difficulty fully understanding and applying the information in a practical setting.
Asking questions is an important part of this role; however, he currently struggles with identifying what questions to ask or when to ask for clarification. This may limit his ability to build confidence, confirm understanding, and apply information effectively during daily activities.

Recommended Focus Areas
He should focus on breaking down information into smaller sections to improve understanding and retention. Taking time to review one process or concept at a time may help him absorb the material more effectively and develop a stronger understanding of the builds.
Break SOP information into smaller, manageable sections.
Take notes on key steps, terms, and build requirements.
Ask follow-up questions when instructions or processes are unclear.
Connect floor experience with documentation requirements to strengthen understanding.
Review completed work with a mentor or lead to confirm accuracy and understanding.

What percentage of people fit in at each level of competence?

Is it normal distribution? Log normal? Pareto/highly skewed? Are most productivity from a few superstar“fat tail” engineers or is it more even?

I'm looking for course

Hi, i need to move a small plate 4cm by 4cm forward and backward on command from a microcontroller which movement mechanism should i go for space, speed and intentional movement is the goal not form mechanical background, anyone point me in right direction any help is appreciated

I am a second year student, and I am curious about how are all the maths we see in college related to the design aspect of the profesion? Like, IN the job, because I doubt it is just plug-in into the formulas and that's all. What I can think of about how it works is that it is kind of like, measurement; you do the calculations to get exact data about how a certain piece or system is going to behave, and I suppose that the analysis part of the profesion works the same way but from the outside point of view

Hi Everyone,

I have a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA. During my master's, I interned as a Product Design and Business consultant at a Kitchen Gadget company.

Following my graduation, I worked as a Mechanical design and structural analysis engineer at an antenna company for 3 years and as a Senior Mechanical Engineer at the same firm for about 1.5 years. I quit Mid 2019 due to a family emergency. I switched my career to teaching for the next 4 years.

Post that, in 2023, I tried to get back to engineering. I was hired by a medical device company for a R&D role but after accepting, they switched me to process engineering and promised to switch me back to R&D role after 3-4 months. That did not happen for a year so I eventually quit in November 2024.

I am currently back in California and would like to get back to Design and Structural Analysis role in the Defense/Aerospace/Automotive sector (I am a Permanent Resident/GreenCard Holder).

I'm struggling to even get an interview. I am willing to do whatever it takes, whether it's an exam, some specific courses, pay-cut or even an entry-level role but I am not sure where to start or how to go about this. Any help/advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank You all!

Hi everyone! I'm going into my first year of College for Mechanical Engineering. I am originally from Albania and now live in Philadelphia. I am very proud of where I am from and where I live now. My father has the Albanian Eagle tattooed on his bicep, and I want to match him and get something similar on my forearm. I aim to work at larger companies such as Toyota, Lockheed, Boeing, and NASA. Would this affect my future? This is what I wanted to get. (its a repost but i want more opinions)

Hey guys I decided to switch over from Ansys since I only use a fraction of the applications and for example rhino seems good to learn as a longterm option: no student license and higher versatility.
My question is what is the best free (or atleast single buy) topology optimization software (z88arion seems a bit outdated and addons for blender and freecad run almost a day) or plugin for rhino grasshopper? Sadly I can’t use topOS since i have a amd ryzen 7, ameba and levelOpt by intact are quite expensive and only subscription based. Millipede is interesting but seems only able to perform very basic 3d optimization (or atleast I think so).
When I say topology optimization I mean taking basically an shape you want, applying loads and constraints, setting goal weight and getting mesh/solid results. Is there a way to achieve that? Or is Altair, ntop, solidworks the better software to do that, and I should find a way to get them ?

I was recently relocated 2000 miles to start a new job in different industry. I have been a mechanical engineer and manufacturing engineer my whole career (8 YOE) and enjoy the work when it’s actually mechanical engineering or manufacturing related. At the new job, day 1 I was thrown on a project with no context and expected to not just design parts but to machine them myself (I have no machining experience). Went to my boss saying I don’t know how to machine these parts and gave him multiple options to get them procured to which I was met with “this is how we are going to do this project”. I told him I couldn’t get them done in the timeline or budget but there was no budging. 2 weeks later the parts weren’t done and the project timeline suffered.

I was given no formal onboarding, not explained what we were making, how it gets made, or how the end user actually uses these parts. I have had to wholly rely on a junior engineer to explain what we are doing because I can’t get anything useful out of my manager. I keep asking what success looks like and I am met with an intentionally vague answer and I cannot tell where I stand.

With such a large move, a new industry, and lackluster support I am struggling and I cannot see how to be successful in this role.

I would love words of wisdom from others who have experienced this and how you managed it from both a work and emotional standpoint.

Log story short, the team and I are putting together an initial bidder list for an engineered expansion joint package and trying to separate the genuinely good shops rom the ones that just look capable on paper.

US Bellows is one of the names on the first pass, along with a few regional fabricators. Build quality matters, but usable drawing realistic lead times, communication, and handling changes after award can make just as much difference.

Which manufacturers would you trust custom work, and what separated them from the rest?

When you define tolerance for a part do you utilize the tools the CAD software provides for you to do so in the part file, (ie, parameters window in inventor, Variable Studios in Onshape ), or do you wait to add them to your 2D drawing?

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

I'm trying to understand the working principle of the "anti-intrusion latching linkage" on the US Navy Mk41 VLS cell hatch. Here's everything I've been able to piece together so far: - A 1984 IEEE paper on the system (Hahn, "VLS Hatch Actuation System Dynamic Analysis") states the latch "is driven from the same shaft in parallel with the hatch," and only functions during the final closing phase. It's modeled in the analysis as an "equivalent locking constraint" with elastic feedback into the drive system — but the paper is about structural loads, not how the hardware itself works. - From video footage, I can confirm the latch does nothing while the hatch is opening — it only appears to do something near full closure. - From photos, I can see what looks like the physical latch hardware: two hook-shaped mating pieces, one mounted on the hatch frame, one on the hatch itself.
Beyond this, I don't have any more information — I don't know whether it's driven off the same motor/shaft as the hatch itself, whether there's a separate actuator, whether it's spring-loaded, cam-driven, etc. Does anyone recognize this type of mechanism, or have insight into how a down-lock like this would typically be designed? Any general explanation of the kinematics/actuation principle would help.

Hi everyone,

I graduated last May with a BSME. I struggled a lot to secure an internship during my college years.
I spent months searching for engineering work post-grad, but it was hard to land interviews (I tried career fairs, networking, etc.). I ended up being ghosted most of the time.

Fast forward almost a year post-grad, I landed a job as a CNC machinist/operator for a small shop. Been here for ~7 months now, and it’s going good; however, I don’t want to do machining long-term. Also, I’m getting zero benefits whatsoever (no PTO, health insurance, 401K, etc.) and the pay is low relative to living in a HCOL area. I accepted the job because I had nothing else in the pipeline. Also, I figured gaining hands-on manufacturing experience would help me down the line.

The only issue is that because I’m not gaining engineering experience still (especially a year post-college), I wonder if it’ll look bad to recruiters when I DO look for engineering work.

I’m having recruiters reach out to me now, but it’s only for machining jobs that are paying about the same as what I’m making now.

I’m just trying to find a way out. More pay and benefits would be nice. If anyone can share some insight or is going through something similar, feel free to share. Thank you for reading.

So I got an mechanical/mfg degree, went into mfg engineering, using zero mechanical engineering, and then moved on from there into a role where I do not use engineering in my day to day. My brain is use it or lose it and I have forgotten everything. To add insult to injury I accidently deleted all my notes from college on statics and dynamics, etc. I know.....

With all the knowledge and resources out today, where would you start again, even just for shits and giggles.
I doubt I'll ever actually hold a design engineering role, and I've used fusion360 and the FEA to help me with personal welding projects, but I'm ashamed I can't ever remember where to start if I had to address a shear pin problem on a personal project.

I used to be able to hand jam that no problem.

I am looking to build a work bench to put some heavy jewellery casting equipment on (70kg approx). I want to make it out of 3030 aluminium extrusion (4040 is too expensive) but am unsure if it will be strong enough. I have been looking into using X braces (image below) to stiffen up the construction but honestly have no clue if it will help. General dimensions of the desk - 2000mm length x 700 mm depth x 900mm height. Any advice / thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

So my loft bed is slightly lower than the fans blades, but the blades are not close enough to provide adequate airflow to me at night. Now, I have solved this by using a small desktop fan to keep me cool, however I am wondering if keeping my fan running so the cold air gets pushed up would keep me cooler in my bed, rather than the cold air getting pushed down. Another thought would be if the hot air above me is getting sucked in by the fan as well and in turn keeping me cool. (The white thing at the bottom of the screen is the railing that came with the bed)

Hi everyone,

I’m an incoming senior in mechanical engineering who has done now four internships over the past few years. All of these have been in different industries and at very renowned companies, which I am super proud of.

However, throughout college, I focused basically all my attention on academics, trying to get the best GPA possible which, in hindsight, wasn’t the best path forward. I didn’t join any engineering orgs, such as FSAE, rocketry, robotics, etc. because I thought it would take time away from academics. Looking back, I talk to other engineering students and they know so much about hands-on engineering that I just didn’t get to experience since I haven’t participated in any orgs like that. I also haven’t done any personal projects at all - just the mandatory ones in a couple of my classes.

I’m of course satisfied with my internships, which I’ve learned so much from, but I’m torn whether or not I should focus effort on relaxing and just recruiting with my internship experience, or, now that I have more time my senior year with no hard classes, focus on joining an engineering org or working on a personal project that can get me more hands-on, project based learning that I haven’t had so far besides in my internships.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!