Mechanical engineering is very much alive

To the Editor: My career as a mechanical engineer, so far, has been more exciting than I thought it was as it was happening. I graduated from Villanova in 1965, and embarked on a career that involved production plant maintenance, electric utility system design and maintenance, automotive engineering, telecommunications system design and forensic engineering.

Many of the assignments that I worked on were not challenging and [were initially] boring, but in the end were very interesting and exciting when put together with the total project. The mechanical engineer can go almost anywhere and not only work, but understand what he is doing and why.

When I worked in the automotive engineering field, part of the duty was to analyze accidents and determine the cause and what could be done to prevent more similar ones. At the time, I did not connect it to forensic engineering, which is where my career has led me following extended work in the wireless telecommunications field.

I believe there are many other professions that appear more glamorous and exciting, but they are not for everyone.

The excitement of starting a new case with an attorney that I have not worked with before is still great. Analysis of an incident for presentation to a jury of persons that may not know anything about the subject is a challenge, since I must try to teach them enough to understand and make a suitable decision as to responsibility for the incident.

Mechanical Engineering É is not dead. Some days it is so alive and dynamic, I have to stop and get a grip on things one at a time, so it doesn't get away.

— Harold A. Schwartz, P. E.
Red Lion City, Pa.

To the Editor: I would like to thank you for your excellent Perspective article, "Is Mechanical Engineering Obsolete?" that appeared in the September issue of ASME NEWS.

You have confirmed my worst fears for the ME future. I am retired. I look around and wonder what discipline I would pursue if I were entering college today. My father was a registered ME from back when. I looked forward to the challenges of being an ME. I loved my work. The challenges of the 1950s no longer exist. The matter concerns me.

Now you confirm I am correct as to what future lies ahead for the type of engineering I enjoyed so much. The opportunity to use ingenuity to solve problems no longer exists as I experienced them.

It seems today few people understand, or appreciate, the depth of knowledge needed to anticipate and solve problems. If knowledge is needed, a consultant is hired. It is a shame. Knowledge is no longer appreciated by today's MEs for such things as thermo, vibrations, mechanics, etc., which were used to solve problems.

Before I retired, I noted many senior co-op MEs (from leading technical colleges) were a whiz on the computer, but had no knowledge how a centrifugal pump operated, or how important a name-plate tag on equipment could be.

Thanks, sir, for your article. I, too, am worried about my profession.

— H. Speer Ezzard, P.E.
Columbus, N.C.

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