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MALLEABILITY OF

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

T. Dinesh Kumar

Who hasn’t heard of engineering and the success that engineers have had in their careers? The most common
idea people have about engineers is about their above average salary and the chance they have to innovate.
But the cherry on top is mechanical engineering, the broadest and oldest discipline in engineering; one can
have a rewarding career studying this subject.
Technically, Mechanical Engineers are needed in every industry, since wherever there is a problem that deals
with energy, motion, and force, Mechanical engineers are there to fix it. Graduating as a Bachelor or Master
in Mechanical Engineering offers you the skills to research, design, develop and build test devices, sensors
that include tools, engines, and machines. Let’s see what abilities and attitude make the difference between
an average and a great mechanical engineer:

Making sure your heart is in the right place Getting your hands dirty!
First, choose your field of study out of passion, not be- In his or her free time, a great Mechanical Engineer
cause of the high salaries in the field. Mechanical Engi- does not turn down the challenge of fixing things. En-
neering is a technical discipline that requires attention, gineers themselves fix their cars, bikes, boats or other
dedication and skills in science and economics. It will complex systems. There has to be a practical aspect to
be hard to understand and you will have difficulties mechanical engineering and not just paperwork.
throughout your career if you don’t have “an eye for it”.
Pragmatism, a problem-solving attitude and a knack Knowing your skills!
for getting the most using minimum resources are great In order to become a good mechanical engineer, you
starting points for a career in mechanical engineering. need a strong eye for details and mechanisms, a strong
background in physics and mathematics and, of course,
Math and physics are your friends a higher education degree in the field. Mechanical en-
Pay attention to your study and work the textbook prob- gineering also requires creativity and analytical skills in
lems carefully, so that you can understand the equations. order to properly turn an idea into something useful.
However, don’t limit yourself only to theory. Studying
mechanical engineering requires a high amount of Getting the right education
analysis of the elements from the real world. It’s a great QS World University Rankings has developed a list with
benefit if you’re not only good at math or physics, but top higher education institutions providing mechanical
you also enjoy understanding and solving problems in engineering degrees in 2016. The rank is based on the
these subjects. institution’s academic reputation, employers’ reputation
and the impact of research.
Turning theory into reality 1 .Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), US
Mechanical Engineering means understanding a prob- 2. Stanford University, US
lem, translating it into a mathematical equation, solving 3. University of Cambridge, US
it and applying the solution to a real-life result. Focus 4. University of California, Berkeley (UCB), US
on developing your skills to use formulas in your work, 5. University of Michigan, US
instead of just learning them. 6 Imperial College London, UK
7. Georgia Institute of Technology, US
8. National University of Singapore, Singapore
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