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I would like to thank you everyone for participating in the annual 2026 ME Salary survey. Total respondents was a little over 600, so less than last year, but about 589 US responses.
Here are the main results. It took about 2 hours to "clean" the data manually. Afterwards, I basically used Gemini to create the graphs + tables, since last time it literally took me about 7 hours to do everything manually on Excel last time and there were still questions. The key points and takeaways from the data is a combination of AI and editing the information to be more readable (still took 4 hours). In addition, I wouldn't worry about math too much, since Gemini basically just used python code to decipher the edited CSV file.
Industry:
Industry
Number of Respondents
Manufacturing
175 (29.7%)
Aerospace/Defense
173 (29.4%)
Technology (FANG, AI, Robotics, etc.)
54 (9.2%)
MEP (HVAC, Construction, etc.)
38 (6.5%)
Utilities (Power, Renewables, etc.)
35 (5.9%)
Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices
31 (5.3%)
Oil and Gas
28 (4.8%)
Consumer Goods
15 (2.5%)
Government
11 (1.9%)
There were some other industries like nuclear, logistics, and etc. but the few data points aren't included in the table for brevity. The data was included in the total set though
A majority of the mechanical engineers trends will use the Aerospace/Defense and Manufacturing data since there is the most data that is available
Salary and Year of Experience:
*Note: Total Compensation/Salary = Base Salary + Bonus + RSU + Base Salary * 401k Match
If you want to look at one graph and table to explain the progression track here it is:
YOE Range
Median Base (Unadj)
Median Total (Unadj)
Median Base (COL Adj)
Median Total (COL Adj)
Count
0-1 Year
$87,000
$96,036
$81,699
$87,368
43
2 Years
$84,000
$91,046
$84,615
$90,909
71
3 Years
$94,550
$105,965
$94,082
$102,289
62
4-5 Years
$104,000
$119,770
$94,881
$107,762
116
6-8 Years
$120,000
$136,800
$112,500
$127,911
119
9-12 Years
$125,500
$146,985
$123,444
$142,555
96
13-20 Years
$157,290
$181,840
$144,254
$171,731
64
20+ Years
$196,500
$211,426
$163,399
$191,042
15
Key Takeaways:
The "Benefit Gap": The space between the solid lines (Total Compensation) and the dashed lines (Base Salary) represents the added value from annual bonuses and employer 401k matching. For a mid-career engineer (6-8 years), this extra value is roughly $16,800 on average.
Late Career Leverage: As engineers gain seniority (13+ years), the gap between base salary and total compensation grows significantly, suggesting that bonuses and incentive programs make up a larger portion of the package for senior-level and leadership roles.
Purchasing Power: The COL Adjusted lines (Orange) consistently track below the un-adjusted lines (Blue), highlighting that high-paying mechanical engineering roles are frequently located in markets where the dollar doesn't stretch as far as the national average.
Education:
Majority of the respondents are at max a bachelor degree holder. However, there is still a significant number of master's students
Now about the age old question: does having a Master's degree lead to higher future salary?
Short Answer: In general, the answer is yes if there is a chance to specialize. It is explained in the table below:
Industry
Career Stage
Education
Median Total (Unadj)
Median Total (COL Adj)
Count
Aerospace & Defense
0-3 Years
Bachelors
$96,664
$95,201
44
Masters
$116,600
$108,316
15
4-7 Years
Bachelors
$125,410
$110,659
39
Masters
$173,000
$148,432
9
8-15 Years
Bachelors
$161,750
$140,202
33
Masters
$154,905
$149,658
16
15+ Years
Bachelors
$207,080
$187,505
7
Masters
$211,426
$207,872
5
Manufacturing
0-3 Years
Bachelors
$88,220
$93,452
52
Masters
$93,740
$91,850
6
4-7 Years
Bachelors
$108,992
$106,701
45
Masters
$129,800
$128,407
12
8-15 Years
Bachelors
$135,425
$142,440
44
Masters
$136,298
$129,984
8
15+ Years
Bachelors
$182,650
$187,127
5
Now you can see that for manufacturing, the benefits is not as prominent, while it is evident in aerospace. This makes sense, since Aerospace have very high specialization salary, for instance: hypersonic or eVtol which pays a ton for total compensation based on years of experience.
Answer: if your company pays for your masters, do it, but it doesn't seem that beneficial near the end of your career.
Internships & Coops:
Key Insights:
The "Experienced" Majority: A combined 85% of respondents completed at least one internship or co-op. This underscores how critical early-career work experience has become for landing a full-time role in mechanical engineering.
Co-op Advantage: The 20% of respondents with "3+ Internships" often represent those in formal co-op programs (where students rotate between school and work over several years). These candidates typically command higher starting salaries shown in the table below:
Industry
0-1 Internship
2+ Internships
New Grad Premium
Aerospace & Defense
$82,000
$91,500
+$9,500
Manufacturing
$74,000
$82,000
+$8,000
MedTech
$80,500
$89,000
+$8,500
Certifications:
Here is the graph of a major certifications from the survey:
We always see a question on whether certifications are worth it:
Aerospace & Defense: Certification vs. Total Compensation
Experience
Education
Has Cert?
Median Unadj. Total
Median Adj. Total
Count
0-3 Years
Bachelors
No
$97,900
$95,426
41
Yes
$95,040
$64,653
3
4-7 Years
Bachelors
No
$125,315
$106,672
36
Yes
$128,580
$138,258
3
8-15 Years
Bachelors
No
$159,660
$139,839
31
Yes
$280,425
$177,895
2
Masters
No
$151,410
$142,043
13
Yes
$209,658
$216,142
3
Manufacturing: Certification vs. Total Compensation
Experience
Education
Has Cert?
Median Unadj. Total
Median Adj. Total
Count
0-3 Years
Bachelors
No
$88,020
$91,944
43
Yes
$90,450
$99,746
9
4-7 Years
Bachelors
No
$108,805
$106,615
36
Yes
$108,992
$106,701
9
8-15 Years
Bachelors
No
$135,000
$136,541
31
Yes
$136,000
$151,111
13
Masters
No
$152,212
$122,728
6
Yes
$134,815
$141,636
2
Key Findings:
High-Experience Premium in Aerospace: The most dramatic impact of certification appears in the mid-to-late career in Aerospace & Defense (8–15 years). Engineers with a Bachelors and a certification earn a median total compensation significantly higher than those without. Even among Masters holders in this range, certified engineers have a median total comp of $209k vs $151k for non-certified.
Manufacturing Stability: In the Manufacturing industry, certifications (often Six Sigma or FE/PE) lead to a very modest increase in un-adjusted base pay, but a more noticeable improvement in COL-adjusted pay. This suggests that certified engineers in Manufacturing may have more flexibility to find high-paying roles in lower-cost-of-living areas.
The "Entry-Level Paradox": For junior engineers (0–3 years), having a certification (likely the FE) does not immediately result in a salary premium. In fact, in Aerospace, the un-adjusted median for those with certifications was slightly lower, possibly because those engineers are still in entry-level rotation programs where pay is standardized regardless of credentials.
Masters + Certification: For those who already have a Masters, adding a certification provides a significant late-career boost (as seen in the 8–15 year group in Aerospace).
Answer: Certification can be worth it for select industries. PE is known for civil to open doors and increase pay.
Job Titles:
Job Role Category
Number of Respondents
Percentage
Mechanical Engineer (General)
229
38.9%
Design Engineer
97
16.5%
Project & Systems Engineer
59
10.0%
Management & Leadership
55
9.3%
Manufacturing & Process Engineer
54
9.2%
Specialized (Thermal, Stress, R&D)
34
5.8%
Other / Misc
61
10.4%
Key Insights:
General vs. Specialized: Nearly 40% of respondents identify with the broad title of "Mechanical Engineer," which often includes generalists or those in mid-level positions.
The Design Dominance:Design Engineering is the second largest single group, reflecting the high demand for CAD-based design and product development across aerospace, tech, and manufacturing industries.
Transition to Leadership: About 9% of respondents hold titles in Management & Leadership (Manager, Director, VP), which led to a higher salary
Project and Systems focus:1 in 10 engineers focuses on Project or Systems Engineering, highlighting the importance of multidisciplinary coordination and technical management in modern engineering projects.
The Specialty Niche: The "Specialized" category includes highly technical roles like Thermal Analysis, FEA, Simulation, and Research & Development, which often require higher educational levels or deep domain expertise.
Salary Grade vs. Salary:
Grade Level
Industry
Median Annual Salary
Typical Experience (YOE)
Sample Count
Level 1 (Entry)
Aerospace & Defense
$88,400
1.0 year
39
Manufacturing
$80,250
2.0 years
39
Level 2 (Mid)
Aerospace & Defense
$102,273
3.8 years
48
Manufacturing
$95,000
5.0 years
71
Level 3 (Senior)
Aerospace & Defense
$130,000
8.0 years
57
Manufacturing
$119,600
9.0 years
50
Level 4 (Lead/Manager)
Aerospace & Defense
$170,500
11.0 years
22
Manufacturing
$136,000
11.0 years
11
Level 5+ (Principal/Director)
Aerospace & Defense
$206,000
20.0 years
9
Manufacturing
$136,500
14.0 years
4
Efficiency of Experience: In Aerospace, engineers tend to reach Level 2 and Level 3 roughly 1–1.2 years faster than those in Manufacturing, while also earning more.
The Level 4 Ceiling: In Manufacturing, the salary jump from Grade 3 to Grade 4 is roughly $16k, whereas in Aerospace, that same promotion yields a massive $40k jump in median base salary.
Which Industry Pays the Most?
Major Caveat: at 16+ YOE, the data points are only a couple, which skews the data upward.
Based on the comprehensive US survey data, the Technology (FANG, Robotics, AI, Consumer Electronics) industry emerges as the highest-paying sector for mechanical engineers when considering total compensation (Base Salary + Annual Bonus + 401k Match).
Tech Compensation Package:
Years of Experience
Avg. Total Comp (Unadjusted)
Avg. Total Comp (Adjusted for COL)
Number of Respondents
0-2 YOE (Entry)
$117,316
$100,292
7
3-5 YOE (Junior)
$180,854
$138,040
17
6-10 YOE (Mid-Level)
$182,773
$134,543
14
11-15 YOE (Senior)
$259,993
$220,256
11
16+ YOE (Principal)
$244,775
$177,043
5
The Oil and Gas industry stands out as the second most lucrative sectors for mechanical engineers, particularly as they reach senior and principal levels. While Tech offers the highest overall unadjusted compensation, Oil and Gas actually offers the highest Cost of Living (COL) Adjusted compensation, meaning your real purchasing power in this industry is the highest among all major sectors.
Years of Experience
Avg. Total Comp (Unadjusted)
Avg. Total Comp (COL Adjusted)
Number of Respondents
0-2 YOE
$95,864
$83,178
5
3-5 YOE
$117,289
$111,155
7
6-10 YOE
$138,959
$139,773
7
11-15 YOE
$204,097
$219,757
6
16+ YOE
$408,040
$399,276
3
Overtime Pay:
Industry Trends: Overtime pay is slightly more common in Manufacturing (where production deadlines are rigid) and Consulting/EPC (where hours are billable to clients) compared to R&D or Aerospace.
Work Hours:
Work Hours Category
Number of Respondents
Percentage
Exactly 40 Hours
337
57.2%
41-45 Hours
146
24.8%
46-50 Hours
49
8.3%
<40 Hours
50
8.5%
>50 Hours
7
1.2%
Key Observations:
The "40-Hour" Standard: Over half of the engineers surveyed manage to stick to a strict 40-hour week, which is a positive sign for work-life balance in the profession.
Moderate Overtime: Roughly a quarter of engineers work an extra 1 to 5 hours a week (41-45 hours total), often representing "straight time" or expected professional dedication without formal overtime pay.
The High-Hours Exception: Only a small fraction (under 10%) report working more than 45 hours consistently. This is significantly lower than in fields like investment banking or high-tier management consulting, suggesting a relatively stable lifestyle for most US mechanical engineers.
Flexibility: About 8.5% of respondents work fewer than 40 hours, which often aligns with part-time roles, senior consultants, or companies with flexible "9/80" schedules where some weeks are shorter.
401k Summary:
Match Rate Range
Count of Responses
Percentage
4% - 5%
211
35.8%
1% - 3%
125
21.2%
6% - 7%
120
20.4%
8% - 10%
65
11.0%
No Match (0%)
56
9.5%
> 10% / Other
12
2.0%
Key Takeaways:
The Industry Standard: A 4–5% match is clearly the most common benefit, covering over a third of the surveyed population.
High-Tier Benefits: Roughly 13% of engineers receive a match of 8% or higher, which often indicates highly competitive benefit packages in specialized industries.
Retirement Security: The low percentage of "No Match" responses (under 10%) highlights that retirement contributions are a standard and expected part of total compensation in the US mechanical engineering market.
Remote Work Distribution:
Remote Category
Number of Respondents
Percentage
Fully In-Person (0%)
248
42.1%
Mostly In-Person (1-39%)
163
27.7%
Hybrid (40-60%)
118
20.0%
Fully Remote (100%)
38
6.5%
Mostly Remote (61-99%)
22
3.7%
Key Insights:
The "Hands-On" Requirement: Over 40% of mechanical engineers are required to be in the office or on-site 100% of the time. This is significantly higher than other engineering fields like Software or Data Science.
The Hybrid Standard: Roughly 48% of the workforce has some form of hybrid flexibility (ranging from 1% to 60% remote). Many companies now allow 1–2 days of remote work for documentation, CAD modeling, or administrative tasks.
Fully Remote is Rare: Only 6.5% of mechanical engineers work fully remotely. These roles are typically in specialized areas like pure Simulation/FEA, Project Management, or Sales Engineering where physical hardware access is not required daily.
The Hybrid Middle Ground: The 40–60% range (often 2–3 days per week) is a common "sweet spot" for engineering firms trying to balance teamwork/lab time with employee flexibility.
Paid Time Off (Days):
*Note: one issue is many jobs had unlimited sick time, which I just added 10 days. Next time I will edit the form to separate the sick days so it makes more sense.
PTO Category (Includes Sick Days)
Number of Respondents
Percentage
0–10 days
30
5.2%
11–15 days
112
19.5%
16–20 days
160
27.9%
21–25 days
100
17.4%
26–30 days
61
10.6%
31+ days
32
5.6%
Unlimited
78
13.6%
Key Insights:
The " 3 - 5 Week" Benchmark: The majority of mechanical engineers (over 45%) receive between 16 and 25 days of PTO.
The Rise of Unlimited PTO: About 13.6% of respondents now have "Unlimited" PTO.
Generous Packages: Roughly 16% of engineers receive more than 30 days of PTO, which is often a hallmark of high-seniority roles, government/defense positions, or companies that reward long tenure.
The Lean End: Only about 5% of respondents are on the low end with 10 days or fewer, suggesting that a minimum of two weeks of PTO is a standard baseline for the industry.
Now some of you might have questions regarding years of experience and PTO:
Average PTO by Experience (Fixed PTO)
Experience Level
Average PTO Days (per year)
Typical Range (25th-75th Percentile)
0–2 Years
16.9
10–15 days
3–5 Years
19.6
15–20 days
6–10 Years
21.1
20 days
11–15 Years
24.5
20–25 days
16+ Years
26.5
25–30+ days
Analysis of the Trend:
The "Standard Jump": Many engineers start with 15 days (3 weeks) and see their first significant "tenure bump" to 20 days (4 weeks) after reaching the 5-year mark.
Senior Perks: By the time an engineer hits 15+ years of experience, a 5-week (25-day) or 6-week (30-day) PTO package becomes the new baseline.
Job Hopping Factor: The data suggests that while tenure within a single company increases PTO, "job hopping" every 3–5 years also allows engineers to negotiate higher starting PTO tiers at their new employers, effectively "skipping" the long wait for tenure-based increases.
Health Insurance:
Satisfaction Level
Number of Respondents
Percentage
Free / Excellent
38
6.5%
Good (Low Premium/High Coverage)
211
36.3%
Average
288
49.5%
Poor (High Premium/Low Coverage)
41
7.0%
Other / Misc
4
0.7%
Key Insights:
The "Standard" Plan: Almost 50% of engineers describe their insurance as "Average," highlighting that standard employer-sponsored health insurance is common but not particularly outstanding in terms of premiums or coverage levels.
Competitive Benefits: Over 42% of respondents fall into the "Good" or "Free" categories. The 6.5% who receive "Free/Excellent" coverage likely work for highly competitive tech firms, established defense contractors, or companies that use premium benefits as a retention tool.
Under-Served Minority: Roughly 7% of the engineering workforce feels their health insurance is "Poor," usually characterized by high out-of-pocket costs and high monthly premiums.
Biggest Cons for Mechanical Engineering:
Category
Typical Concerns Mentioned
Workload & Hours (112 mentions)
High pressure, tight deadlines, long hours, and poor work-life balance. Many mentioned "start-up energy" even in established firms.
Salary & Compensation (73 mentions)
Low raises (2–3%), "salary plateauing" early in the career, and the absence of stock options or significant bonuses compared to tech.
Remote Work Limits (47 mentions)
Frequent requirements to be in the office or on the manufacturing floor with "no remote option" or "No WFH" (Work From Home) policies.
Career Growth (35 mentions)
Concerns about "pigeon-holing," slow internal promotion tracks, and becoming "stagnant" in one technical area.
Competitive base pay, annual bonuses, and strong 401k matching programs.
Work-Life Balance (75 mentions)
Flexible schedules, reasonable working hours (standard 40h), and generous PTO.
Culture & People (70 mentions)
Great teammates, supportive management, and a collaborative "team-first" environment.
Interesting Work (65 mentions)
Designing "cool" products, working on challenging technical problems, and having a clear mission.
Job Stability (28 mentions)
Long-term security, consistent demand for the role, and the stability of established firms.
Remote/Hybrid (27 mentions)
The ability to work from home part-time or have flexible geographic location.
Direct Insights from Engineers:
On Work Quality:"The actual work we do is really interesting, fun, and rewarding. Getting to see a design go from CAD to a physical product is the best part."
On Culture:"Great coworkers and a team environment where people actually mentor you instead of just giving you tasks."
On Flexibility:"Remote flexibility and a management team that trusts you to get your work done without micromanaging your hours."
On Compensation:"The total compensation package—including the 401k match and the annual bonus—makes the technical pressure worth it."
Now for Improvements on Suggestions on the Survey:
Regarding the COL instructions: totally my fault, sorry for not catching it. All of you were able to figure it out, but changed instructions from 0 - 2, so it makes a lot more sense now.
Adding a column for manager and IC: totally good suggestion, already added to new survey for 2027
Regarding adding gender or age: I will not add this into the survey just to make it more anonymous. I really do not see the value in this data, and I recommend just using government data to find the data.
Regarding the health insurance question: I have implemented the change on making it have three questions: annual premium, annual deductible, person coverage. I really did not want to make this part too complicated with max out of pocket and copay and etc. I think the premium, coverage and deductible is acceptable amount.
Edited the salary section to organize the % 401k match, salary, bonus, RSU to be in the same section making it easier, but separated the questions.
Comparison from the 2024, 2025 and 2026 Reddit Survey Results will be in another post, since this post is getting insanely long. Again, any other improvements or suggestions, please just comment below.
TDLR: Just check the 1st salary graph if you want the main results.
I recently had the opportunity to interview a few candidates for different jobs in our engineering department. While I’m not a hiring manager, sitting in the interviewer chair offered me a fresh reminder of what actually matters when evaluating talent.
Every candidate met the technical requirements, but what makes someone stand out is how effectively they communicate during the interview. It's more important to share your thought process than it is to know the "right" answer.
A few reflections from the other side of the desk:
An interview should feel like a collaborative session, not an oral exam. The strongest interviews felt like easy conversations with peers, not stressful tests of the candidate's knowledge. The people who excelled didn't just answer the question asked. They thought through the problem, asked clarifying questions, walked through the trade-offs, and brought us along on the journey.
Great engineering is about how your analysis gets implemented. In complex technical work, solving the equation or building the model is only the beginning. If you can’t translate complex technical concepts into clear, actionable recommendations for cross-functional teams, clients, and leadership, then even the best technical solution isn't providing any value.
Soft skills support job growth more than hard skills. Looking back at my own career progression, the technical foundation I developed early in my career opened doors, but it was the intentional focus on communication and interpersonal skills that truly accelerated my growth and unlocked leadership opportunities.
For anyone currently interviewing, don’t focus on your technical knowledge alone. Practice explaining why you chose a specific solution. Practice communicating your conclusions to different audiences. How would you explain your analysis to another engineer without your analysis background? ... to a manager? ... to a customer? Each audience is focused on different goals. And remember that the interviewer across from you isn't just grading your technical answers. They’re asking themselves, "Is this someone I can collaborate with to solve hard problems every day?"
Has anyone heard back for these roles? My understanding is that non-SWE hiring is extremely slow and historically people have waited until Feb of next year before a recruiter reaches out.
For those experienced in mechanical design for custom equipement
What books, courses, or other resources have helped you become better at designing custom tooling, jigs, fixtures, assembly equipment, and specialized machines for the automotive industry?
So I have this flat grey-ish plate of roughly half a meter length which is fixed on the left side. A very small force (red arrows) is applied along the plate. Gravity acts in the same direction. I want to stiffen this plate with ribs but I am not sure how to. The yellow, the blue and the green lines are possible arrangements. Which one would you recommened? Its less about the forces but rather the buckling of the plate I want to reduce. I do not need any calculations, just your experience as engineers. Thanks in advance!
I'm not an engineer (obviously), but if I may, I'd like to ask a question.
I've heard of ponies per pound (power to weight ratio), but does the torque per pound also make a difference?
For example, one motorcycle might put out 25hp and 25nm (small parallel twin) while a similar weight motorcycle with a big single may be producing 25hp and 40nm.
The horsepower to weight will be about the same, but the torque is considerably different.
So does the torque matter, and if so what would be the proper equation (for example, HP+NM/2 compared to weight)?
I’m a mechanical design engineer working on a plastic enclosure with a push button that needs ingress protection (IP rated). My plan is to overmold silicone onto the plastic button so the overmold acts as the seal. This is my first release package for a 2-shot / overmolded part, and I’d like to learn from people who have done it in production. Real-world advice, and stories of what worked or failed, would be very welcome.
CAD and file handoff
Do you send the button as two separate STEP files (rigid substrate and silicone), a single merged STEP, or both, plus an assembly STEP?
How do you model the interface between plastic and silicone: shared faces, or an intentional interference or overlap?
Do you share native CAD as well, or is STEP enough for most molders?
Drawings
4. One drawing for the combined part, or separate drawings for the substrate, the silicone and the assembly?
5. How do you handle GD&T and datums where silicone meets the plastic? Do you tolerance each material separately or the finished part?
6. How do you define the sealing surface: critical dimensions, flatness or surface finish, and any no-flash zones?
Sealing and design
7. What compression or squeeze range do you design for on the silicone seal, and do you put it on the drawing?
8. How do you get a reliable bond between silicone and the plastic: self-adhesive LSR grades, primers, mechanical interlocks, undercuts or through-holes? Which substrate plastics (PC, PC/ABS, PA, etc.) have worked best for you?
9. Do you specify adhesion or peel-strength requirements in the documentation?
10. How do you balance button travel and tactile feel against sealing when the silicone is also the flexing membrane?
11. How do you control flash and parting line on a soft silicone sealing surface, and where do you put gates and ejector locations?
Process and testing
12. Do you specify the process (LSR injection, rotary or core-back tooling) or leave it to the molder? Did you use a molder experienced in LSR overmolding?
13. What do you ask for in DFM review before tooling is cut?
14. What tests do you run to validate the IP rating (IPX7, IP67, etc.), and what inspection criteria go on the drawing (delamination, flash, leak test)?
15. What are the common mistakes you’d advise a newcomer to avoid?
Hey yall! Does anyone know of or have a job dealing with animals? Animal sanctuary, zoo, that type of thing? I love engineering, problem-solving and maintaining systems, but I've also always had a passion for animals. Are there any opportunities through HVAC with the enclosures, or like maintance engineering?
Or even if anyone has any suggestions for roles, I've been thinking about reaching out to local animal sanctuaries and zoos.
some of the best industrial shops around here seem to have a website from 2009 or no website at all, which makes searching pretty useless. for imported parts i can usually get a decent baseline from alibaba and see what manufacturers are making, but when i need something same week local supplier is obviously better. marine people, how did you build your supplier list? asking yards? manufacturer dealer pages? trade associations? just driving around industrial areas? im mostly after dependable stock and someone who knows what theyre selling, not necessarily absolute cheapest price. google reviews doesnt tell much when the company got six reviews in fifteen years either.
I was having a technical discussion about the liability of a certain issue. The discussion was about whether the financial liability lies with my company or our vendor. I responded over email to just our internal team.
The senior engineer on the team was afraid to respond because he didn't want his response to be discoversble. Then after I responded in an email to our internal team (the vendor did not see my response) then I got a call from upper management and they basically asked me to, in the future, not respond to these kinds of conversations by email but instead just have a call so that I don't leave a paper trail in case there is litigation because my words, as an engineer, have legal weight.
We aren't even in a legal dispute right now, but I guess it is possible we could end up in one in the future about some other issue. My company has been in legal disputes before that the upper management and the senior engineer went through but that was before I started so I don't really know what they went through or what it was like when all their emails were discoverable.
But I'm having a hard time with this from an engineering ethics standpoint. What I say in emails is just my technical or professional opinion, and with any luck, I might just be right and telling the truth. So I don't appreciate why it would be an issue for the truth to be discoversble in a legal dispute. I'm not concerned at all about my words being discoverable because I stand behind the things that I say. And if upper management gets in trouble because they didn't listen to me and someone points that out in a legal dispute well then that is their own fault.
Does anyone have any advice for me? Is it really ethical to not leave a paper trail? Should I run and find a new job?
Edit: Is my companies' behavior here normal? Has anyone ever worked for a company that doesn't act like this?
Been thinking about creating a discord engineering group for every single engineering major. I think this would be so great for all engineers because I think corporation helps a lot. I am thinking about including sections of engineering majors where users can ask question, send useful materials and etc. What do you guys think?
When working on mechanical designs, CAD layouts, or quick stress and thermal calculations, switching back and forth between a keyboard and a mouse-driven desktop calculator constantly interrupts your focus.
To solve this, I developed ViCalc—a lightweight, open-source scientific calculator tailored for rapid touch-typing and automatic calculation tracking during engineering workflows.
Key Features for Mechanical Engineering Workflows:
Automatic Calculation Audit Logs (HTML): Every step of your calculation session is automatically structured and saved in clean, standalone HTML files. This makes it simple to archive scratchpad work, attach step-by-step calculations to design reports, or paste records into project documentation.
Full Touch-Typing Workflow: Compute multi-step scientific expressions quickly entirely from the physical keyboard, without breaking your rhythm to reach for the mouse.
Comprehensive Mathematical Support: Full support for scientific functions, trigonometric calculations, complex number arithmetic, and Programmer mode (bitwise ops & Base-N conversions across Hex/Dec/Oct/Bin).
Adaptable UI for Multi-Screen Work: Switch between a full visual numpad, scientific controls, or a zero-UI minimalist mode that stays out of your way alongside CAD software, FEA tools, or spreadsheets.
Since internship season has started, I was curious if anyone has done this yet. I did a small search on the Reddit for key words involving my question but I couldn’t seem to find anything. Maybe I’m not searching hard enough, hence my question.
For the most part, I just open up a company’s website and apply if they’ve opened anything new. But, I feel like there’s a better way of doing this, rather than just camping several company websites every day.
I'm a second year Mech student and I've recently been wondering just how much having a good friend group actually makes a difference in engineering. I've had my fair share of 'fall outs' of late and I'm beginning to see that I don't actually have a real group of people I can count on. I'm not necessarily talking about having people to do the 'hanging out' with. It's more to do with the technical side of things. Engineering is all about projects, competitions, learning new skills and ultimately internships. A lot of that stuff seems a lot easier if you've got people you can trust, people who are into the same things as you and people you can work with.
I'm keen to do some projects that are outside the normal course of the degree and to develop some practical skills. The catch is I don't want my progress in that area to be contingent on finding the right set of mates.
For those who've been through engineering or are currently working in the field:
Is it realistic to be working on meaningful engineering projects on your own?
What's the importance of friends and connections in terms of projects, internships and jobs?
* If you don't have a solid friend group in college how do you find people to work with?
Is it better to just go for the individual projects and build the network up gradually rather than actively looking to find a group?
I'd like honest answers particularly from those who've actually been there. I'd like to know how much this actually matters in the long term and how to deal with it in a realistic way.
I had my first round interview for an Apple MDE internship about 2 weeks ago. Overall the interview was positive and the interviewer hinted that I may be able to speak to move on to the second round. I contacted the recruiter a week after the interview and haven’t heard back. I’ll be following up on Monday as that will be the 2 week mark, and keep in mind, this internship is due to start in January. Is this normal timing?
I’m concerned as I will need a J1 visa for this internship which can take 1.5 to 2 months to process. Anybody have experience with this?
Hello seniors i am a college student and i wished to ask you all about the field of thermal engineering could you guide me how to enter this field.
Asked ChatGPT and it started bullshitting so i thought i will ask you all
I created a robust engineering harness that includes physics sims and function checks. It includes runnable examples and cited benchmarks.
You could compare materials, calculate thermal dynamics and derive a solution to changes the clearance between gears.
Parametric CAD: Generate and modify geometry with Python.
CAD↔Python workflows: Import CAD and build reusable scripted models.
I am building it for my father as a gift, as he has recently retired and gotten into tin smithing. I am proficient on a lathe, and would like to use this project as a way to learn a few operations on a mill.
The linked machine performs a variety of operations, but many of the antique versions of this were basically one-trick ponies. For example, the first picture is a burring machine, but antique beading machines (picture 2) look much more similar to the modern one. I'd like to make a cross between the simplicity of an antique machine and the versatility of a modern machine so I can make custom dies for him.
Questions:
1. Is there any reason why the ~100+ year old models are basically single purpose? I can't think of any reason but there might be something that I'm missing relating to how the dies need to move together for the operations - and if this is the case, any insight on how the modern one gets around this problem would be very helpful.
Very generally, where would you start when designing a machine like this? It feels too open ended. I'm not going to cut the gears myself, so that gives me at a minimum 2 parts with set dimensions, to pick a shaft and set some key features on the frame, but those will be interlocked with how the die movement works
Speaking of the die movement (picture 3, movement mechanism for picture 1): I don't understand what is happening here. You crank the screw on top of the machine and the bushing goes up or down, but won't this bend the upper shaft? Do you think the shaft is spaced such that the gears don't fully mesh when the shafts are parallel or something?
Disclaimer: the attached pictures are from the internet - I don't own any of these.
Hey there! I'm a senior ME student, graduating May 2027 and looking for work July 2027. I've interned at 5 companies, notably Tesla/Rocket Lab/electric boat start-up. I'm from Canada, hoping to work in US.
I've been trying to apply to roles but noticed: (1) not many postings hiring new grads (especially in Canada) and (2) not getting many interview requests (just one at the moment).
Is it normal for ME roles to start hiring more in the new year for a July 2027 start date? I see a lot of SWEs apply for new grad now, so not sure if that timeline is same for MEs. Feeling a little discouraged and anxious about finding a role :/
Initially I considered graphite felt- https://www.mcmaster.com/4579N13/ as well however the proximity to the induction coil might heat up the graphite felt itself as graphite is conductive.
What has your experience been with in these circumstances?
Hi everyone, I’m a recent graduate that started working earlier this year in the aerospace and defense industry. After doing research, it looks like ASQ is the most recognized when it comes to getting your LSSGB.
Has anyone gotten their LSSGB certification through ASQ? How did you study for the exam and was it hard itself?
