[randytandy]

There are always newspaper titles saying "we need more engineers", "where are all the engineers" or something similar.

To answer that. It's simple. The pay is bad.

We study for 4-5 years to get an Mech engineering degree and are promised 80K AUD+ starting salary (by many Australian universities).

The truth is you end up in debt whilst being removed from the work force for 4-5 years while studying. And you end up earning 40K AUD a year maybe a random few might earn 80K a year.

You end up in a position where you are highly trained and educated just to do CAD file translations. Surrounded by people who are not trained or educated who earn just as much or more then you.

Most Mechanical engineers (if smart) leave engineering and go to finance/software. I'd agree that the world needs more engineers to build things and make things more efficient and automated but the world wants and rewards administration and bureaucracy.

[iancmceachern]

I've made a career as a mechanical engineer. My experience has been the opposite of yours, actually, it's been similar.

I've worked at companies that had positions and work cultures like you describe. I've also worked at amazing positions with extraordinary cultures and compensation.

I've been told multiple times, by multiple people that "your smart, you should go into finance". Each time it was right before a big crash, where finance bros were looking for work.

Over the years I've focused on keeping myself busy working on new things, learning new skillsets, and bettering myself. It doesn't really matter that specific discipline you practice, if you are the kind of person that continuously adds to and refines their skills and track record of delivering, that person is then able to charge a premium for that skillset. It doesn't matter if your a jeweler, writer, chef, mechanical engineer.

All this to say, I'm a mechanical engineer, I've designed a ton of cool things, I do it every day. I deeply love it, and get better at it every day because I want to.

I have been fortunate to also have risen above the negatives the commenter above mentioned (low pay, lack of upward mobility, working on not fun stuff like file transitions or whatever). I started in a lower opportunity area, worked my way up through those types of jobs, was able to move myself and my family to a higher opportunity area (SF bay area in my case) and now I lead the design and company building efforts l, do thebfun stuff and contract out the boring stuff like file transitions and sheet metal manufacturing to companies in lower cost of living, lower cost to do business, lower opportunity areas.

All this to say I think that each technical discipline you can choose outside of academia focused things, has pretty equal opportunity, it's far less of a factor than the other factors in your career like location and the types of companies you are working at.

[randytandy]

Thats great to hear iancmceachern.

"I'm a mechanical engineer, I've designed a ton of cool things, I do it every day. I deeply love it, and get better at it every day because I want to."

is a perfect example to as why anyone should pursue mechanical engineering. It's because you love it and managed to be compensated well.

[cosmodisk]

I dropped out from mechatronics studies. I don't think I was mature enough to study at that age. The course was designed to take in about 100 people each year with about 20% eventually expected to graduate. I don't think I remember anyone who could say they made it in the field. A friend became a director in a manufacturing company but the stuff they make would require no more than half a year of mechanics studies.. Potentially very interesting field with very few ending up doing something exciting.

[NoPicklez]

I think the first part of your post is mostly true of most people who go to University.

But it's similar to IT, there are many IT and engineering jobs that pay well, but some of us simply don't get up in them for whatever reason. You could be a mining engineer working in the mines and get paid a staggering amount and not working any overtime.

[cosmodisk]

I think the problem is not just the quality of jobs, but the number too. Even in advanced economies like Germany, where they make tons of stuff, the need for mechanical engineering isn't nowhere as high as it is for software developers. You get a small number of really talented people and other just do CAD or some assembly line stuff.

[Mageek]

the prompt wasn’t questioning why there aren’t more - it was asking where they hang out online.

[randytandy]

The question is in the title. I addressed the title, but what I said still applies. There are less Mech engineers to hang out online because they swap to other fields.

I understand what you are saying but this is also a comment. No one is obliged to answer someones prompt when commenting.

Also my comment was based on my own experiences and the experiences of my peers. Out of a cohort of 300 engineers by the end of the course 80 to 90% dropped. Now when ever I meet someone who wants to go into engineering I tell them to step back do your own research, consider the ROI and determine if you want to do it because you love engineering or if you just want to make money.

[iancmceachern]

I am one, I hang out here, Hackaday, the sparkfun and adafruit blogs, there is a solid design focused blog thing called "solidsmack". There is a cool podcast "being an engineer" (I'm one of the guests!).

[ojl]

If they end up doing software they probably hang out here ;) The other ones, I have no idea.

[blopp99]

Maybe Hackaday and its forums

[b20000]

sounds exactly like software engineering / compsci