Mechanical Engineering Jobs | Best Places

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Are you looking for the top 5 best places to get mechanical engineering jobs? You’ve came to the right place, read on!

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There have been great advancements in the field of mechanical engineering from various individuals and organisations around the world, so it is safe to say there isn’t any “best country” for mechanical engineering jobs. However, there are some countries that contributed more in this field than others.

Americans have really utilized mechanical engineering heavily in the aerospace industry and are responsible for much of the commercial history in automotive technology, this has resulted in them creating really powerful vehicles.

The British are really adept in using mechanical engineering in the marine industry. 

Much of Europe and Germany are really pioneers in furthering mechanical engineering in automotive technology. Many aspects of automotive technology such as the diesel engine, active and passive safety systems are originally pioneered from Europe. 

BMW orange vintage motorbike
A fine example of German engineering!

Russians are really great at utilizing the fundamentals of mechanical engineering in defense technology and the aerospace industry to create some of the most robust rockets in the world.

The Japanese have a great number of R&D labs in universities and industries, which are utilizing mechanical engineering to create quality automotive technology and robots. 

Indians are really great at using this field to create the most efficient mobility systems present in the world, best example is the Mangalyaan Mission. 

Mars orbiter on Mars
A representation of the Mars Orbiter tat took part in the Mangalyaan Mission.

There are many great institutions and companies in India such as IISc, ISRO, DRDO, BARC, TIFR, and other corporate powerhouses that make the best of mechanical engineers.

Skills that are associated with high pay for this job are C++, FEA Analysis, Engineering Design, CAD Design (carried out on software programs like AutoCAD, Revit, Inventor and Fusion 360) and Project Management. A great place to learn new skills and obtain new certifications as a mechanical engineer is on LinkedIn Learning, try it now and get the first 30 days for free. Experience has a big impact on income for mechanical engineering jobs.

Top countries for mechanical engineering jobs:

  • China
  • England
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Russia
  • UAE & Middle East
  • USA

Mechanical Engineering in the USA

In this section, we will go over the most recent 20 years history of mechanical engineering jobs in the United States of America and then conclude with the five metropolitan regions that have the largest number of jobs for mechanical engineers.

We are also going to compare mechanical engineering with a few of the other engineering fields.

Mechanical engineers research, design, build and maintain mechanical products and devices including engines, air conditioners and tools. Mechanical engineering is one of the most diverse engineering fields, mechanical engineers design and manage the manufacture of many products ranging from biomedical devices to batteries. 

Man talking into walkie talkie
Mechanical engineer working hard, as always! 😉

In 1999, 202,910 mechanical engineering jobs existed. By 2018, mechanical engineering jobs had increased to 303,440.

Over this 20 year time span, mechanical engineering has seen an uptick in jobs of over 100,00 jobs, which results in a yearly increase of about 5,000 jobs per annum. 

From 1999 to 2012 mechanical engineering experienced very consistent job growth, which is impressive considering many other engineering fields like computer engineering actually lost a lot of jobs during the recession. 

In recent times from 2012 to 2018 mechanical engineering has gained more than 50,000 jobs, but even with the past 6 years of consistent job growth for mechanical engineers the government is estimating fairly modest future job growth. It is estimated that there will be a 4% growth in jobs from 2018 to 2028 which is a slower rate than the average occupation. 

Another aspect of mechanical engineering employment to know is to be aware of the unemployment rate of mechanical engineers. The rate of unemployment for mechanical engineers seems to be consistent with the economy after the recession in the late 1990’s.

The unemployment rate was around 4.1% and during the great recession the mechanical engineer unemployment rate reached 6.1%. Recently, with the strong economy for jobs for engineers, the rate has dipped to a rate of below 2%.

There are jobs in absolutely every state for mechanical engineers but there are a number of states and metropolitan areas where the majority of the opportunities and jobs are. These include big states with huge populations like California, Texas and New York.

Top 5 Metropolitan Areas

Here are the best five metropolitan areas for mechanical engineering jobs:

New York City

In number 5 is the New York City metropolitan area, there are currently 8,750 jobs available for mechanical engineers and the pay here is on average $5,270 above the national median pay.

One big downside of living in New York is the cost of living is quite high, coming in at 257 on the Cost of Living Index (Expatistan). This is something to consider if you are thinking about a move to New York City in search of a mechanical engineering job.

New York City skyline
New York City skyline.

Boston

At number 4 on the top 5 best metropolitan areas for mechanical engineering opportunities we have Boston. There are 8,770 mechanical engineering jobs in Boston and the average pay is $8,180 dollars over the national median pay. 

The cost of living in Boston is definitely less expensive than New York City, but it is still quite high having a value of 214 on the Cost of Living Index (Expatistan).

Los Angeles

The third best region for mechanical engineering jobs is the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. There are 9,670 jobs and the pay on average is $11,600 above the national median pay.

The cost of living is still fairly high at 210 on the Cost of Living Index (Expatistan), but is cheaper than Boston and definitely a lot less than New York City.

Chicago

The metropolitan area in second place on this list for mechanical engineering opportunities is Chicago. There are 11,950 mechanical engineering jobs in Chicago and the pay there is $3,101 below the national median pay. 

Again, the cost of living is less than Los Angeles but still quite high at 192 on the Cost of Living Index (Expatistan).

Detroit

The best area for mechanical engineering jobs is the Detroit metropolitan area. There are more than 31,000 jobs for mechanical engineers in Detroit! The pay in Detroit in is also $3,080 dollars above the national median pay.

The cost of living here is quite low scoring 144 on the Cost of Living Index (Expatistan), this is the lowest of all of the metropolitan areas listed here and is definitely a big factor when considering a move to Detroit.

Downtown Detroit
Detroit, a mechanical engineering hub!

Mechanical Engineering vs Other Engineering Fields

The Bureau of Labor statistics divides engineering up into 17 separate fields, and of these fields mechanical engineering had the third largest number of jobs/opportunities.

There are more jobs only in the civil and industrial engineering fields, with both of these fields having over 300,00 jobs.

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