Mechanical engineers design power plants, airplanes, spacecraft, automobiles, heating and air-conditioning systems, conveyors, recreation equipment and elevators. They are employed as environmental engineers, nuclear engineers, and railway engineers. Mechanical engineers are involved in development of technologies for solar and wind energy and exciting new areas like micro-machines. They work in industry, consulting practice, government, and universities. They may work in classrooms, factories, offices, laboratories, or testing facilities as teachers, managers, designers, or researchers. Some mechanical engineers work in sales and product quality control or equipment maintenance. Many hold managerial positions in their companies. Whether working on an oil rig or in corporate headquarters, mechanical engineers are solving the technical problems of today and tomorrow. Mechanical engineers touch almost every aspect of our lives.

While civil engineers build bridges and tunnels, it is the mechanical engineer who provides the mechanisms and systems for drawbridges and ventilation systems for tunnels. Similarly, the chemical engineer develops new plastics, coatings, and adhesives, while the mechanical engineer uses these in the design of new equipment. Electrical engineers build computers and develop software while the mechanical engineer incorporates these into control systems or designs of computer printers and other accessories.

Some mechanical engineers work in areas not usually considered the domain of the engineer. Biomechanical engineers, for example, form a specific sub-discipline of mechanical engineering. The biomechanical engineer cooperates with physicians and veterinarians to design aids and instruments used in the anatomical treatment of humans or animals.

The demand for engineers, in general, and mechanical engineers, in particular, has been very high for the past several years, and average starting salaries are very competitive with other disciplines. Indications are that this trend will continue. MSU's mechanical engineering graduates are actively recruited, and many of our alumni hold high ranking positions in academia, industry and, government.

For more information on Mechanical Engineering at Montana State University, send a request via Email or write to:

Information
Department of M&IE
220 Roberts Hall
Bozeman, MT 59717

 

 

Please send any questions or comments to mieinfo@montana.edu.