Advantages and disadvantages of a mechanical engineering major

Many ME departments have a senior project class, in which students form groups and are given one big semester or year-long open-ended project which usually involves designing and building a mechanical device such as a machine, robot, or vehicle. This not only allows students to apply their textbook-learned knowledge to a real problem and gain hands-on experience, but also provides valuable lessons in teamwork and time management.

Advantages and disadvantages of a mechanical engineering major? Advantages of this major: mechanical engineers are found in almost all sectors of industry; thus, employment prospects are good. Also, because it is a core engineering discipline, having a firm grounding in mechanical engineering enables you to enter fields or pursue advanced study in other areas such as bioengineering, environmental engineering, and nanotechnology, to name a few.

Disadvantages: The workload is usually high and the atmosphere competitive, especially in classes where projects are assigned in addition to exams. You will probably not have as much time to party or pursue extracurricular activities as your non-engineering major friends. Also, despite recent increases in enrollment of women across all science and engineering disciplines, mechanical engineering still contains the lowest percentage of women; thus, if you are a woman you will probably find yourself a minority. Luckily, attitudes are changing, and support networks such as the Society of Women Engineers are doing much to encourage women to enter and succeed in engineering professions. For more information on women in mechanical engineering, s