I am a mechanical engineer and people think that because I am a "mechanical" engineer like I fix cars. It is part of the career, but it is not the same thing. It happens to others that people confuse your profession, or it's only to me?

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"Good day, kind sir. Since you went to school for mechanical engineering, could you take a look at my oil and see if it needs to be changed?"

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You must be based in the UK?

Yes, it happens to me as well. Typically, after I tell them I got a mechanical engineering degree they say something like “Oh so you know how to fix cars!?” And then they proceed to tell me their car problems. However, in my case, I did used to work in the automotive fields before I got my engineering degree. So I inform them how it could be fixed.

TIL that mechanical engineers work with things other than cars. Just kidding! But it is something that I like to tease my friends about.

Yeah, happens all the time. People don't know what engineers do, someone asked me if it was like in Iron Man, I was like I WISH!!!

People think that being a civil engineer is akin to being a sociologist. I have had many people ask me this before... I was unaware that people were so undeducated!

Thanks for making my morning lol I have been laughing for a good while with your comment.

You're certainly not alone in this experience! Mechanical engineers are often confused with, or mistaken for, auto mechanics. While both occupations work with machines, they are quite different.

I am a physicist and people believe that I am a physical education teacher in schools, that is, we are in two different worlds.

In my case I am an astrophysicist, people believe that I use numerology to predict the future, if we use numbers we do predict behaviors but not of a person but of the universe, people are a bit lost right now.

Well, I'm a mechanical engineer and something similar happens to me, my boss thinks I'm at work to change parts, that is, I don't work on repairs as such, we only change parts to machines, I feel that it's not what I studied.

Hi, I'm a petroleum engineer and many people believe that I make gasoline, when I explain that I don't do that but that a specialized chemist does it, they look at me with a face that says "you don't do anything then", people who don't are very funny. ask the right questions.

It is something very common, and more with people who are outside the field of engineering, once I was being interviewed for the position of entry chemical engineer in a company and the person belonged to human resources, all the questions were very strange, and that It caught my attention a bit but I answered them, after 3 days they called me again, they had made a mistake and had interviewed me for another specialization, and it was all because they saw the word chemist and they were wrong to think what I was doing.

I am currently a geophysical engineer, imagine if you do not understand what a geologist or a physicist does, and how difficult it is to explain to people what I do, it is total madness.

Join the club. Same goes for an electrical engineer fix a radio, TV, appliances,… and a computer engineer fix networks

I work with Landscape Architects and do that type of design a lot. People think I design landscaping and can help with their next backyard project.

Nope, but I can help you design a multi use trail, park, or kayak launch.

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