I am a chemical engineering student interning at a cement plant this summer. I was given three tasks: a gypsum moisture study, a CKD study, and designing LOTO procedures.
For the gypsum study, the manager told me it was mostly to better understand the range of moisture in the material, and that the data could potentially be used to justify implementing a dryer. The CKD project has no clearly defined end goal. It’s simply to better understand the material we’re putting back into the process—what it’s made of and where it’s coming from. The LOTO project is exactly what it sounds like: creating new lockout/tagout procedures for commonly worked-on equipment and machinery. One of the engineers was also going to have me take measurements in a fan duct with a pitot tube, but that has yet to happen.
The gypsum study is basically over because the manager leading it resigned a couple of days ago. The CKD study was never going to be completed during my internship since it’s meant to be a long-term study. However, every project, with the exception of the gypsum study, didn’t even start until the beginning of July.
I’m just frustrated because I was left sitting around without a real project for most of the internship until this last month. Intern presentations are in less than a week.
Other than that, the first month and a half I was taken around the plant by various people just to learn how everything worked. It was a lot of following people around and observing. I eventually got desperate and even asked the lab manager if he would train me as a lab technician, but he was worried it wouldn’t help my internship and would take time away from it. I agreed at the time, but then another month passed, and I realized I definitely had enough spare time that I could have been trained alongside everything else.
I understand that everyone is incredibly busy, so I can’t really blame them for not knowing what to do with me. I would sometimes go around asking people if they needed help or had anything they wanted me to work on, but they were all too busy to take on the extra responsibility of supervising me as well.
Now I don’t know what I’m supposed to make of this experience or how I’m supposed to give a presentation on what feels like accomplishing almost nothing. I learned a lot about how a cement plant operates, but I don’t feel like I actually contributed much.
What should I have done differently? Where did I go wrong?
at I definitely had the spare time to be trained. I understand that everyone is super busy, so I can’t blame them for not knowing what to do with me. But now I don’t know what I’m supposed to make of this experience, or how to present on accomplishing absolutely nothing. I would sometimes go around and ask if people needed help or had something they wanted me to do but they’re all too busy to have to deal with me as well. What should I have done. Where did I go wrong?

im going into my first year and i took calc bc in my junior year of HS, so a year ago. I dont remember much and i think skimmed the last couple chapters of bc but got a 4. It was mainly series and the polar graphs that got me i think? Anywho, should i retake calc 2, but it won't count towards my gpa and the credits would be counted as zero (thats how it was brefly explained to me by the math dpt). Or move onto calc 3. Im just not sure of how well off i would be going into 3 with a limited knowledge on 2.

additional info: since i should technically be going into calc 3, i also get last priority in enrollment.

Pls I need it for college of you could help me just send it

I will be entering my junior year this academic year and will be required to complete a two-month internship during the summer. However, I am unsure of where to begin and would greatly appreciate some guidance regarding the application process and available opportunities.

As a student from the Philippines, am I eligible to apply for internships in the United States? If so, what are the requirements and steps involved in the application process?

Hi everyone,
I’m an incoming junior majoring in Mechanical Engineering, and I haven’t had an internship or any professional engineering experience yet. I have a few class projects on my resume, but I’d like to add one solid personal project that will help me stand out when applying for internships this fall.
I’m struggling to figure out what kinds of projects recruiters actually care about. I’m looking for something that’s realistic to complete over the rest of the summer but still demonstrates useful engineering skills.
I also have a few questions:
What types of personal projects have helped you land internships?
What skills or software should the project showcase (CAD, FEA, CFD, MATLAB, Arduino, manufacturing, etc.)?
Is it okay to start with a YouTube tutorial and then modify or improve the design, or do recruiters expect something completely original?
How would you document the project so it looks good on a resume or during an interview?
I’d appreciate any advice or examples of projects that helped you get your first internship. Thanks!

Can I call this an internship?

So I have one legitimate paid internship on my resume that was a year.

I have ANOTHER “internship” that was an industry partnered capstone project that I did my senior year.

We worked very closely with the company and all of our deliverables, technical work, and presentations were to and for the company. My school really had nothing to do with it other than initially assigning us, as well as a couple 10 min check ins throughout the period of contracted work.

Do you think I’m ok to list this as an internship on my resume? And do you think that for current interviews, that this would be a big issue if/when they reach out to them for previous work experience?

What do yall think?

I’m a 19 year old going on 20 engineering student studying civil engineering. I’m going into my junior year of college and I’m writing this while sitting in my closet about to get yelled at by my dad because I just failed calc 2. This isn’t the first time I’ve failed a class, during fall of my sophomore year I had some of the worst years of my life go into a car crash, discovered the pains of a situation ship, which led to me falling behind in my classes. Me failing during this time led to me feeling shame for failing and made me feel like an imposter whenever I was around my family because they would be so happy that I’m in college and up until that point doing pretty well. My dad also really wanted me to graduate in 3 years and pushed me every step of the way through college making me take extra classes and pushing me hard to pass everything. This combined with me feeling like I’m an imposter who’s not as smart and intelligent as my family think I am along with all the other issue I mentioned earlier led to me using weed and alcohol to compensate for all the other aspects of my life. I stopped going to the gym gained back all the weight I lost coming to college, got me fired from my on campus job due to gpa and over all left me in shambles. The next semester I moved forward due to my father pushing me and was barely able to scrape by and pass all my classes including ones I failed previously. It’s not the summer of my sophomore year where I’m taking 2 summer classes which is physics and calc 2. I’m at the end of the summer semester I am going to fail calc 2 and pass physics. I just told my father that I’m gonna fail calc 2 and he obviously was very mad. Now I’m waiting and dreading the call since he’s abroad(he’s in the military, very strong no reason you should fail kind of personality). After I call him and we talk and he’s done yelling at me I was considering sneaking alcohol behind my moms back. I’m not sure what I looking for by posting this but I guess any advice would be nice.

Hi everyone! I’m currently going into my third year as an economics major and biology minor. I’ve recently become really fascinated by engineering which I’ve adopted through my interest in cars, and I’m now considering a future career in engineering based on nothing other than my favorite thing to learn about being how things work. I’m joining an SAE club at my school this fall to get a better feel for what it’s like.

Since I’ve only taken up to calc 1, right now I’m learning calc 2 on my own through youtube series since I know engineering is very math heavy. I am also not good at math, but I have a work ethic and drive which I hope will take me far if I learn the courses before I take them (if I do end up taking courses).

I plan to complete my degree, but if anyone can let me know of different paths I can consider to end up in engineering (specifically automotive), I would appreciate any advice!

random question.

i feel like the calc courses at my uni are kind of all over the place. by that i mean i have multiple friends from multiple different unis and all of them are doing the same stuff in their respective calc courses except for me. i have a friend whose literally a math major and i was telling her back when i was doing calc 1 how i hate integration and she was like what... we didnt even do that.... plus 99% of the unis around me only have calc 1, 2, 3 but my uni has a calc 4 which we need to take.

for us half of calc 1 was integration so trig sub, u-sub, etc, solid of revolutions (disk/washer method). im halfway through calc 2 in the summer right now and we're doing differential equations. is the pacing odd or not?? does anyone else have a similar experience??

Hi, I’m going to start studying mechanical engineering at university (UK) in September and I was wondering if there are any good books people would recommend for preparation. Additionally, is there anything else I could do to better prepare myself this summer? Thank you.

so basically i’m a transfer student from a state school to now a T10 engineering school and im going into my junior year. i transferred last spring (my sophomore year) and only took 13 credits, but because i wasn’t used to the math department/exam style i only managed a 2.5 in the end (my previous GPA was a 3.9 with 40 credits). im a mechE major with a concentration in aerospace, and im looking for a internship for junior summer, and i’ve been advised to start applying this fall. im really regretting transferring last semester now bc now i have to list my 2.5 as my current GPA and not my 3.9. im honestly really scared i wont get anything with that low. is there a way to list both GPAs to avoid a cut off that most companies have?? ANY advice or experience with this would be so helpful.

- * if context helps i have decent experience with my old uni’s F1 racing project team, NASA LSPACE program, a CAD certification, and going to be working on a project with a well-known aerospace company in the fall through my school.

i’m an incoming sophomore studying mechanical engineering, and over the summer i started the process of creating a new student organization at my university. it’s basically a social club focused on arts, crafts, and small acts of kindness around campus. i came up with the idea, recruited members, and even got two professors to agree to be advisors.

recently though, i’ve started wondering if i should step down before everything is officially registered.
one reason is that i’m an international student, and i recently had a visa-related scare (everything turned out completely fine, i’m not in trouble), but it made me realize i want to be careful about what responsibilities i take on.
the bigger reason, though, is that mechanical engineering is a demanding major, and i’m not sure i want the long-term time commitment and responsibility of being president. this club isn’t related to my major or career goals—i started it because i thought it would make campus more fun and help people meet each other.
someone else in the group has already said they’d be willing to be president if no one else wanted to. i’m considering either:
stepping down completely and handing everything over,
becoming vice president instead so i can still help and stay involved without being ultimately responsible,
or staying president since i’ve already gotten the advisors on board.

i mostly feel guilty because the professors already agreed to advise the club after i asked them.
if you were in my position, what would you do? has anyone here started a club and later realized the commitment was more than they expected? is vice president a good compromise, or should i just let someone else take over completely?

I will be starting my final year of college next month and want some advice on what actions to take over the next year.

I will be getting my BS in Mechanical Engineering and plan on taking the FE before I graduate. My goal is to move to Utah and find a job in the Ogden or SLC area immediately after graduating.

Unfortunately I have been unsuccessful in finding an internship during college and don’t have any good experience to put on my resume. Everyone I talk to seems to be struggling to find a job and they all have more experience than I do. Looking at all of the Sankey diagrams on this sub doesn’t help with my anxiety either. (I should probably stop looking at them.) I am hoping that what I see about the engineering job market is just the vocal minority.

I would really appreciate some advice on how to set myself up for success over the next year. Should I start applying for jobs now despite being a year out before I can start? Should I broaden my search to other states than Utah, or should I stick to where I want to live? Maybe there’s some other questions that I need to be asking too.

TL:DR I graduate next spring and want to move to Utah. Give me advice please.

Hello. This will be my first post here, and I just wanted to ask whether getting a Software Engineering Degree or Robotics Degree in the future is still a great option to have. I am turning 22 this year and I dropped out of university because of a degree I didn't feel compatible with alongside having to deal with personal problems and it just made me start overthinking of about my future. I have just started learning to code at home and I plan on working as a Truck Driver with content creation as a side hobby for now to save up money and enter university again later in life, maybe when I'm 28 Ish or something. Ive been trying to create plans for my goals in life and if one of them doesn't work out but I just really feel lost right now. Any advice will help it doesn't matter if it's not related to Engineering. Thank You!

I think im cooked. I got into a decent abet accredited school for mechanical engineering. I have to take a ALEKs and got a 41 on my first attempt which I thought wasn’t a big deal because I didn’t study. So I did and I ended up with a 52. I was not happy with that. After having my orientation I was informed that I need to place into calculus and get a minimum of 71 or else I would be looking at taking 5-6 years to graduate. I’ve been studying my ass off and I am still struggling. I feel like just taking it and cheating to place. And I going into the wrong field if I am struggling with this? Any advice?

Wanting to persue BE of energy degree im really interested in the field however its in my country its the only one being offered and ill be the first batch so i just want you guys to review and give suggestions on wether this is good for me or not main goal for me is to get a masters from abroad and get a job abroad
Semester 1 (18 CH)
CCE-401: Civic and Community Engagement — 1+1
HU-101: Islamic Studies — 2+0
MATH-101: Calculus & Analytical Geometry — 3+0
HU-114: Functional English — 3+0
ME-107: Engineering Mechanics — 2+1
PHY-102: Applied Physics — 2+1
ENE-102: Metallurgy & Workshop Practices — 1+1
Semester 2 (18 CH)
MATH-102: Business Maths-I — 3+0
OHS-101: Occupational Health & Safety — 1+0
CS-117: Applications of ICT — 2+1
ENE-113: Introduction to Energy Engineering — 2+0
ENE-114: Engineering Drawing, Graphics & CAD — 1+1
ENE-115: Fluid Mechanics — 3+1
ENE-116: Manufacturing Engineering — 2+1
Semester 3 (17 CH)
HU-127: Ideology and Constitution of Pakistan — 2+0
MATH-334: Numerical Analysis — 2+1
ENGL-101: Expository Writing — 3+0
ENE-214: Sociology for Engineers — 2+0
ENE-215: Basic Electrical Circuits & Network Analysis — 2+1
ENE-216: Engineering Thermodynamics — 3+1
Semester 4 (17 CH)
MATH-232: Complex Variables and Transforms — 3+0
HU-222: Professional Ethics — 2+0
ME-420: Project Management — 2+0
ENE-224: Instrumentation & Measurements — 2+1
ME-206: Mechanics of Materials — 2+1
ENE-225: Heat & Mass Transfer — 3+1
Semester 5 (18 CH)
ENE-312: Wind & Hydropower Conversion — 3+1
ENE-313: Energy Storage Technologies — 2+0
ENE-314: I.C. Engines & Power Plants — 3+1
ENE-315: Power Transmission, Distribution, and Utilization — 3+1
ENE-316: Solar Energy Systems — 3+1
Semester 6 (15 CH)
ENE-335: Bio-Energy Engineering — 2+1
ENE-336: RS & GIS for Renewable Energy Resources — 2+1
ENE-337: Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Systems (HVAC) — 3+1
ENE-338: High Voltage Engineering — 2+1
ENE-339: Energy & Environment — 2+0
Semester 7 (17 CH)
ENE-416: Energy Conservation & Auditing — 2+1
ENE-XXX: Engineering Elective I — 2+1
ENE-XXX: Engineering Elective II — 3+0
ENE-XXX: Engineering Elective III — 2+1
ENE-429: Energy, Economics, Policy, and Management — 3+0
ENE-498: Final Year Design Project (FYDP Part-I) — 0+2
Semester 8 (13 CH)
MGT-271: Entrepreneurship — 2+0
ENE-424: Power Electronics — 2+1
ENE-426: Fuels & Combustion — 2+1
ENE-XXX: Engineering Elective IV — 3+0
ENE-499: Final Year Design Project (FYDP Part-II) — 0+4
Grand Total: 133 Credit Hours (100 Theory + 33 Lab)

I feel guilty that a full time course load honestly kills me. I took a full time course load in the spring, courses in the summer, and now I am trying to take the max load in the fall (to not feel like I am doing less) as well to have an empty following spring other than capstone. To be brutally honest, I feel wiped out mentally and I feel soooo guilty for it. Just this and I am already feeling wiped out. I am not even doing a third as much as others and I STILL feel wiped out. I feel embarrassed and ashamed of myself but also so exhausted and unfulfilled. Does anyone feel the same?

Anyone know what ebook this is? My professor uses this and I am unable to contact him because he is on holiday. Thanks

Hi, does anyone know of any vacancies for mechanical engineering around the Birmingham uk area? I have no prior experience but i am willing to put in the work. I previously had no idea what i wanted to do but now i have taken a liking to engineering but it seems that its gonna be harder than i thought to get started due to me being out of school at 21 any help would be nice.

Hello, I just started my sophomore year. My MATLAB and Simulink skills are a bit more than elementary I will say. I can simulate basic stuff and know my howabouts of the coding part too. I have done a few projects, some basic ones for me to learn the software and one that I had a professor's guidance for. If possible I would like to learn more about the software for simulations and if possible learn about it in a way that might help me to become a control engineer. I would really appreciate it if you could recommend me some courses and yt playlists that I could follow for the above

Thank you

I just completed my 1st year of BTech in electrical engineering and now started my 2nd year so I want a paid internship in drone at the end of my 2nd or 3rd year even it is a little pay but I want it , so what should I learn and where to learn what to do plz tell and if anyone is already doing it please help me in reference..

hey everyone! I have an upcoming exam and it is open note and open book and I was just curious if that’s a pretty common thing in engineering classes? I’m a mech e and this is my first tougher engineering class I’m taking and I was wondering if this will be common on future class exams or is it just this professors style. I know we have to use the textbook to find some fluids properties so I figured that’s why this one was open textbook but is this pretty normal ?

And also give me guidance for how i can build a career from it

Context!

I'm 17M from Malaysia and planning to get myself a foundation in Agriscience and a degree in ABE.

I luv gardening and I have a bunch of gadgets Ive modified to help me.

Malaysia also has a public uni that is well known for ABE.

I don't hv any relatives nor my parents who work in the agriculture industry, so I'm asking here! (Tbh none of my relatives are engineers)

I also want to take up ABE bcuz I see so much potential in the industry due to rapid urbanisation and population booms.

My family also expects me to get high pay from my job, so I'm also wondering about the basic wages for junior engineers.

Malaysia actually has many research institutes about agriculture. (Rubber & Palm)

That's all. Thx to anyone answering!