<p>So at my school, we have to take [at least] 4-5 technical electives for mechanical engineering. Next year will be when I am starting to take them.</p>
<p>I am wondering if anyone here who has graduated and working as an engineer has any advice on selecting technical electives, and whether or not they define your career path. If I am interested in one particular field, should I take most of my TE’s in that subject matter, or is it better to spread the TE’s around each field (ie: fluids, thermo, control, electrical, etc). Conversely, would spreading TE’s different subjects be bad since you don’t really get an indepth understanding of one field?
Thanks</p>
<p>Take what you’re interested in. If you are set on a certain field, take courses in that field and learn about it. If you’re still interested in that upon graduation, then you’ll have a good background and be a stronger applicant for companies in that field. You won’t be necessarily restricted when looking for work, but you’ll have to do some extra learning if you switch to a field that you have no background in, of course. Plus, it will be harder to set yourself apart as a candidate, but it can be done. </p>
<p>If you don’t quite know what you’re interested in, feel free to spread the TE’s across subjects to see what you like. Your undergraduate academic experience does have an impact on what job opportunities you have, but your TE’s are usually not a large factor. And I’m pretty sure once you get your first job, it is that experience that overshadows your college education in terms of what doors can open up next. </p>
<p>If you are interested in one branch of ME then that is where your electives would be most useful. Another plan would be to take 2 or 3 in the area you are interested and 2 in a complimentary area. Having some knowledge outside your primary field is many times useful although I found that I could usually pick up enough on the job by talking to the experts in those fields.</p>
<p>I have taken required courses covering the fields of Mechanics, Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, Solid Mechanics, numerical methods/programming, Linear Circuits + Control, CAD Design, engineering models with statistics/partial diff eq/linear algebra…</p>
<p>The subjects that the TE’s cover are:
Environmental engineering
Fluid/Thermal Engineering
Design
Dynamic Systems and Control
Mechanics/Structural Engineering
Materials Engineering</p>
<p>I’ve heard that systems and control is a very sought after quality in the industry…</p>
<p>It’s sought after for systems and controls engineers. If you want a career in fluids then that is certainly more valuable. If you want a career
In materials, then that is more valuable. It’s all about the job you want to get.</p>
<p>That’s what he’s saying. Choose electives that give you skills and knowledge for you to apply to your field of interest. If at a job interview related to that field and the interviewer asks of your competence of a certain thing, you can at least say that you took the course and have at least a basic understanding of it from that course.</p>
<p>Your experience may differ from mine, but no one cared where I work what technical electives I took. I just what I thought would be the most interesting classes possible while filling the requirements. </p>
<p>It really depends on the job, though. For the more technical jobs, it helps to have experience in those specific topics for the job. If you have classes, it is one of those things that can get you the interview since they know you are not completely brand new to the field.</p>