What's it like to study mechanical engineering?

do not fucking do mechatronics at all costs. you get a bastardized blend of mech and electrical engineering.

a company will hire an electrical engineer and a mech engineer to work together not someone who has abit of both

mechanical engineering is a lot of strength of materials, CAD drawing, dynamics and gears. if you aren't mechanically minded you won't like it. there is some theory emphasis on why you pick certain materials in the design of something

most of the mech engineers i know work on their cars all weekend. some people study mech eng so they can work in automotive industries but the competition is intense, everyone wants to work for ferrari, like every comp scientist wants to work in silicon valley

if i was to recommend engineering I would go for electrical engineering or aerospace/avionics. electrical engineering has control theory, signal processing, telecom, electronics and power distribution, so there's quite a lot to choose from.

university for stem at least is about building knowledge, they don't give a fuck about applications, most of it is theory. you should go to university when you know what you want to study, not just saying "oh yeah physics sounds cool" and 3 semesters later you've changed major 3 times.

don't go into engineering half-hearted, if you don't like it and don't want to work hard you will hate everyday until you quit.

what country are you from?
sorry for the long post, it looks like you're unsure of what you should study

>does not correlate to the actual job market in theory or practice.

What did he mean by this?

>do not fucking do mechatronics at all costs
I've been wondering about this for a masters program.
Does anyone here actually have experience with mechatronics? Is it really a waste of time?

>a company will hire an electrical engineer and a mech engineer to work together not someone who has abit of both

That's bullshit.

A mechatronic has dedicated fields where neither an electrical or mechanical engineers (and who the hell would pay two engineers) are that useful.

I want to get into machining and gunsmithing on the super-hobby level so I'm considering Mechanical or Manufacturing Engineering. I am in the U.S.

The question is what do you want to do.

Have a mechatronic degree with focus on electric motors and control systems and you can do everything in the automotive field for example.

I agree with most of what you write but im a mechanical engineer student and even though some students in my class like cars its far from the majority and yes, some of them end up working for car manufactors but theres a -lot- of other areas that need mechanical engineers as well. Energy(oil & gas, renewables, power plants) ,medical, aviation and so on.

Wouldn't someone with 4 years of electrical engineering under their belt be better qualified for that though?

I don't think an electical engineer has a fucking idea about the mechanical parts of a car.

Forget finding meaningful employment with just x degree or y specialisation. You will just be another replaceable cog, one out of a million. Instead, go for a PhD, get to know and befriend lots of people, figure shit out from there.

Uni is for socialising desu, don't be this autist who scores top grades then goes home to mom's basement.

>another replaceable cog
>go for a PhD

heh

No but two engineers working together would obviously be superior to a single mechatronics engineer.

>Uni is for socialising desu, don't be this autist who scores top grades then goes home to mom's basement.

>tfw this is me (without the top grades)

The math is easier than the pure theoretical studies, interesting yet boring, depends on the module.

>postgraduate M.E student

>this autist who scores top grades then goes home to mom's basement.

Literally every theoretical science student

EE and ME overlap a lot in the real world.

If you need two engineers to beat a mechatronics engineer that we don't need to discuss if mechatronics is pointless.

Reading comprehension, m8. That's what the technician said, not the engineer.

Anyway 1/10 bait.

>just assume
lost hard, this is reality, seriously, this is real

I don't think so 2 engineers work the same way as one. The ME won't know that much about EE and vice versa.

Mechatronics is about integration aka you know how the mechanical and electrical parts behave together; optimization.
You view everything from a signals and systems perspective: mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, it can be considered systems engineering dealing with (sometimes conceptual/high-level) design of extremely complex systems.
A mechatronics engineer can see the process from current going into the motor to mechanical motion coming out on the other side of an electromechanical system; how the entire system behaves. An ME will know the response of the mechanical parts, an EE will know the response of the motor. So unless they're very talented people who learned much on their own they can't do the job of mechatro eng. An EE is probably closer in term of systems knowledge than an ME to mechatro.

If that's not what your university teaches under Mechatronics then it's indeed shit.

Apart from this mechatronics is especially concerned with intelligent control alongside classical control theory which shows up in robotics (industrial robots, uavs, etc.).
Indeed, mechatronics needs more dedication if you want to be very competent especially if you want to move outside (EE heavy stuff like RF for example) of your niche. However you should have the basics if you want to do that with a mechatronics degree unless it's shit.
Plus don't stop without an MSc. Also most hybrid degrees indeed need more work/talent than a classical one.

Example:
In an automobile setting an ME might be concerned with the optimal design of a combustion engine. The mechatronics engineer is concerned with the entire car as a complex system. The engine is just another box with an appropriate model. It gives an output and it has certain control inputs. Optimal control of the entire car by having all systems working together optimally is the mechatronics part.

Manufacturing engineering does product design and looks more at the bigger picture of how to run plants and production lines. Mechanical, gives you a mix of "machine" design and heat transfer/thermodynamic systems.

I did mechanical engineering because I wanted to get into firearms. Now I am a HVAC/refrigeration/fluid utilities engineering consultant for a firm that deals with large manufacturing plants.

You can do a lot with a degree in Mechanical, I didn't expect to be where I am now but I can't complain. I got a lot of hands on machining and drafting experience through ASME club, internships, and school.

I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Studying it was overall good. As others have said, you have to be mechanically minded. I think the reason that it has a reputation for being 'easier' is that the concepts are much easier to understand because they're mostly at a macro level so are very intuitive.

Most of the people on the course had little interest in science or maths overall, but enjoyed practical work. Main areas of study were strengths of materials, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and dynamics.

The best bit was the group projects. They really were fun, much more so than projects at the same level in other disciplines. Previous projects include (off the top of my head) building a hovercraft, building a self balancing unicycle, building a bike powered mechanical battery (think pistons and pressure) and redesigning 3D printers for specific applications.

I actually transferred to physics for grad school because I didn't fancy mechy research, so I can contrast and compare it to other disciplines quite well. What do you want to know?

It involves a lot of math and you learn about materials, machines, heat transfer, and thermodynamics.

There are many subsets and specialized electives you can take that dig deeper into specific topics such as engines, strength and stress analysis, HVAC, controls, mechatronics, and many more.

It's a difficult major, but very interesting and has great job opportunities. You can expect to work your ass off, and be stressed out for the 4-6years it will take for a bachelor's degree. If you hate math and problem solving then I wouldn't even consider it.

This

It's very, very broad, it requires a lot of math, physics, chemistry, and the ability to understand how mechanisms work together to accomplish something, and that makes it a very difficult major.

>make enough assumptions to make the task quantifiable
>design a system based on this
>test
>adjust as necessary

If you have a better way of doing it then I'd love to hear it.

BAZINGA XDD

You assume R-12 and do that calculations
Observations don't agree with calculations
Conclusion: there is something other than R-12 in there

Not fucking hard, brainlet.

I'm going to start a dual major next year
currently studying EE.
i'm still deciding between CS and mech-E for the second one
do you think EE + mech-E is a good combo??

He actually did that that's why he asked the technician.
Reading comprehension 2/10
Brainlet level: 10/10

>What's it like to study mechanical engineering?
It stinks. Way too broad. You'll cover every physical law and mathematical construct in the known universe for about 30 seconds. By the time you graduate, you'll know nothing but how to solve systems of equations and want to kill yourself. At least that's how it is in my program.

>do you think EE + mech-E is a good combo??
It could be, but you might be better served by just getting a master's in EE.

It depends on what you want to do. It's recommended to also do a masters, so maybe focus on that instead.
However you could be pretty good with mechatronics and electromechanical stuff if you focus your EE towards control theory and power electronics alongside your ME.
For RF and chip design stuff I don't know what advantage would an ME degree give.

>For RF and chip design stuff I don't know what advantage would an ME degree give.
thats my primary goal but i thought it could give me an edge down the road if i wanna work on robotics which i also plan on doing.
As for now i have the time to pursue a second degree in parallel with my primary (EE), but the only viable options that wouldn't conflict are ME and CS.

ME+EE is overkill, i don't see why you would want to double major in it, and i'm surprised it's even an option. you would be better off studying just EE and doing a masters after. Pick up some control systems or mechatronics electives to see if you can handle it/enjoy it

I would study CS+EE, those 2 degress complement each other, you can go into AI, robotics,...

wouldn't adding either degree take you longer to get your degree, and add more strain, EE is pretty time consuming.

Would the opposite be do-able too, transferring from physics undergrad to mechatronics grad? I have mediocre GPA (just around average), but am really considering that path (plus I got time right now as I'm just a sophomore). Thanks

You should be able to transfer to an ME undergrad program pretty easily, though you need to review what you missed by not taking engineering your freshman year. My school had a four quarter analysis sequence devoted to linear algebra, calculus, Matlab, and basic mechanics, as well as two quarters of freshman engineering projects, so I'd take a look at what you have covered with your credits so far and see what you'd have to take soon.

Our school's structured quite funnily, and it seems that I'll have to take an extra year in school if I transfer. I'm content with my current degree choice, but would just want to know if it's going to be hard to get/transition into mechatronics from physics. What could I do to help myself get along this path, apart from actually obtaining an engineering degree? (It sounds a bit stupid, I know)

I'm not so sure myself. Your best bet would probably be to find a professor in your school's ME / EECS department and tell them about your situation. The bit of undergrad mechatronics work I did involved building circuits, programming PIC32 microcontrollers using C, circuit board design, motor control / gear ratio selection, and so on, which I'm not sure how much of that overlaps with a typical Physics degree.

how's freshman physics treating you?

Ok thanks dude, appreciate the input

Do EE + Mathematics. An engineer with a proper understanding of math is priceless.

Why would engineers need a proper understanding of math when they have wolfram alpha? Your opinion is stupid

Not sure if you're being sarcastic...

Not even slightly. The proofs you learn at university are worthless in the workplace.

Having a strong mathematical base means you can open any book related to your field and breeze through it.

ok mech eng here

it was a fucking hard degree due to the breadth and epth and number of assignments.

Fark me.

fluid mechanics is quite hard, you go fairly high maths and (2ndy year level of a 3 year maths degree)

I can program as well as compsci and do solid state

I would feel uncomfortable with ADSP but fine with control theory (the EE's did this with us) mech 361.

lots of materials and in there as well

thermodynamics is just about the most useful subject ever, once you get it at a sub cortical level

almost everyone in the course that mae it through had build a engine way before they started engineering. My self it was a steam engine, and could field strip and repair, a 2 stoke mower since about 10. Also had made gear boxes, ratios, diff gear models. So many things were basically already know before starting.

This proved a huge problem for equality as most girls do not do this sort of thing, and they sort of assumed this knowledge as you kinda had to to understand a lot of concepts.

later did law (much easier, to get average marks in and pass, but you have to know how to suck up to get high marks).

>be diesel mechanic for 4 years
>transition into back up power systems and facilities equipment maintenance
>do that for another 4 years
>get an engineering degree
>graduate with a 2.9 GPA
>resume gets shit canned at every turn because of that

experience is a fucking meme. GPA is the only thing that matters. don't let anyone tell you differently.

probably going to go back to my old job, except 20k$ in debt and 4 years behind in my career. so much for "self improvement" and "career progression".

It's boring. Can't decide if I want to switch to Geology or Physics.

>My school had a four quarter analysis sequence devoted to linear algebra, calculus, Matlab, and basic mechanics, as well as two quarters of freshman engineering projects

This sounds like Northwestern. Is it Northwestern?

You got me.

How I know your full of shit

>The best bit was the group projects.

Nice. Doing my last quarter of BS/MS in ME there now. You?

Its pretty good user,

Just did a Thermodynamics exam, if you know what you're doing its interesting stuff

You can do that anyway if you're smart/talented. It just takes a bit more time if you open some esoteric book and you need to learn a bit of math.

Most engineers with a second applied math degree are usually control theory/systems theory guys.

>mechanical engineering

...

Can confirm mech eng is boring. I skipped school today to shitpost on Veeky Forums. I don't understand I like making things and I like maths and science but the degree bores me to tears.

C U C K E D

This at all cost

do not study mechatronics
for real
its all fake

I have a mechatronics job right now but I dont do anything mechatronics, is just or electrical or mechanical, but just the basics because I dont know more than the basics
>Does anyone here actually have experience with mechatronics? Is it really a waste of time?
No if you like it, but if you want a good job then yes

I graduated with my BS back in June. You may know me.

about to finish my second year. Wish I did EE desu.

does workload increase in third and fourth? I skip all lectures and tutes and teach myself the content come exam time and still pass fine. I'm about to teach myself the entire semester of thermo in a week

3rd year is the worst year for engineers, it'll break you if you let it

in aus they call it 3rd year blues

4th year you are working on your thesis, you a left to your own devices.

if you want to be an EE change now before you regret it

>What's it like to study mechanical engineering?

You get many opportunities to suck cock.

I did this too.

Its not sustainable when you get to final year. Enjoy your shitty barely-passed degree.

Don't do this. You'll spend so much time trying to understand what you could have learnt in an hour if you'd sat in class, you wont have time for side projects and studying on the side.

ME here (dropped out of premed)

I loathed my degree while studying but I was able to make it through due to chegg and help from my friends and professors.

I now work in an unrelated field doing things a business major should do....except I make mad money for my age

Degree doesn't always matter as long as you pass it with about a 3.2. If you want to go into academia or intense projects then aim for as close to a 4.0 as possible

>tfw work will pay for master's degree
>all of my nearby MBA programs and MS Engineering programs don't want me

>tfw doing Civ E and I want to kill myself
The market in my country went to shit 1 year after I entered too

>experience as a glorified janitor
>"they don't care about muh experience, only GPA!"
roffel.

Imagine your gentiles being grounded up into a fine powder. You then proceed to blow the powder away from where they were grounded. Sit down, takes notes, praise Galileo, Descartes, the Greeks, Newton, and Cauchy.

Don't cry to hard, git gud, and get better.

Learn perseverance and team work.

that's studying mechanical engineering.

The MechE department at my university is basically filed with jocks and grease monkeys who only got into the major due to their interest in cars.

Make of that what you will.

fucking boring. the breadth of topics covered and the amount of assignments will spread you so thin that you won't be particularly good at any of it and you'll wonder what the fuck the point was

If you get under a 3.5 you don't list GPA on your resume
How have you not picked up that convention?

mech e is trash but im already 2 years in so gonna finish this shit

It's kind of like putting penises in your mouth
except it's a lot like that

Says the math major who actually puts dicks in his mouth

Is it normal to feel like half the teachers in the ME department at my college are completely incompetent?

Just switch to math. If you're only two years in then almost every class you've taken you'll need for a math degree.

It's a real ABSTRACT kind of vibration

Very boring.
How many times are you going to say this? You literally say this on every ME thread on Veeky Forums...

Why is everyone saying ME is boring? Muh planes and cars and space rockets?

Planes and rockets are cool up until they're broken down into diagrams and charts and tables and equations, all followed by a big-ass report explaining everything.

In fact, those five things pretty much sum up mechanical engineering

What were you expecting? You don't just chuck a 747 together overnight you know.

>Imagine your gentiles being grounded up into a fine powder.
good the fucking goyim deserve it!

why do people on Veeky Forums like to bully me because I browse /x/ frequently ?

>I have a mechatronics job right now but I dont do anything mechatronics, is just or electrical or mechanical, but just the basics because I dont know more than the basics
Then sit down and learn it you fucking faggot. The first thing university teaches you is how to learn on your own. Do you really think that some EE who didn't apply himself will be God-tier in electronics because he sit through a few more electronics classes? Fuck me.

>What were you expecting?
Self-actualization
Peace of mind
An end to my constant suffering
qt3.14 gf

I look at Mechatronics and think of a jack of all trades, master of none. You'll never be as good at mechanical as an ME, never as good at electrical as an EE, or never as good at software as an SE.