Mechanical engineering is a much-coveted profession. Apart from the several other benefits, the mechanical engineering salary, which is higher than most salaries that bachelor degree holders get, is one of the major draws into this line of career. But, before understanding how good the salary is, let us take a look into what the profession is all about.
What's a Mechanical Engineer Supposed to Do?
A mechanical engineering degree qualifies you to design machines. Almost any kind of machine in the world-from the humblest of thumbtacks to the most imposing of battle tanks-were designed by mechanical engineers. To become a mechanical engineer, you need to have loads of creative imagination. You have to think ahead of others and visualize plans. If someone has a concept, you are the one who will have to put it into a concrete form.
What's a Mechanical Engineer Supposed to Do?
A mechanical engineering degree qualifies you to design machines. Almost any kind of machine in the world-from the humblest of thumbtacks to the most imposing of battle tanks-were designed by mechanical engineers. To become a mechanical engineer, you need to have loads of creative imagination. You have to think ahead of others and visualize plans. If someone has a concept, you are the one who will have to put it into a concrete form.
Being a mechanical engineer, you won't be just thinking about basic structure and design, but you will also be thinking about the functionality of the whole thing. Let us consider a successful design-the cell phone. The buttons of any cell phone are quite strategically placed. These were placed by a group of mechanical engineers. They visualized what would be the easiest approach to dial on a number pad and then conceptualized it in such a manner that they worked.
So, the profession is quite a challenging one. You will be constantly inundated with concepts which you will be expected to materialize. And, since we live in a competitive world, you will be expected to improve upon existing products as well.
What Is the Usual Mechanical Engineering Salary?
A mechanical engineering salary depends on a host of factors.
- Your experience in the field, including your academic qualifications and other related work such as research and even any voluntary work or recommendations,
- Your previous resume,
- The school you have qualified from,
- The organization you are employed with,
- The nature of the work you are assigned and so on.
Hence, one cannot say for definite how much someone's salary would typically be. However, there are some points that can be made, considering the present scenario.
- Someone who is starting out with the career, i.e. is just out of college, can stand to get close to $40,000 annually. This is higher than what an arts graduate or even a commerce graduate can get. These professionals might get close to $35,000 on an annual basis.
- The median mechanical engineering salary in the US in 2002 was $65,000. This included professionals at all levels of the profession.
- The people in the topmost levels of the mechanical engineering profession earn much higher. The top 10% of the people in this line of career can earn as close to $90,000. This makes mechanical engineering one of the most lucrative forms of engineering in the world today.
The salary most certainly makes this a profession worth considering. However, you must know that like any other branch of engineering, you need to have an aptitude and talent for it. You also need to understand there will be various challenges posed in front of you and you need to prove your mettle with them. At the same time, there's the satisfying point that you are being compensated for your job quite well and you are getting a tremendous amount of creative satisfaction when you see your plans being put to reality.
