Mechanical Engineering Education and Career Research Paper

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Updated: Jan 24th, 2024

There are so many parts or specialties for the field of engineering. This is attributed to the large size of the word engineering, or in better words, because of the large number of the fields that engineering discusses or works on. One of the engineering specialties is Mechanical Engineering or as it is called “The engineering Joker”. The name was referred to mechanical engineering because the mechanical engineer can work everywhere.

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As such, mechanical engineering is a branch of engineering that uses material science and various principles of physics in analyzing, designing, production, and safeguarding the mechanical system in an industry. In this research, I will talk about what is mechanical engineering, what will the students study in that field of engineering, and where those students can work after finishing their studies (Rajput 56).

According to the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), the term engineering can be defined as the profession in which knowledge resting on the natural sciences and mathematics are achieved through the process of educational studies. This process is also geared towards the practice and gain of experience necessary in the development of the ways and means of economically utilizing the natural forces and materials in order to benefit human generation.

There are several branches of engineering in the current society. These include aspects like the electrical and electronics engineering, civil engineering, telecommunication engineering, software engineering, mechanical engineering, energy engineering among others. For the purpose of this analysis, I will only dwell on the issues bordering the mechanical engineering course and profession (Webster 234).

Mechanical engineering is the profession that deals with the application of mathematical procedures in the development and accreditation of machines, which could be used to better the lives of mankind. Mechanical engineering has impacted the society in various ways. Economic development of a nation relies extensively on the field of engineering. Since 1700, engineering legends have seen a massive development in the field of mechanical engineering (Rajan 67).

The civil engineering field encompasses a broad spectrum of specialties and also subspecialties. It involves proficiency in transportation, environmental services, water resources, and sewerage, structural and technical design. Engineering legends include, among them, remarkable individual persons from a wide social stratum and from different world horizons. They not only left a landmark in the engineering field but also profoundly influenced their communities and largely the civil engineering industry.

Training and education

For an individual to attain the mechanical engineering profession, he or she must have at least a bachelor’s degree in this field. It takes about four to five years to obtain this degree. The programs in the system include the formal classes coupled with the work experiences. The engineers are encouraged to impregnate their degrees with other formal courses like the business administration in order to function well in the field.

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The engineers are always in constant education process so as to further their expertise and to be in proper and accurate position in the ever changing or transforming the world of technological advancements. They must possess an engineering license from the local engineering body in order to be allowed to practice the profession. Ideally, mechanical engineering is demanding, in terms of money and time, and individuals always avoid the course. As such, there are few mechanical engineers in the society.

Case Study

There are several examples of inspiring and admirable mechanical engineers in the field. For example, Benjamin Wright was born in Wethersfield within Connecticut on the 10th October 1770 just prior to the American Revolution. The family then moved to Rome in the upstate New York where his father did some farming. In Rome, he decided to take up surveying. This gave him the attributes of being extremely accurate, honest and reliable. At 24, William Weston hired him to carry out surveys on the canals, which would later become the complex network of the Erie Canal. During this period, Wright was elected to the New York Legislature due to his unquestionable leadership qualities (Fogiel 98).

He made his triumphant entry into the engineering field when he supervised the construction of the canal between Schuylkill and the Susquehana Rivers. He brought in a new technology involving the Troughton—which is a collection of instruments that could offer highly sophisticated results in the engineering and surveying field. He later moved on to develop the Sex Canal which connected Boston and Lowell. This canal had 20 locks, 50 bridges and 7 aqueducts. Weston was again hired to carry out surveys on other several canal projects. This he did with Wright as his immediate assistant. They began with the connection between Mohawk and Wood Creek. By 1978, several boats could move up and down the Mohawk River, and this was because they had built several canals.

Under his leadership, Wright produced a number of marvelous engineers in the field. These included, but not limited to, the following: Canvass White of 1790 to 1834 and James Geddes of 1763 to 1838. White travelled to the overseas in 1817 and developed several canals in Europe. He is the gentleman who researched the Europe’s under water applications for the Portland cement industry. He returned to America with lots of expertise, and a number of complex and efficient surveying instruments from the Great Britain. He also championed the development and invention of waterproof, hydraulic cement which he produced from Limestone. Wight developed Union, Raritan and Delaware canals in his lifetime. He later became the president of Cohoes Company, which dealt in water power.

After the Erie project, Wright still soldiered on to engineer and consults a series of projects in the country. He engaged himself in the early developments of the railroads in the country. At this capacity, he became the chief engineer of Chesapeake and Ohio canals of 1828 to 1831. Another project was the St. Lawrence Ship Canal of 1832. Among the railroads he developed include the New York and Erie railroad of 1833 and the Tioga and Chemung railroad in 1836. His assistant during these projects was the young energetic, Charles Ellet, of 1810 to 1862. He became the first American to design the wire cable suspension bridge (Boyer and Dubowfsky 45).

He was named the American Brunel due to his contributions to the bridge construction industry. In the event of crowning up his career, Wright served both as an engineer and Street commissioner in the city of New York—this was during the 1830’s. He retired at the age of seventy. In collaboration with the Erie Canal, he established the Erie School of Engineers which brought life to every town and also the entire Nation cum the world (Webster 234).

Works Cited

Boyer, Paul and Dubofsky, Melvyn. The Oxford Companion to United States History. London: Oxford University Press, 2001. Print.

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Fogiel, Max. Mechanical Engineering Handbook, New York: Gale Group, 1998. Print.

Rajan, Sylvester. Basic Mechanical Engineering, London: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.

Rajput, Rodger. Comprehensive Basic Mechanical Engineering, London: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print

Webster, Valerie. Awards, Honors & Prizes: International and Foreign, New York: Gale Group, 1999. Print.

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