RacinReaver

I'd say you'd be more expected to have had experience with Legos, Tinkertoys, and K'Nex. Anything above that is probably considered a bonus.

I'd recommend trying to take a woodshop/metalshop class as soon as possible, though. At my school, those classes were reserved for MechE, art, and architecture majors, and they were in pretty high demand. I had wanted to take one, since knowing those sorts of things are good skills for life, but unfortunately I couldn't.

BoelterHall

It's not expected, but it is very helpful if you know SOME. That's because if you don't know anything, you probably won't have the initiative to join some mechanical project clubs. But you're fine if you don't join these clubs; they're for your interest in learning.

I was in the same position as you, started ME and didn't know how any engines work, or simple mechanisms.

A basic pre-knowledge, special interest or specialization in a mechanical device or category can help you in courses .. not a whole lot of advantage, and not necessary though.

For example, in CAD, you may be asked to create an isometric view of anything. If someone was interested in a motorcycle and knew how everything works and all the components, then he/she will ace that assignment. Otherwise, you can still apply the theory and still get the same result (if you had no experience), but it will just take longer.

nshah9617

Prior knowledge needed?

Absolutely not--you will learn it all through your course work.

YOU

I am not a hands-on person.. can I still ace ME?

mydegisunacred

I dont think you really have to make anything except for an intro design project, and a senior design project. Most everything is theoretical

TheAnomaly101

Engineering deals with concepts and thinking.

What they do (most schools do this) is cram a ton of knowledge into your head. I'm talking about physics, chemistry, dynamics, thermo, structural design, etc. The fourth year of college you usually do design projects, this is where you get to apply all your knowledge to design something.

There won't be much hands-on experience in class, but you can always take part in extracurricular activities or take separate classes.

Being hands-on isn't the issue, you have to develop thinking and designing skills. The physical hands-on things you will learn by practice and in labs, but the conceptual part makes up most of engineering.

silverbullet

IMO, the car guys who can build engines and understand them fully, have a leg up in Mechanical Engineering, especially when it comes to thermo, and dynamics. At many times, i visualize certain parts inside a car to get a mental image of something happening and relating that to a HW or in class problem.

After understanding basic thermo properties, analysis of stresses, dynamics, fluids and equilibrium; you would be surprised at how much more you know about a car than your average mechanic. While a mechanic's job is to replace/align components, and troubleshoot issues, their knowledge of why something does something is very limited to "so and so said..." and "i read on this forum...", etc.

aibarr

To get through E&M, I visualized electrons as water molecules and circuits as networks of hoses. Doesn't mean I'm a plumber.

Snark aside, I think a basic understanding of how a car works would probably be to everyone's advantage. The goings-on of an internal combustion engine aren't spectacularly mysterious, and I think that if a beginning mechanical engineering student has even a basic understanding of what stuff in an engine does (I'm nearly certain there's a wikipedia article that would provide sufficient knowledge), then I think that basic understanding would give enough of a basis of practical knowledge that they'd be able to take advantage of the automotive mental images that you speak of.

wobudong

Car knowledge is also useful for med students. Car parts and people parts play similar systems roles, e.g., the nervous system, dissected and lying on a table, looks remarkably similar to a wiring harness--because that is essentially what it is.

*Brahmin

what are the industries that involve mechanical engineering?? Can mechanical engineers be well placed in computer-related and electronics-related industries?