Should You Do Mechanical Engineering or Software Engineering?
2 Big Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Choose...
Hej Fresh Engineers,
I have some exciting news: My engineering career quiz is finally out! đĽł
The quiz asks you 10 questions to help you figure out which types of engineering might suit you best. You can take it HERE.
I coded the quiz using HTML, CSS and JavaScript. If you want to look at my code (you nerd đ¤), you can click on the link at the bottom of the website which will take you to my Github. If youâre new to coding and unsure how to get started, you can check out how I got started myself.
What quiz results did you get? How can I improve the quiz? What do you want me to build next? Let me know by replying to this email!
Now, letâs dive deeper into two of the most popular types of engineering that couldnât be more different from each otherâŚ
2 Questions to Decide Between Mechanical & Software Engineering
I often get asked how to decide between mechanical engineering and software engineering. The two fields are quite different in terms of what kinds of products you work with, what you do day-to-day, and how easily you can switch to the other field if you change your mind later. I decided to break all of this down into 2 questions you can ask yourself to make this decision:
Do you want to work with hardware or software? And are you okay with the consequences that has? Software engineers work with software products like websites, apps and computer programs. You can work with these products from any computer. This is why software engineers can have a lot of flexibility in terms of from where they work. In theory, you can do you this work from anywhere, including your home or any other place in the world that has internet. You wonât need to travel to the product because the product is always there. (That doesnât mean all companies provide this flexibility but at least the product would allow for it). Mechanical engineers work with hardware products like cars, houshold appliances, mechanical components and factories. To interact with these products, you need to be there in person. Not all tasks related to these hardware products need to be done in person, but there are many tasks that need to. To become an excellent mechanical engineer, you need to get an understanding of how the theoretical work you do, such as product design or calculations, translates into the physical product. Youâre unlikely to ever be able to do your work fully remotely, and definitely not from the start of your career. You need to gain a certain amount of hands-on experience before you can do theoretical work without physically working with the product. Software engineering is more flexible to be done from anywhere - but also involved more time spent in front of a computer screen. Mechanical engineering cannot be done from anywhere because there is always a physical product to work with - but working with a physical product can also be a lot of fun.
How sure are you of what you want, really? Itâs infinitely harder to move from software engineering to mechanical engineering than vice versa. There are 3 main reasons for this: (1) Mechanical engineering teaches you the basics of math and coding, so you already have a foundation to build on if you ever decide to transition into software engineering. Software engineering does not teach you about mechanics or other physics principles that build the foundation of mechanical engineering, so it will be harder to get started. (2) The resources for learning mechanical engineering outside of university are very limited, so it will be almost impossible to self-study. For software engineering, you can find tons of online resources and bootcamps, so it is very possible to teach yourself. (3) Self-taught software engineers are widely accepted (not in all companies but in many). Mechanical engineering is a very old, traditional industry that values university degrees more than other industries. Self-taught mechanical engineers are not really a thing and would be met with a lot of scepticism. If youâre completely torn between the two, I recommend to try out mechanical engineering first and switch to software engineering if it doesnât work out because the other way around will be much harder.
I hope that these questions give you a new perspective from which to compare the two engineering disciplines and enable you to take a more confident decision.
But if this makes you overthink even more, remember that your engineering major doesnât matter as much as you think. Youâre in charge of your career and your university major is just the first step. You can still go anywhere with the next step. And the step after that. So just take your best guess in the beginning, stay curious and keep checking in with yourself.
I hope you have a great rest of the week!
Cheers, Anna â¨
đ What Iâm Reading
80.000 Hours: Find a Fulfilling Career That Does Good by Benjamin Todd and the 80.000 Hours Team. 80.000 Hours is a non-profit with the mission to help you figure out how to best spend the 80.000 hours you have in your career. You can get the paper version of the book mailed to you for free if you sign up for their newsletter. I was sceptical of a free book but it actually worked AND the book is amazing! Here are my main takeaways: (1) You spend a lot of hours on your career, so itâs important to spend those hours doing something fulfilling that makes an impact on the world. (2) A fulfilling job consists of work youâre good at that helps others, is engaging, has supportive colleagues, doesnât have major negatives like long hours or unfair pay, and fits your personal life. (3) You can make the biggest impact with your career by working on problems that are neglected and have a large scale but that are solvable and fit your personal interests and skills. (4) If youâre early in your career, itâs important to take advantage of opportunities to invest in yourself and build up flexible âcareer capitalâ that will be useful in the future, even as the world changes. This is the best book Iâve read on career planning so far!
đŹÂ My Latest Video
Engineering Career Tests Are Out of Control⌠As inspiration for my own engineering quiz, I took a bunch of online career tests. Some of them asked me really bizarre questions, so I just HAD to make a video reacting to them. Hope you enjoy! đ¤Ł
đ Want to Be a Guest on My Podcast?
Iâm currently recording the first season of the Fresh Engineer Podcast where fresh engineers* share their stories. Our mission is to help future engineers understand what engineers really do and the many different career options they have. If youâd like to be a guest on the podcast and share your engineering journey, you can apply here.
đ Join the Discord Community
Want to connect with other engineers & future engineers from around the world? Join my discord server âThe Fresh Engineer Club đâ. Itâs free and itâs fresh (lol). Let's help each other turn those fresh lemons that engineering life throws at you into sweet, sweet lemonade of success. đš