Practical in an engineering degree

Which type of engineering degree? It will differ between universities as well.

I do mechanical engineering and do a fair bit of "practical" things. A break down of that for the past 2 years is as follows:

Labs - 6 a year. Basically simple experiments such as the flow of a jet of water against a metal plate or how an engine dynamometer works. Typically 2-3 hours long setting up the experiment, taking measurements, etc. Followed by calculations and a presentation to my tutor.

"Application" - I spent two weeks (alongside regular classes) designing a bridge with my colleagues and then testing it. The objective was to make it as light as possible and to carry a load on a "vehicle", all of which we had to make. I also stripped and re-built two engines, did a familiarisation of the workshops and got signed off to use the equipment.

Projects - Our first year group project was to design and build a remote controlled car chassis and bodywork and then race them. So a good 80+ page report on the design influences (calculations, existing products, equipment available, cost analysis, etc), creating the models, creating bill of materials and then manufacturing it. This year we did several hundred pages on reports for design choices into a rotary-to-linear system and then had to design it and work out which materials were best for it given a lot of specifications on what it must do.

Software - Engineering is not all about maths. I learned to use MATLAB, MuPAD, CATIA, Delcam, etc. The first two are mathematical programs for things like solving equations, matrices, symbolic equations, plotting data and all sorts of incredibly advanced things when you get into it. CATIA is a CAD program to design parts and Delcam make CAM software so you can manufacture it.


Mechanical engineering is certainly not a maths degree. There is a lot of theory but you need to know how it can be used and you usually get the chance to try and use it. In this degree there are a lot of routes you may take after graduation, so you cover a bit of all of them.

Thanks for your reply, if i were to do an engineering degree I think it would be mechanical. What I am worried about is how creative the practicals are. When you are in labs do you do a lot of designing and drawing? My skills really lie in science alone and I would't want to be putting myself on the back foot. also, when you build things is it like putting parts together or do you actually cut out and modify the raw materials? sorry for all the questions!

It's an engineering degree, not an arts degree. You will do drawings, but they're usually either rough sketches or technical drawings. You don't have to be a master with shading or watercolours, just be able to use a ruler and other measurement equipment and produce a drawing to the right scale and dimensions.

The drawings are reserved usually for projects or design modules and revolve around communicating design choices on paper, not so much labs. For example, we drew the plans for our remote controlled car chassis for one project. Someone painstakingly drew out the plan view for a gear for another project. It's largely about getting the dimensions on there correctly.

Just remember - It's about making something functional instead of aesthetic. You will be designing a product to "do" something. It needs to look well manufactured, but it doesn't have to win beauty awards (usually). 80% of the work is calculations and justifying the design. 20% is making it, either in CAD or physically. If you can't justify a choice (be it material, dimension, etc) then that's not good. In the first year they are more relaxed and there is a focus on "if it looks right, it probably is". As you get on though, the need to justify each choice does increase.


Regarding the building of things, you will more than likely be expected to cut the parts yourself and assemble them. It depends on the project you have though. We were given a workshop induction and also a lab in metalworking skills just to make sure we could properly use saws and files on metal properly. I have done some brazing (something between soldering and welding) and done a lot of cutting of the metal stock for the projects.

But the good news is, in group projects, you have people with different skills. Some were good at the report writing, some were good at the calculations, some were good at the manufacturing. The most important thing is to get involved. Do the bits you can do well (and help others) and then take part in the weaker areas and build it into a strength. The tools we used were largely basic ones, so don't be afraid of that.