Career Guide is a series of occupational briefs which aims to provide information on hard to fill and highly-in-demand occupations identified during the 2006 National Manpower Summit and the 2007 National Human Resource Conference. The Career Guides contain such information as the nature of the job, its education and competency requirements, earnings, employment and job outlook.

Mechanical Engineer

Mechanical Engineers deal with the production and use of mechanical power. They design, operate and use all kinds of machines and machine tools. They likewise design and build engines that produce power from steam, gasoline and other sources which they try to develop to augment the sources of power.

Tasks

Design products and systems to meet process requirements, applying knowledge of engineering principles;
Specify system components or directs modification of products to ensure conformance with engineering design and performance specification;
Oversee installation to ensure machines and equipment are installed and functioning according to specification;
Coordinate building fabrication, and installation of product design and operation, maintenance, and repair activities to utilize machines and equipment;
Inspect, evaluate, and arrange field installation and recommend design modifications to eliminate machine or system malfunctions;
Investigate equipment failures and difficulties, diagnose faulty operation and make recommendation to maintenance crew;
Alter or modify design to obtain specified functional and operational performance;
Conduct experiments to test and analyze existing design and equipment to obtain data on performance of product, and prepare reports;
Assist drafter in developing structural design of product, using drafting tools or computer-assisted design/drafting equipment and software;
Test ability of machines to perform tasks;
Select or design tools to meet specification, using manuals, drafting tools, computer and specialized software programs;
Develop models of alternate processing methods to test feasibility or new applications of system components, and recommend implementation of procedures;
Confer with establishment personnel and engineers to implement operating procedures and resolve system malfunction, and to provide technical information;
Plan and direct engineering personnel in fabrication of test control apparatus and equipment and develop procedures for testing products;

Basic Educational Requirement

A five-year course leading to a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering is the minimum requirement. A graduate must also pass the licensure examination given by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). Graduate degrees are available and may be taken for advanced jobs, and are usually required for college teaching.

Skills and Competencies

Strong numerical skills;
Reading and oral comprehension;
Analytical skills;
Deductive reasoning;
Technology design;
Computer literate;
Solid understanding of key concepts including mechanics, kinematics, thermodynamics and energy.

Physical Attributes and Characteristics

Creative;
Flexible;
Curious;
Detail-oriented;
Able to work as part of a team.

Salary/Compensation

Locally, the monthly basic salary of an mechanical engineer may differ depending on the industry he is employed: P16,536 (electronics), P21,505 (non-metals), P31,193 (Transport), and P21,289 (hotels).

Abroad, mechanical engineers receive a monthly salary ranging from $5,023 to $7,739.

Prospects for Career Advancement

A Mechanical Engineer who has undergone apprenticeship training through different activates in a power company, have the opportunity to assume a supervisory or managerial position. Those who don't have the inclination to be managers follow a parallel career by becoming experts or specialists in the long run.

This group is given specialized assignments and become staff engineers or corporate specialist.

Employment Opportunities

Mechanical engineering is one of the broadest engineering disciplines. Mechanical Engineers may work in production operations in manufacturing or agriculture, maintenance, or technical sales, others may also work as administrators or managers.

Cost of Education *

In a public university, a course in Mechanical Engineering is approximately P3,800 per semester or a total of P38,000 for the entire five year course.

In a private institution the total cost may range between P295,000 in less expensive schools to P495,000 in the more expensive schools.

* Based on tuition fee rates for school year 2007-2008