Studying Mechanical Engineering

As its name suggests, mechanical engineering deals with design and production of machines. Machines come in all shapes and sizes—not only are they found in factories, but they also take the form of vehicles, air conditioners and power generators.

Mechanical engineers design, produce, maintain and recycle machines and devices that power our modern economies.

Some of the most popular universities in the United States that offer programmes in mechanical engineering include:

• University of St Thomas
• Central Oklahoma University
• New Jersey Institute of Technology
• University Of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Maryland University

Salary and Career Prospects

Mechanical engineers are employed by transport companies, electricity and power companies, utilities, mining companies, manufacturing sector, the government and academia.

Some of the roles they take up are Mechanical Engineer, Project Engineer, Process Engineer, Principal Test Engineer and Propulsion Support Engineer.

Salaries vary based on job role, industry, experience, qualifications, skills and location. As a guide, mechanical engineering professionals earn around $85,000 a year (60 lakhs INR).

Why study in USA?

The United States of America is the most popular destination for international students. Its universities are widely regarded as being among the best in the world for teaching, learning and research. In fact, American universities consistently outrank non-American universities in QS World Rankings every year.

The US economy is the world’s largest. The country is the birthplace of conglomerates like Amazon, Dell, Microsoft, Citi Group, Ford and Walmart. American companies operate in pretty much every sector or industry, ranging from IT and technology to pharmaceutical to retail, transport, and hospitality. Different regions of the United States are known for excelling in different industries. California, for example is a world-leading IT and technology hub and New York is a major business, banking and finance hub. In addition to this, several international agencies like the United Nations, World Bank are headquartered in USA.

The country is a popular tourist destination, with millions of tourists drawn to its vibrant cities, breathtakingly beautiful national parks and landscapes, excellent dining, hospitality and leisure options and historic buildings, museums and art galleries. New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle are among the biggest cities.

There is no language barrier because English is the de facto official language. However, USA is a multicultural country and several hundred languages are spoken at community level.

International graduates are able to apply for a post-study work permit, or optional practical training (OPT) as it is called in the States for a period of up to 36 months.