Engineering Ethics

Mechanical Engineering students should expect to find careers in manufacturing, fabrication, research and development, and service industries. The students should be very capable in mathematics and the physical sciences. This is essential to be successful in any engineering field. Mechanical engineers should be mechanical inclined and should be able to think “outside the box”. The students should be a great problem solver and critical thinker, and also be a calm and laid back person that can handle a lot of stress and can operate under pressure and get the job done. They will work closely with civil and design engineers most likely. Mechanical engineers design and develop tools for all the other engineering fields to use on there job. Mechanical engineers also develop and design the products that we use in our everyday life such as cars, planes, and pretty much anything that has moving parts was probably designed by a mechanical engineer. The salary range for mechanical engineering varies for a Associates degree or a bachelors degree. The associates degree for North Carolina average is around 43,000 dollars in 2004 and the job outlook is growing by about 17% every ten years. The bachelors degree average salary range is around 67,000 dollars. Almost all employers want a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering with two to three years experience. Some of the benefits that some companies offer are that they will pay for your school and help keep you up to date on all new technology.

Civil Engineering students should expect to find careers in the construction of transportation systems, residential and commercial buildings, bridges, dams, and water and wastewater treatment systems. The students should also be very knowledgeable in mathematics and the physical sciences. Civil engineers should also be able to work under pressure and think on there feet and make rational decisions, and be a good problem solver. The civil engineering student will go into a field that is closely related to mechanical engineering for example, the mechanical engineer designs the automobile the civil engineer design the roadway that the automobile travels on. Coursework will include materials testing, structures, estimating, project management, hydraulics, environmental technology, and surveying. The salary range for civil engineering also varies for an associates degree or a bachelors degree. The associates degree for North Carolina is around 33,000 dollars and for a bachelors degree its around 58,000 dollars a year. The growth rate is above average for North Carolina around 2.1 percent a year. Almost all employers want a bachelors degree in civil engineering with at least four or more years experience.

Both the civil and mechanical engineers will be studying drafting and computer aided drafting (CAD). AutoCAD is the program that WPCC uses and is a very good program Mechanical engineering students use it to design mechanical parts, machines and tools. Civil engineering students use AutoCAD to design roadways, houses buildings bridges, and water and sewage systems. AutoCAD is the faster easier way to do design. Before CAD engineers had to have a drafting board and sit down tape the paper to the board and use a big drafting machine to draw there design. One of the most intriguing class is the CAD III class. I really enjoyed the CAD I class and the design and process of creating a part from a blank screen. The CAD III class works with Solid Works. CAD III would help students get a job in the manufacturing or automotive engineering field. The Solid Works allows easy transition from 2D to 3D from AutoCAD. The Software will let students test and revise product designs more easily.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This section includes the major conclusions and recommendations from the study of civil and mechanical engineering.

CONCLUSIONS

The two fields are both well paying jobs and also are very self rewarding. The civil engineering students should find themselves working in the construction industry or possibly working for the state or under a contract from the state building roadways and bridges. The mechanical engineering students will most likely have a career in the manufacturing industry or design and research and development. WPCC students can decide for themselves which field of engineering best suits them and there lifestyle.

RECOMMENDATIONS

My recommendation to the engineering students is civil engineering students should enjoy being outside and supervising others and be a good leader. They should work well under stress and work well with tight deadlines. Mechanical engineering students should not mind sitting behind a computer all day designing a part for a machine of designing an automobile. They should enjoy drawing and working with computers and should also work well with deadlines and stress. Most mechanical engineers will be indoors and could also be doing research and development doing stress analysis.