8 Tips On How To Pass Mechanical Engineering

It’s important that you understand the exact steps and frameworks on how to pass mechanical engineering.

Mechanical Engineering is a very hard discipline – it requires understanding of mechanical systems, mathematics, and fulfilling customer requirements.

March 2, 2024 by Kazu Fujimoto

Take math and physics courses in high school

If you’re a high school student and want to get into mechanical engineering, take as many math and physics courses as you can. This will get you both an early start to mechanical engineering and you’ll figure out if you want to pursue it or not.

You’ll notice that math and physics courses are relatively more difficult than other courses, especially at the AP level. Take as many AP classes as you can to lighten up your course load in college.

Make sure you take good notes, practice problems, and always ask questions whenever you’re stuck. Don’t be afraid to put longer hours in or ask the teacher for any extra assistance.

Have mechanical engineering projects such as robotics

In your spare time, add some mechanical engineering projects underneath your belt.

The best mechanical engineers in the industry are those who are into machinery such as cars, motorcycles, or robotics. The best ones always seem to have something to do on the side associated with mechanical engineering.

Form Study Groups

Form study groups with your colleagues – whether you’re in high school, college, or university. Forming study groups will allow you to collaborate with others and is a great way to learn about subject matter.

You’ll also get opportunities to teach people things that they don’t know or ask other students for things you don’t know the answer to.

Sometimes, it’s easier to understand concepts when students explain it as opposed to a teacher because students have a better understanding of how they learn.

Teachers sometimes aren’t the best at explaining things, because at their level, the subject matter just comes to them. They will forget the problem solving mindset that it took to attain the knowledge in the first place, which is what students understand.

Join mechanical engineering clubs such as Formula or BAJA SAE

We highly recommend to join engineering clubs such as Formula or BAJA SAE. Benefits of joining engineering clubs is that you get to meet like minded individuals, network, add a solid project to your resume, and build your engineering skillset.

There are various parts of building an engineering product in a club that mimic how things are done in the industry. Things such as coordinating manufacturing, team meetings, designating part numbers for your project are all practices that are done in the industry.

Get a head start on what the industry is like by joining a solid engineering club.

Some engineering clubs we recommend are:

• BAJA SAE
• Formula SAE
• Mars Rover
• Robotics
• Satellites

Any of the clubs that are associated with building the above will be solid as a mechanical engineer.

Get a mechanical engineering internship

Getting a mechanical engineering internship will set you up for success. You will also meet other interns, meet real time engineers, and get your foot in the door regarding the industry.

Make sure to do well in your internship.

An internship in mechanical engineering will also tell you how the real world is like – how business is done, parts are designed, deadlines are met, etc. This will set you up for success as you transition into an entry level job right after college.

Have a solid mechanical engineering resume

Your mechanical engineering resume is the gateway for future jobs.

At minimum, your resume needs to detail:

• Education
• Experience
• Skills

If you’re weaker on experience, simply add the projects you’ve taken in university. Projects are a great way to showcase your mechanical engineering skillset. Add projects such as robotics, programming, welding, machining, fabrication to your resume if you can’t fill up the space on your resume.

Additionally, if you still need more space on your resume, add mechanical engineering coursework.

Use our recommended resume format and start filling out your mechanical engineering resume.

Develop mechanical reasoning skills for engineering interviews

Understand what a mechanical engineering interview will consist of and make sure you’re prepared.

The type of technical questions that are asked in mechanical engineering jobs are the topics that you cover in Weeks 1-3 of your lecture classes. None of the crazy long computations will be covered, but more so general understanding of engineering definitions and mechanical design will be enough.

Develop understanding of these concepts in mechanical engineering to be ready for interviews:

• Understanding mechanical free body diagrams in real time
• Power cycles that you cover in Thermodynamics classes
• Heat transfer examples and methods
• Beam deflection
• Tensile testing and associated mechanical properties
• Stress, Strain, Yield Strength, Ultimate Tensile Strength
• Fatigue
• Geometry and physics

If you develop an understanding in those subjects regarding mechanical engineering, then you will be fine and succeed in interviews.

If you come across a question that you don’t know in mechanical engineering, do not say “I don’t know”. Instead, tell the interviewer that you don’t know the answer to the question, but explain your reasoning as to what you think the answer is.

Interviewers love to gauge your problem solving abilities by asking you questions you don’t know, and seeing what your critical reasoning is. They do this because, in the engineering industry, you will be stumbled upon many problems that you don’t have the answer to and you’ll need solid problem solving skills to tackle these road blocks.

Live a balanced life

Hugely underrated tip to succeed as a mechanical engineer long term. You need to live a balanced life. Your life can’t solely consist of designing, testing, or analysis.

You need to get out once in awhile, enjoy time with your friends and family, and take period breaks.

It always seems to be go go go. Although this type of mentality can work in the short term, long term this will lead to burnout.

The goal is to avoid burnout as much as possible and to do so you need to implement practices that are sustainable long term.

Now you know how to pass mechanical engineering. It’s not going to be easy, and it’s going to be alot of work, but make sure to take these steps and this will make it so much easier.

Want a comprehensive guide on how to become a mechanical engineer?

See: How To Become A Mechanical Engineer (Comprehensive)