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blade02 · 03-20-2009, 01:44 PM

I graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. As the others have pointed out, it is a very broad field. I work in the defense industry. My town is mostly missiles and radars, so almost everything I've had experience with has 3 sides to the equation: mechanical, aerospace, and electrical. Those 3 tend to make up the main elements of the weapon itself. After that you have supporting elements such as systems engineering (almost all modern weapons are a "system" of some sort, and the US Army LOVES "systems of systems") manufacturing, quality control, etc.

I'd suggest going with a government position. Either in a test group, or a Project Executive Office (PEO).
A government test branch operates to ensure that the contractors are supplying quality weapon systems. A test branch will have you out on ranges, designing and setting up tests, then conducting them. You won't do any design of the weapon systems, but you'll get to see a lot of variety.

A PEO is in charge of overseeing the development and deployment of new weapon systesm, and the maintenance of existing weapon systems. A PEO works with the contractors to create design specs, set up tests, and tries to perform the impossible task of keeping projects on time and on budget. In a PEO you experiance a wide range of work, from going out to the test ranges to ensure the systems are being tested to the proper standards, working with the manufacturer to keep old systems fielded and operating, to working with the manufacturer to ensure that the next generation system will meet the needs of the military.

03-20-2009, 01:44 PM	#7 (permalink)
blade02 Insane	I graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. As the others have pointed out, it is a very broad field. I work in the defense industry. My town is mostly missiles and radars, so almost everything I've had experience with has 3 sides to the equation: mechanical, aerospace, and electrical. Those 3 tend to make up the main elements of the weapon itself. After that you have supporting elements such as systems engineering (almost all modern weapons are a "system" of some sort, and the US Army LOVES "systems of systems") manufacturing, quality control, etc. I'd suggest going with a government position. Either in a test group, or a Project Executive Office (PEO). A government test branch operates to ensure that the contractors are supplying quality weapon systems. A test branch will have you out on ranges, designing and setting up tests, then conducting them. You won't do any design of the weapon systems, but you'll get to see a lot of variety. A PEO is in charge of overseeing the development and deployment of new weapon systesm, and the maintenance of existing weapon systems. A PEO works with the contractors to create design specs, set up tests, and tries to perform the impossible task of keeping projects on time and on budget. In a PEO you experiance a wide range of work, from going out to the test ranges to ensure the systems are being tested to the proper standards, working with the manufacturer to keep old systems fielded and operating, to working with the manufacturer to ensure that the next generation system will meet the needs of the military.