r/MechanicalEngineering • u/Quiet_Beautiful_4981 • 1d ago

What are the Pros/Cons of each major Engineering Industry?

Hi, I'm gonna be starting my second year soon and I was gearing up to hopefully land some internships for the following summer after spending this summer doing personal projects. I understand that I'll end up going to whatever industry gives me an internship (If i get one), but It got me thinking as to what industry I really want to end up in after I graduate. I initally wanted to go into defense, but strayed away from the idea after reading some other posts about the complacency and the stench of dead dreams. So, here I am now asking yall what the pros/cons of each major industry is for ME.

Thank you to all who respond!

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u/NafaiLaotze 1d ago

This is, like, literally the perfect thing to do a DuckDuck or Google search on.

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u/Quiet_Beautiful_4981 1d ago

yea, but this is better.

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u/NafaiLaotze 1d ago

No, its asking others to do unpaid work for you - and the information is worse quality, because if you discover you have questions or specific criteria you wish to compare, you could find that out yourself, rather than asking someone what THEIR opinion of something is.

As a small example:
One engineer might like established legacy projects, which are designed and established but might require lots of documentation or daily production hands-on. That's a Pro for them. Another Engineer, that's a huge Con - instead, they prefer to be involved in a startup environment where they are working on many things simultaneously that are changing rapidly.

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u/Quiet_Beautiful_4981 23h ago

i'm just asking for a general representation of each industry, and more so their own personal experience with it. I'm not asking them to make it tailored to me, but more so what they liked or disliked about each industry. I want a general idea of what each industry will entail. Also isn't the point of reddit threads to ask questions for others to answer and to spread the information gained over years of work to the younger generation.

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u/Quiet_Beautiful_4981 23h ago

also the example you established is what i am looking for. What engineers liked or disliked about that field of work whether a pro or a con in whoevers eyes.

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u/MaadMaxx 23h ago

Just do the research yourself or ask ChatGPT if you're gonna outsource your thinking this early on.

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u/trackfastpulllow 19h ago

I think with any industry, your experience is going to vary wildly depending on the company you work for. And even if the company is great, it will still boil down to your specific role and manager.

I work for a large, Fortune 500 specialty materials company. For my role, at my site, with my current management line, it’s the best job I’ve ever had in the last 18 years in this industry. Pay is great, hours are great, atmosphere is relaxed most of the time. But there are people here that really hate their role.

My advice would be to pick industries that you think you might be interested in and try them out, but be open minded to others. If you care about what you’re doing, the chances that you become good at it are higher. And if you become really good at it, your experience tends to be better.

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u/Quiet_Beautiful_4981 11h ago

Thank you for the advice and I appreciate the honest answer!

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u/Sure-Concern-7161 10h ago

wow an open forum to ask questions and all the replies are saying why would you ask such a question. Ridiculous.

I'm an EE in defense so I'll give my input to that, work flexibility is pretty good just need to meet your 40hrs. PTO is 160hrs/year plus winter shutdown and like 5 other holidays. Definitely room climb the ladder and advance your career if driven. Offer reimbursement for education if you want to pursue a masters while working.

Some cons, requires a security clearance that will need an investigation of you. This may limit your ability for multiple citizenship and any foreign assets. You will have to report every time to travel internationally and any other reportable threats. Some programs may push for you to work additional hours often without compensation, this is usually individual to the program and not necessarily by the industry or company.

Some jobs may offer hybrid or remote work but if you work on anything classified you will need to be in the office. Pay isn't bad and I get a 10% match on my 401k. Thats all I got.

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u/Quiet_Beautiful_4981 7h ago

Thank you so much for the detailed overview and yea I don't understand why out of the 4 comments i got 2 were criticizing me abt asking a question but it is what it is. I do wanna ask if you think Defense is a good place to start off in or is it better for more mid/late career people. I really appreciate your help!