Manufacturing Engineers

The SME, a professional association for manufacturing workers in the U.S. and Canada, offers free membership for high school students (as well as a paid option for college students). Membership benefits include access to the “SME Connect” blog, scholarships, competitions, and a mentorship program, as well as a subscription to Manufacturing Engineering magazine. Learn more at https://www.sme.org/sme-membership/join-sme.

Conduct an information interview with a manufacturing engineer to find out their educational background and how they got started in their career. Suggested interview questions include: What made you want to enter this career? What type of tools and equipment do you use to do your work? What do you like most and least about your job? How did you train for this field? What are some key skills for success? What advice would you give to young people about preparing for the field and being successful on the job? How will advances in technology change the field? Perhaps you could even job-shadow a manufacturing engineer to learn even more about the field. Ask your school's career services office for help with setting up these learning opportunities.

Join the Technology Student Association (https://tsaweb.org), a membership organization for engineering, science, and technology students that offers career development programs and competitions.

Participate in competitions that are offered by SkillsUSA (https://www.skillsusa.org) to build your skills, compete for scholarships and cash prizes, meet people with shared interests, and have fun. Some of the SkillsUSA competitions that will be of interest to aspiring engineers include Additive Manufacturing, Automated Manufacturing Technology, Engineering Technology-Design, Principles of Engineering-Technology, and Robotics and Automation Technology.

Get involved with your school's science clubs, participate in science fairs, and volunteer with local engineering organizations to learn more about the engineering field.