Career prospects | mechanical engineering

Employment opportunities

Mechanical engineer

Roles
Applies or performs procedures and techniques for designing, planning, checking the functional characteristics of mechanical components and systems; manufacturing tools, engines, machines and other mechanical equipment (including their maintenance).
Assists specialists in conducting research and studies on the technological characteristics of the materials used and their production processes.

Skills
Assisting the specialist in innovation and production development.
Applying or performing the necessary procedures for the mechanical design of components and systems.
Applying or performing the necessary procedures for production planning and scheduling.
Applying or performing the necessary procedures for the management of mechanical systems and plants.

Employment opportunities
Mechanical Engineering graduates have employment prospects in manufacturing and service companies, public administrations and as self-employed professionals. In particular, Mechanical Engineering graduates find employment in companies in the mechanical and electromechanical, plant engineering, automation and robotics and energy production and conversion sectors, as well as in manufacturing companies in general for the production, installation and testing, maintenance and management of machines, lines and production departments.

Communication Skills

Mechanical Engineering graduates are capable of:

drafting technical reports, technical manuals, internal company standards, interpreting and discussing the results of experimental investigations;
communicating in written and oral form, including in English, with other technicians, in order to present the results of one's own studies and considerations;
presenting an existing or newly developed and produced product on a commercial level.

In order to stimulate written and oral communication skills, the training programme provides the opportunity to carry out technical writing and communication activities, in the preparation of reports and technical documentation in practical laboratory exercises, in the preparation of 'notebooks' in which numerical examples of application exercises are given to support classes, especially in the disciplines of the characterising fields of Mechanical Engineering.
The English language proficiency test (at least B1 level) and the internship activity with concluding report should also be considered in this respect.
Graduates in Mechanical Engineering have the ability to communicate within a company and with the various external stakeholders in production processes; in the exercise of their profession they possess an awareness of their responsibilities in relation to the social and environmental context.
In this regard, we would like to mention the classes on Ethics and Professional Practice of the Engineer held at the Department by the Professional Order of Engineers of Parma.
Communicative skills are also taken into account in the presentation and discussion of the paper prepared for the final examination, with a particular focus on the student's ability to present and explain the issues dealt with, and to summarise the results obtained and the conclusions drawn.