Engineering notes

                                            

My career as a mechanical engineer only can be called so from the student's point of view. In any case, although I haven't worked for a real factory or consulting office (or any other real work), I do think there are some things that are worth checking out. For example, new students of the field can find advice on how to plough through the university courses without getting too many loose screws.

If you are considering studying ME (mechanical engineering, of course) or if you already are messing with the area, there is only one thing to be said: congratulations! You get to be the one who designs any kind of machine, runs factories, fixes all kinds of technical problems and, on top of it, gets paid a nice salary. And it is very, very easy to find a job. So easy, that even undergraduate students are alredy working as engineers.

For starters, wanna see the can crusher designed for a course on machine element design? Download the plans for the ultimate CanMasher in AutoCAD® format and see if you can build it! Looks great in any kithchen or bar, and you need not be Hulk Hogan to operate it. It will cost you about $6. Are you making money selling it? Good! (Ouch!) See other projects here, or check some ME links.

No mechanical engineer should go through life without a good LEGO® collection to materialize those ideas that float like cold spirits in your overactive brain. Click the Lego gear on the top of the page to see the best of this Danish marvel!.

Okay, here comes the advice for students. I hate to sound like my parents, but do believe me! Studying ME is no pleasure boat, so you really must love it if you want to be a happy engineer. To be a good one, maybe these rules will help.

• Do not reinvent the wheel. Don't pretend you are inventing something that already exists. It only shows how stupid you are.
• Be genuine. Yes, it's hard not to "take hints" to complete your work on time, but you'll learn tons more.
• Study, and enough. No beer, no girl(boy)friends, no movies, no exercise. Study and practice more than enough, and if you have any time left, pump iron. If you still have time left (which I doubt) look for a girl(boy)friend.
• ASME, ASHRAE, ASTM and all the manufacturers' catalogs are THE reference for anything related to ME and an extremely valuable design tool, as it saves lots of time in low-end calculations.
• Worry not. If you kill yourself worrying, there won't be much of you left to study. Failed a course? Never mind! Just take it again and show the world you can pass it with an A+. A teacher hates you? Show him you don't mind.
• Bosses and teachers are not geniuses, although they try real hard. They talk about hings they don't know, pretend they're so very HOT and… they're only human. A good book or your own heart usually are better advisors.
• Be the leader. Great engineers don't receive orders from others. If your workgroup does not advance, by all means BE THE HEAD. All the easy stuff will be done by your colleagues: you do the thinking, inventing and all the fun stuff. Let them peck at their HP's.
• If you don't know, say it. If you pretend you know something, you'll only get into trouble and, on top of it, you'll be falling in the same mistake as bosses and teachers. Heaven forbid.
• Be not a enemy maker. That is, no laughing at whoever is stupider than yourself, and no grumbling behind the back of geniuses (or those who think of themselves as one). One day you may need them.
• Wince in pain, whine and complain once in a while. It relieves all your stifled emotions, that must be kept at bay while you work or study. Engineers are regarded as emotionless thinking machines, but just because that's what they're paid for. Change that, and as I don't hope for tantrums in front of a bunch of factory workers or heartbraking dramas in the office, it is nice to see people thinking of each others feelings.

I suppose (and hope) that as an engineer these rules will apply too. If they don't, or if there are other rules found and I survive the shock, I'll post them here. Remember to e-mail me with any comments or suggestions.