Where does your engineering heart belong?

Say your younger self knocked on your door asking for advice on their big decision, “What’s better, Mechanical or Electrical engineering?”

Whoa now there’s a deep topic, but it’s one I’ve been thinking about over the last week.

This one question has stumped me, how can you compare these two monoliths of engineering.

Mechanical:
To quote Columbia University – Mechanical engineering is the study of objects and systems in motion.
• Gears
• Linkages
• Screws
• Engines
• Springs
• Humans
• Work done
Using the principles of motion, energy and force, Mechanical engineers can design hardware to solve many problems.

Mechanical solutions tend to focus on infrastructure.

But it has limitations:
• Limited by available materials.
• Faces challenges in size and weight.
• Sensitive to external environmental conditions.

Electrical:
This is the study of electrical components, frequencies, voltage, currents and ampere.
• Motors
• Radar
• Navigation
• Communication
• Power generation
• Circuits
Using the principles of electricity, Electrical engineers can solve problems of a different nature.

Electrical solutions tend to focus on automation.

But it also has limitations:
• Complex circuits can be challenging.
• Some solutions may be power-hungry.
• Sensitivity to environmental factors is a consideration.

What do I think when it comes to Mechanical or Electrical engineering?

I’m old school, so I would side with Mechanical, there’s something about making a solution using only what’s around you that inspires me. That and the fact that I prefer the equations that govern mechanical engineering (to be fair you can actually translate mechanical formulas over to electrical ones like Voltage and Force).

With that it does become a preference as to which you side with, a lot of mechanical technologies have been transferred to their now electrical (or electronic) versions, like the smart phone replacing at least 20 old skool devices from the 80s which are now applications!

But this question is also dated, it doesn’t account for modern day solutions where the two disciplines have merged into Mechatronics. This is a field that has seen the most development over the last 20 years and even more so now with IoT, Industry 4.0 and AI really taken hold and using this technology in the form of:
• Robotics
• Drones
• Starships
• Planes
• EV’s
• Nano tech

Engineering is fast become a multi-function field, where engineers in the 21st Century will have several fields of knowledge that they use (I personally use electronics, Arduinos, program in VBA and dabble in AM), this means links between all the old fields and the newer ones will enable different solutions, which gets me excited.

If I could advise my younger self today on the battle between Mechanical and Electrical engineering :
I’d say dive into Mechatronics. In this evolving field, the best of both worlds come together, preparing engineers for a tech-rich future.

What’s your opinion?

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