Mechanical engineering is one of the broadest engineering disciplines. Mechanical engineers design, develop, build, and test products that move or are used in manufacturing. They may specialize in a particular field of mechanical engineering such as automotive engineering, industrial machinery, or robotics.

A mechanical engineer typically has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or an equivalent degree from an accredited university. Mechanical engineers are licensed by individual states and provinces but they are not required to be licensed by the federal government.

They must be registered in their respective state/province of practice.A mechanical engineering degree typically requires four years of full-time study, which amounts to a total of 240 credits. Mechanical engineers are required to take structural analysis, kinematics, and dynamics; fluid dynamics; thermodynamics and heat transfer; materials science; controls engineering design; manufacturing processes design; machine theory and applications. In addition to a standard degree in mechanical engineering, some programs may require several pre-professional courses.