One of the things that confuse a lot of people is the scope of mechanical engineering. If you use the term engineer, the tasks and jobs it covers under it virtually immeasurable. You can narrow down the definition a bit by using the term mechanical engineer but it still does not make much of a difference. Mechanical engineers can be involved in anything that’s a machine or related to machines. Not only do they design and put together machines, but they are the ones responsible for making their components, parts, accessories, etc.

A Detailed Understanding of Mechanical Engineering Jobs

Mechanical engineering jobs cover a variety of different industries. From vehicles on the roads to the planes flying in the air, it is the mechanical engineers that bring these products to the market. Before engineers work on these products, they are just ideas in someone’s mind or on a piece of paper. It is amazing that not only are engineers concerned with how various machines and their components work, but also their esthetics. Why esthetics matter for engineers is because how a product looks can have an impact on its performance. Imagine why the planes are shaped the way they are shaped. That’s not just for planes to look beautiful. In fact, engineers have to have a grasp on how thermodynamics work when designing mechanical components.

From the above explanation, you can already tell what industries the engineers are useful for. In a nutshell, there isn’t an industry where engineers cannot be involved. From agricultural contraptions to the expensive and sophisticated machines in the hospitals, engineers are building, designing, and improving them.

Another amazing thing about mechanical engineers is that they are involved in every stage of the process in an industry. For example, they are not involved only with the designing of the railway tracks, but they also come up with the right methods to lay down these tracks to obtain optimum performance from them.

Engineers becoming Increasingly Important

As technology evolves, engineers are becoming more and more important. You do understand that the world relies on mechanical components and equipment more than ever today. From your laptops, desktops, mobile phones, routers to air conditioning units, heating systems etc. they are involved in virtually everything.You must realize that we are fast moving into an era of robotics. As sad as it may sound, robots still need a lot of improvement from where they stand today. On the one hand, you have technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, virtual reality, etc. and on the other hand, you have mechanical components that have to be put together logically to make use of these technologies.

If you were to have a robot to do the cleaning in your house, you need the robot to be designed in a certain way so it can clean multiple surfaces, ensure that it does not damage equipment inside the house, and make sure that its design allows it to move freely without wasting too much energy.

What Aspiring Engineers Should Do

If you or someone you know is interested in being a mechanical engineer, be sure to start your career with the right company. A company, that does not put mechanical components together but understands what innovation means. Take the example of Cortek Test Solutions. It is a well-known company providing test solutions to a variety of industries such as medical, communications, military, aerospace, etc. with test fixtures. It is with innovative companies like these that aspiring engineers can look forward to an auspicious career, and motivation that keeps them energized to do something more than what already exists in the world.

With technology changing at such a rapid pace, it can be tough to stay ahead of the curve. Whether you’re an executive looking to bring innovation to your organization, a small business owner trying to keep up with emerging trends, or a student trying to determine where to focus your studies, you want to make sure that you’re investing your time and money in technology that’s here to stay.

If you’ve been reading up on the top trend lists for 2018, you’ve probably seen the term “machine learning” popping up on almost all of them. Machine learning refers to a type of artificial intelligence in which computers are programmed to learn and improve from experience as they’re exposed to more data. So, what does this mean for the future of business? Here’s what the executive, the business owner and the student will want to know.

The Executive

Organizations around the world are already using this technology to transform their business. For example, Kanetix partnered with Integrate.ai on a project that leveraged machine learning to provide a tailored buying experience to their customers by predicting which users were likely to convert and determining a customer’s preferred method of transacting. The results? Kanetix.ca increased the conversion rates of their auto insurance by 13 percent and generated 2.3x the ROI on their marketing efforts. This is just one of the many ways machine learning can be used to build a better business, so as an executive it’s your job to determine how this technology can help you meet and exceed your organizational goals.

The Small Business Owner

If you’re a small business owner with a tight budget and a non-existent IT team, you’re probably wondering how you’ll be able to keep up with advances in machine learning. While partnering with a tech firm might not be on the horizon, you can capitalize on the trend by investing in a chatbot. Chatbots are computer programs that simulate human conversation, and they’re being used by businesses globally to provide around-the-clock customer service. Does your business have a Facebook page? If so, that could be the best place to start with a simple chatbot: more than 30,000 bots have been built on the Facebook Messenger platform since April 2016.

The Student

If you’re a tech-minded student wondering where you should invest your time, machine learning is looking like a solid career path. The role of Machine Learning Engineer was listed as one of the top five jobs expected to be vital for Canada’s economy in 2018 for a few reasons. First, The Canadian government’s Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy pledged $125 million for research into AI technology. Second, job postings for machine learning engineer grew by 150 percent in 2017. And finally, machine learning is relevant in several industries, making it an in-demand skill.

So what’s the key takeaway when it comes to machine learning? This top trend isn’t just “one to watch” – it’s something that is already changing the way that we do business every day and a solid technology to get behind in 2018 and beyond.