Can a mechanical engineer become a robotics engineer?

It is possible to become from a mechanical engineer to a robotics engineer?

according to audacity robotics engineering is expected to grow by 9% in the next 5 years, which makes a lot of robotics lovers who are studying or working in other fields join robotics engineering.

In this post, our example and research are going to be about switching from mechanical engineering to robotics engineering. So keep reading to know more about this subject.

Can mechanical engineers become robotics engineers?

It is possible and very close for mechanical engineers to become robotics engineers Because mechanical engineering is one interesting part or pillar of robotics engineering, a lot of mechanical engineers are working in different industries.

To explain more Robotics comprise 3 parts or pillars that are:

• electrical or electronic engineering
• mechanical engineering
• software engineering

Today there is a new specialty that is called mechatronics which is combining between these 3 fields. It is also called mechatronics engineering. In addition, you have to know that robotics companies accept not only mechanical engineering but:

• computer science
• IT
• electrical engineering

With a mechanical degree, you can apply to many robotics companies, they desperately need a mechanical engineer to work and design their products. There are many robotics sectors that mechanical engineers can work on like:

• manufacturing
• medical robotics devices
• automobile industry
• mobile robots like a vacuum cleaner and so on

But if you want to become a pure robotics engineer and learn exactly mechatronics which means the combination of electrical and software. Therefore, you have to follow these 3 steps that I will list in the next paragraph.

We will give you the strategy step to learn robotics engineering aspects on your own, yes it is possible at the beginning.

STEP 1: learn these subjects

For mechanical engineers who are interested to be polyvalent and work as robotics engineers which means working completely in the industry they have to take courses in these subjects:

1 Take some courses in electronics or mechatronics

The first thing that you should learn or take courses on is electrical or electronic subject. You need to have the knowledge of how to deal with electricity and electronics. As a result, being able to make electrical and electronics circuits.

This process is not easy it takes to learn courses about:

• know the fundaments about electricity
• learn electronic components and the role of each one
• learn how to design electronic circuits
• be able to troubleshoot electrical and electronic systems

to sum up, this domain is called embedded system, we wrote a detailed article and put them all the free resources you can find to learn these things.

you can find them at this link.

2 – Programming and automation

After taking courses in electronics and electricity you need to learn how to program robots or details electronics cards.

Normally the industrial robots are working with PLC (programmable logic controller) so you have to take courses in plc but that is not enough.

if you want to dig deeper into robotics you need to learn also these 3 essential programming languages:

• C
• C++
• Python

So it is very very important to learn these courses, to perform well in robotics programming.

you have to understand this process takes time, so is better to hire a mentor or someone to help you have some shortcuts.

STEP 2: Take some internships before

The second thing to do is to make internships with companies we recommend to make internships in these 4 hot industries:

• Autonomous vehicle
• Surgery robotics
• Mobile robotics
• Robotics and process automation

1 – Autonomous vehicle

This robotics field is the most demanded in the sector. In other words, autonomous software engineers or self car drive engineers reach up to $200,000 as an annual salary. The beginners or entry-level engineers get $105,000 so it is the highest paid engineering industry.

So if you are interested to work in cars, and participating to self car driving technology you need to work or apply at the beginning for internships with theses following companies

• Tesla
• apple car
• Wayvo google
• amazon

2 – Surgery robotics

The second famous sector is surgy robotics, which means working in surgy robotics industries producing medical robotics tools. The image below is one example of a medical robot.

As a mechanical engineer you will find a lot of similar things that you study or work on if you are an employer like:

• robot kinematics
• control system
• navigation
• FDA design control

3 – Mobile robotics

you can make internships with mobile robotics companies that make autonomous robots like:

• humanoid robots
• ariel robots
• drones
• land robots
• devilry robots
• service home robots
• house clean robots, drones and etc.

the good thing about mobile robotics companies is there are a lot of small startups in the US that you can engage easily and start working with them. it is easier to find internships with them than with bigger companies like amazon or tesla.

4 – Robotics process and automation

robotics process and automation are the companies that make robots for manufacturing processes like automobiles or any industrial process.

The famous companies in the US in this sector are ABB and Func

you could make an internship with them to see how their engineers are designing robots for these companies. But you have to be careful you will deal with the biggest robots that carry heavyweight.

finally to resume internships, as a recommendation is better to make internships for multiple industries to find where you find yourself more comfortable or more productive.

Step 3: choose the industry to work

After choosing and finding the industries you find yourself in, you can start applying for jobs. The good relationships that you make in internships will increase the probability to find jobs.

As a mechanical engineer, you will have high odds to be accepted to work in robotics companies, but you have to prove to them the skills you’ve learned during the process of learning that we talked about.

At least if you haven’t been accepted you will apply with a mechanical degree, work as a mechanical engineer in its industry and have the experience to apply officially for your robotics engineering dream job.

Conclusion

The Robotics engineering field is growing and has a lot of potentials, so don’t worry about your future career go and chase your dream job.