A mechanical engineering degree is really hard to earn. But for those who have the hearts and brains to take it, they can pass it successfully even though this engineering science has a lot of heavy subjects that not all of us can manage to understand.

Basically, not all young people who have passions in engineering do have an easy time choosing for their degrees in college because each course has so much to offer while providing more challenges every step of the way.

So to make things easier for these potential future engineers, the first thing they must consider is identifying their passions and interests and then they can be able to know which among the mechanical engineering branches best matches their goals. However, mechanical engineering is unique so it fits those who love to tinker with machines and have very analytical minds when it comes to fixing things.

Mechanical engineering basically focuses not only on machines as a whole but on dynamics, moving parts and systems. It has a very broad field that extends beyond the principles of civil engineering while it collaborates with electrical engineering mainly for systems operations and source of power.

They design machineries, parts and components which are utilized in the field of construction, transportation and also in auto manufacturing and automotive industries. They are experts in the use of Computer Aided Design (CAD) software and use Finite Element Analysis (FEA) in analyzing problems.

Students who have excellent performance in mechanical aptitude, have great interest in learning complex systems, engines, machines, dynamics and are very good in mathematics, physics, calculus and science subjects are the best candidates for mechanical engineering course. On the one hand, there are different branches under this course so students must know which of these match their interest.

So for the benefits of many high school students who want to become mechanical engineers and want to know which branches within mechanical engineering course they could want to venture on, here are their choices.

What are the Fields in Mechanical Engineering?

Here is a description of some of the major Mechanical Engineering Branches

• • Automotive Engineering:
    This is a popular broad branch of mechanical engineering and mainly focuses on innovating the car manufacturing industry. Its core components involve design and performance of vehicles.Automotive engineers are also experts on drive train engineering, engine tribology, engine combustion and vehicle dynamics. As a student, you will learn much about aerodynamics, power generation, crash safety, handling and suspension. So when you graduate and build your career you can work on car manufacturing companies and can help contribute in the modernization of vehicles.
  • Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineering:
    Aerospace engineers are the ones who revolutionize the aircraft and space vehicle industry. Their major roles are in designing, developing, constructing and testing of aircrafts. Aerospace engineering has two major branches and these are the aeronautical and astronautical engineering.The first is about researching and developing aircrafts that are for our air transportation. The latter is for the study and manufacturing of space aircrafts. As a student, you will be working on the design, construction and studying of the all forces and physical properties that deal with rockets, aircrafts and spacecrafts so if your interest is into these, aerospace engineering can suit you well.
  • Marine Engineering:
    Marine engineering is under mechanical engineering in the sense that its engineering science is applied on the production and maintenance of machines on ships, boats, oil rigs or any marine vessel.Marine engineers therefore are also designing marine vessels and also experts in mechanical and electrical engineering so they are also part of teams who create watercraft propulsion engines and in the automation and control systems found on all marine vehicles.As a student of marine engineering, other than the activities mentioned above, you will also study many components and processes that include the turbines, fuel systems, propulsion mechanics, lubrication, water distillation, electricity, power generation lighting, air conditioning and the procedures of operation, repair and maintenance of all mechanical and engineering structures that are on board the ships and even in submarines.
  • Mechatronics Engineering
    Better known simply known as mechatronics, mechatronics engineering is actually a combination of many aspects of engineering science which include mechanical engineering, computer engineering, electronic engineering, systems design engineering and control engineering.Because of its more complicated concepts, mechatronics engineers can be able to design and produce machines that are at the cutting edge technology. One example that they are mostly involved in is robotics which only very few companies are venturing on. So if you will be a student of mechatronics, you expect that you will have a very diversified learning over many engineering concepts.
  • Nuclear Engineering
    The main focus of nuclear engineers is on how to use the nuclear energy as a very powerful source of energy. It is the nuclear engineers who design, construct, operate and manage nuclear reactors so nuclear engineering course is mainly concerned with the study of nuclear reactions and radiation.As a student, you will definitely have an in-depth study about nuclear fusions, radiations, movements of atoms, fission and fusion energy and will experience on-site visits to nuclear power plants. Inside these plants are a lot nuclear physicists and engineers who are stationed to watch over and to supervise the operation of the nuclear plant.

While you know now the branches of mechanical engineering, you may now have an idea which engineering course you want to take. If you are really interested with mechanical systems and very good in mathematics and mechanics, then mechanical engineering course can be able to help you get an exposure to a wide range of subjects. In case you may want to transfer to another branch, you may also do so once you are already enrolled in mechanical engineering course.

So if you are now decided to take mechanical engineering course and know what to major among its branches, what you must think about now is choosing your college or university where learning mechanical engineering would be excellent.