Hello everyone!! I am confused to choose a career between industrial design or mechanical design. Let me say about my situation to u. Right from my childhood i love to see how things work and make changes if necessary in those toys or machines. So seeing this interest I chose to pursue bachelor in mechanical engineering. Right now I am in the final year in B.E (mech). In these four years of degree I have noticed following points in me to be a designer. 1.I don't like calculations(forces,FEA etc in designing. 2.I don't like to play with colors and there looks. 3.I like to be creative with products or machines. 4.I like ergonomics. 5.I like creating on CAD softwares.etc 6.I am curious to know all things but find it difficult to remember them. 7.I like the functioning of machines pr products. So overall I want to choose a career where there is creativity. I want to choose a field and do further studies or job in that field and I am confused to choose between product design or mechanical design. Which field can give me satisfaction? Help me.
The field you are looking for does not exist. I say that because I have retired as a mechanical design engineer at Bell Laboratories after 30 years in new product development as a Distinguished Member Of Technical Staff. At Bell Laboratories there are two classes of design engineers, electrical, and physical. Physical design engineers,(mechanical engineers), are responsible for all aspects of the products that are not electrical design. They include: design of sheet metal product enclosures, plastic parts, cabling and wiring, labeling, material selection, mechanical drawings, installation documents, agency certification (UL, etsi, etc), basically everything but electrical design. Also included are customer presentations of new designs and review of high level architectural documents. My point being that no one likes all of the tasks that you are required to do. The biggest impact on what you like to do is who you will work for. For instance: if you like piping design look for a job at an oil company, If you like ergonomics look at a company that design office equipment or furniture, If you like complex mechanical assemblies look at companies that design aircraft etc. The most important aspect of what you will actually be doing is based on what the company you work for does.
I think you will change your the first and second opinions. I'm mech design engineer for 5 years, and I like what I do. Every year your experience will grow up, and your scope will be expanded.
You need a few years in various organizations/industries to get exposure to what is out there and the chemistry of various organizations. I worked in various Engineering positions and even Manufacturing Supervision over 16 years and acquired a great deal of hands-on experience. This prepared me for a 14 year stent at Medtronic as the Manager of Equipment Engineering. The experiences there propelled me into my own business since 1999. Learn as much as you can in all facets of business. Take risks. Never give up. Always have a positive attitude. You'll know it when the time is right.
