The most important things to do in order to prevent becoming obsolete:
1. Focus on knowledge, theory and applications, not on software tools skills. People used slide rules just a few decades ago; then came the calculator; then came the spreadsheet and the CAE tools. The instruments used by engineers will constantly evolve, so it's crucial not to use tools (software or otherwise) as a foundation of your skills, but instead the depth and breadth of your knowledge and experience. You still won't get a job unless you are well acquainted with the current software, whether it's CATIA or ANSYS or MAT LAB or MS Excel; but the software en vogue will always change, there is no way to predict which way tools will change; and anybody can learn software, but sound engineering knowledge is much harder to acquire.
2. Choose a branch, not an industry Mechanical engineers are in virtually all fields of human activity. Most devices in your daily use involved at least one mechanical engineer in its design and in its construction. It is remarkably flexible. New industries crop up constantly, while others disappear. Imagine if you became a mechanical engineer specialized in fax machines or cassette players. However most branches of mechanical engineering, whether it's thermodynamics, machine design, manufacturing, mechatronics, process, biomedical can have limitless applications. Aerospace and nuclear engineering can pay really well (I've worked in both), but if you pick one of them as a specialty you're married to it for life and you're rather tied to its successes or failure. You never know where the economy will lead.
Also, there is no way to succeed as a jack of all trades. You really need to pick a branch, and preferably one in which you feel you'll be good and successful in. It's good to know about other branches, but generally you're hired to work in a very specific branch where your knowledge will intensify in that field. You can move industries with that knowledge, but not move branches (or at east, not easily). Pick a branch, then try to cover your knowledge of that branch widely.
2. Choose a branch, not an industry Mechanical engineers are in virtually all fields of human activity. Most devices in your daily use involved at least one mechanical engineer in its design and in its construction. It is remarkably flexible. New industries crop up constantly, while others disappear. Imagine if you became a mechanical engineer specialized in fax machines or cassette players. However most branches of mechanical engineering, whether it's thermodynamics, machine design, manufacturing, mechatronics, process, biomedical can have limitless applications. Aerospace and nuclear engineering can pay really well (I've worked in both), but if you pick one of them as a specialty you're married to it for life and you're rather tied to its successes or failure. You never know where the economy will lead.
Also, there is no way to succeed as a jack of all trades. You really need to pick a branch, and preferably one in which you feel you'll be good and successful in. It's good to know about other branches, but generally you're hired to work in a very specific branch where your knowledge will intensify in that field. You can move industries with that knowledge, but not move branches (or at east, not easily). Pick a branch, then try to cover your knowledge of that branch widely.
3. Pick a good industry to start working in It makes your life easier if the industry you start in is successful. I started in aerospace, and while I had little interest in it, the industry is seen as very cutting edge, which made getting new work much easier, even in fields that were completely unrelated (such as buildings). Most of your knowledge will get picked up in the workplace, not in school. What you learn in school is actually just the foundation to everything. This means that if you have had a job in a prestigious industry or company, you will have more opportunities to get work and new knowledge and experience, thus keeping your banks of knowledge appear fresh and usable.
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