Yeah, generally I completely agree with you. Sometimes, with startups, or smaller companies it's not possible to have this kind of specialisation though, but overall I think you're totally right.

 

With startup it is also possible to have a specialist for everything. That’s what startups have actually they have 3 to 4 specialists and the rest as interns, so the interns work under the specialist, sometimes they work independently too.

The efficiency of designing is high this way, the specialists only help the interns when they are in dire need of help and this way some specialists can take upto 3 or 4 interns. Interns cost less to hire, and specialists don’t want to work for startups so they have a shortage of those. For interns, companies usually hire fresh graduates or students in their final year so they have plenty of those.

This way both the startup company and the interns are happy. Interns get jobs and start ups save money. The hard part for the startup is to keep their specialists. And they end up paying a lot for those. Unless the owner and co owner or startup partners are themselves specialists.

 

The internet has opened up a whole array of opportunities for those looking to outsource various skills. There are literally millions of sites which can put you in touch with everything from graphic designers to content writers, prototype builders to marketing people and everything else. The trick is to find someone you can trust at the right price - not necessarily the cheapest price. In this online world you still get what you pay for

 

Regarding your knowledge:
Mechanical design engineer cannot and should not know everything =)
You need to know where to find the answers to all the questions in which you are incompetent, this is what distinguishes a professional from an intern.
The first and basic rule in the work of an
mechanical design engineer r is to precisely formulate a technical building. For example, you have received a vague technical task, but you are a professional and it means that you can formulate the right questions in order to get an exhaustively accurate task. The correct technical task will eliminate a huge number of errors at the stage of starting work.
Mistakes are inevitable. "Only he who does nothing makes no mistakes."
Now I work in a startup, this is my second experience of this kind of work.
The first time I worked as an intern at the post of intern, I did not work there very long =).
Now many years later I participate in a startup as a chief engineer.

 

Whatever type of job you’re in there is a degree of management and practical work. The business world is littered with individuals who believed they could do everything only to find otherwise. I also strongly believe that the day you stop learning is the day your career comes to an end. Even the most innovative, clever and practical people make mistakes, it is how you learn and how you recover from these mistakes which separates achievers from non-achievers.

 

I feel like I am starting to loose interest in educational engineering. I would like to work for a company which is producing or maintaining products. But I am in a dilemma, after so many years trying to shape my way into the academia I don’t know if it’s a good idea to try and change now. Also, if I don’t like the kind of jobs that I am going into would it be possible to come back to an academic work life?

 

Yeah, I completely agree, I want to add from myself: a person learns all his life until his death. If a person stops studying, he will die as a person, and the funeral is just a formality =)
Ideally, a person should learn from the mistakes of others, but as a rule, everyone learns from his own)

 

MSHOfficial - so you're working in industry and you want to work in a more academic job?
What is it that appeals to you about that? Is it the type of work, the working environment etc?

 

According to me , Mechanical engineer should be well aware of what goes around in the world of technology. As it may help to update oneself for better knowledge.

 

Interesting conversation.

I think that it is not necessary to have knowledge about everything, but I do believe that it is necessary to have the ability to reason with scientific criteria, have methods of problem-solving, ability to solve problems under any circumstances and ability to learn and quickly understand any subject or situation that occurs.

In an era where all knowledge is on the internet, I think that it is more necessary to know what to do with that information, generate solutions and create from that knowledge. That, even, I think that is what differentiates us from artificial intelligence (so far), the ability to have a more acute criterion.

I also think you should have knowledge and experience with 2D and 3D CAD software packages. High attention to detail. An innovative mind to find efficient, cost-effective design solutions. Dedication towards work and taking pride in design projects carried out. The passion to learn new skills and develop new design techniques. A thorough attitude towards their work, leaving no room for doubt in a finalized design.

Now, strictly concerning the mechanical design, designing is a very high skilled, creative and one of the important function in any type of manufacturing/assembly industry. Without proper, accurate drawings no products can be manufactured or assembled.

Mechanical Engineers need to know the following things.

Have full knowledge of engineering materials including their compositions, properties, limitations for their usage.

Heat treatment of materials is also to be understood in depth. The design engineer should be able to guide in selecting the material for a specific use. This is possible by reading and understanding the subjects 'Applied Mechanics', 'Strength of Materials'.
I need to prepare a sketch of the mechanism/system which can satisfy customer's requirement. Fix the dimensions/specifications of elements tentatively.

Check out what outcomes meet your requirement. Analyze the mechanisms/systems. calculate the stresses induced by the members. Check for the sustainability of the components. If, failing, modify the design. Over-design is acceptable than the failure of the mechanism/system.
He should be master in the manufacturing and assembly processes. Also, keep updating the latest technology in engineering practices.
Finalize your design using maximum standard parts available in the market. This will help you in controlling the cost of your product.
He should be prepared the manufacturing drawings from draftsman giving all details of materials, hardness, machining symbols, tolerances, any other important notes. Drawings should be with zero defects.
The designed product must have functions which satisfy the current situation and requirements of all industries. The product design must comprise the materials which are readily available in the market.