Below is a brief exercise to find out your suitability in the role of Mechaical Engineer
To find out if you fit the role of a Mechanical Engineer, you could make up a table in your notebook like the following example to manage your in-depth career research effort. Create a chart like this for each career you research fully. Investigate the three major design areas :
- Natural Gifts
- Subject Matter and Meaning
- Workplace Environment
Please note : The below exercise can be performed on any Career.
CAREER TITLE : MECHANICAL ENGINEER
| Research Steps | Natural Gifts and Job Functions | Subject Matter and Meaning | Workplace Environment |
| Unknowns | Not sure if I have the right talents to excel in this field | Not sure if I care about the problems that mechanical engineers solve | Not sure what kinds of companies hire mechanical engineers |
| Questions |
Whom can I talk with to learn what talents are needed in this field? How do I know whether I have the right talents? What job functions do they typically perform? Am I into building things? |
What are the major problems they solve and niche areas they work in? What industries hire mechanical engineers? Why am I attracted to this field? What am I trying to get out of it? |
Which are the innovative companies and where are they geographically? What type of company do my talents and personality traits fit best with? |
| Resources and Research to Do | Talk to three college professors and at least five engineers. Find a career coach, get my aptitudes professionally measured. Read engineering journals and Web sites. Visit an engineering library on campus. | Find professional associations: get recommendations for books to read. Read books to seam about the niches and problems solved in this field. Think about my true motivations; get clear why I would care to do this kind of work. What are my meta-goals here? | Read online blogs about engineering companies and their work environments. Volunteer to work in an engineering company, apply for an internship. Talk to recent grads near my age to get an insider's perspective. |
| Answers and findings | Mechanical engineers are high in spatial orietntation and analytical reasoning. Most are strong introverts with logical, practical mind-sets. I would be in my element in this field. | A large percentage of jobs in this field are in the aerospace, home appliance, and automotive industries. I love cars and am very excited about helping to develop on alternative-fuel engine. | Work environments vary widely; it depends on whether they are innovating new products or mass-producing them. I am an innovator, so a small, dynamic firm that designs new products is where I would fit best. |
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