Having actual engineers and mechanics talk about how they initially did not know how to do anything on their first day has really boosted my confidence about choosing engineering. Thanks guys.

As a retired mechanical engineer, I found during my career that the best engineers love doing some wrenching! There's a synergy bringing that hands-on feeling of parts & tools that relates equations to the real world. When I was a kid, I could not stay away from disassembling, tuning, repairing & re-assembling all kinds of mechanisms, wondering about how they were made and why they worked or didn't. Maths & physics schooling provided many 'Aha!' experiences that answered long-brewing questions coupled with a recall of why materials felt the way they do at the end of a wrench or in motion. During my long career, I've mostly built my own prototypes to get a sense of how machines are assembled & serviced without the expletive-drenched experience of knowing bad design. I've worked on my own cars to save money & get a better feel for their strengths & weaknesses, and even got into autocross racing with my own home-brew, heavily modified cars to test my skills at both cranking bolts & making creative changes to improve performance; I learned that there's plenty of thoughtless design that came out of some overly academic automotive designer's limited imagination! I so often thought that engineers should always spend considerable time busting knuckles in almost physically impossible body positions like mechanics do. If they did, they'd design more sensible systems that can be serviced without cursing the damn engineer! As an engineer myself, I've been fairly successful at avoiding being the brunt of that cursing. Having been an avid amateur mechanic helped immensely.

I'm amazed how many people still think an engineer is a mechanic

Jason, how did you skip the classic Mechanical vs. Civil engineer joke??? Mechanical engineers design cool things like fighter jets and missiles. Civil engineers design targets!

Great time chatting as always brother!

you don't know how happy I am that you posted this video

Become a Mechanic/Technician then study to become an Engineer. Best of both worlds.

As an engineer, my best tool is the technician I work with. And I'm not saying that in any derogatory, "you're just a tool" kind of way. I mean it in the most humble, "I value your input" type of way. I have turned wrenches and I have learned to use new tools. In my first year as an engineer, I got to try the jackhammer, acetylene torch, and sandblaster, among others. Usually I try these things for no other reason than to demonstrate my dedication, interest, and curiosity to the technicians I work with. Doing so helps me to determine a couple of things: 1) how proficient is the technician, 2) can the technician teach others to do mundane jobs, and 3) is this task more of an 'art' or more of a 'labor'? Over time, you can develop a great relationship with coworkers that builds mutual respect and allows for simple and efficient communication of problems. You get less of the "the technician assembled it wrong" and "the engineer designed it wrong" type of finger-pointing scenarios. There do exist bad technicians. There do exist bad engineers. But when good meets good, careers can be accelerated and innovation can really happen.

Great video, the technician did a great job articulating his professional insight

engineers design, technicians assemble, mechanics maintain

"It's not the technician, it's not the engineer, it's marketing." Truer words have rarely been spoken.

Funnily enough, old mechanics and old engineers seem to tend to migrate toward each other's fields. Old mechanics get a better grasp on theory and old engineers experience application "in the wild" so as to speak. These young fellas seem to have an early insight to each other's perspectives.

This video is so true... I'm working at a Toyota dealership as an entry level tech. I'm actually going to school to become an electrician but I like cars and enjoy working on them. Anyways I've been an dealership culture for a long time and TheHumbleMechanic is on point. It's really cool to see people rise through the ranks and get what they deserve. Working on cars is incredibly difficult if you have no reference. However I have a buddy who is majoring in computer science. He's very smart and understands complex math like its no problem. However he is clueless when it comes to anything mechanical. It's funny how intelligence varies from people. I would say both are impressive in there own right.

Mechanic vs Engineer vs KZfaqr You guys forgot to go over your other career choice...

All in all an engineer creates the product by using mathematics (science) and a mechanic built/rebuilt the product by using knowledge (experience)... Both are exhausting jobs!

Engineer: makes it happen Mechanic: keeps it happening

every engineering student should go work "on the tools" for a year on the 2nd year just to see what works and what doesn't. That would also make him/her a great heckler on those senior year lectures:) I'm a mechanical engineer (10yrs) myself and a lot of my designs got "humbled down" by the guys on the field over the years...

My education was in Computer Science. It was the same problem. A few years of programming projects. All summed up senior year with make this more complicated problem. But even then we didn't have a finished product project ever. So you leave with your degree with no concept on how a piece of software goes from start to finish. There are SO many things you don't know, that the real world does all the time. How are the files organised? How will we be accessing and storing data? What will the finished product look like? None of those things are touched in school. It's about history of programming and architecture.

Awesome! I'm graduating in 97 days with my Mechanical Engineering degree. Very excited. Thanks for all the videos. Last year I worked for this solar panel company and I loved it when the technicians from the shop would come over and discuss what they wanted and giving feedback on our designs!

Your comments at 4:30 really hit home. It wasn't until the final year that they finally gave us a hands on project to work on. Probably a school cost saving measure.

As a marketing guy, I blame it on the population who would prefer to have a camery. And corporate.

Gotta hand it to you HumbleMechanic, you took the time to reply and give insight to almost every comment on this video, even if it isn't your channel. Im so excited to enter the world of being a mechanic. Im leaving to Nashville Tennessee to enter the high power automotive program at NADC in July. I know its going to be such a challenging experience, but ive never been so excited to learn and expand my knowledge.

Thank you so much for making this video. I'm a sophomore engineering student and among these endless math and physics classes, it's easy to get lost and lose sight of what I'm working for. Hearing you both talk about your work is motivating.

Jason, thank you for posting this it was great to see! I'm 17 about to start college in the fall in hopes of becoming a mechanical engineer. As a fellow engine/car enthusiast it was really cool to get your perspective of what you went through going into mechanical. In addition it was also interesting to get another view from a technicians side.

Fantastic video! Really happy you posted this. I'm an aerospace engineer with a lot of friends in trades (plumbing, electricians mostly); there's a bit of flack between engineering and trades with immature people (on both sides), but thank you for this video that'll help a lot of people, especially high school students! If you're in High School and thinking about engineering, do shop classes! In the end, we need people in both fields. Do what you love, and don't talk down on people for not doing what you do!

Who says we don't want a car that gets 45 MPG? Let me speak to that marketer.

So glad to finally here some real world examples of what you can possibly do because I have always wanted to be a mechanical engineer and am going into college now to finally become one so i just wanted to say thanks so much for all of the different automotive videos you have made over the years because I really enjoy watch all of them and provides so many answers to all of the questions I've gathered over the years!

Lifelong amateur mechanic who currently owns a Volkswagen. Current mechanical engineering student. Humble Mechanic, you have saved my bacon several times on my GLI. Engineering Explained, your videos are relatively simple as compared to my school, BUT, your channel has saved my bacon many a time simply because you make engineering fun again when I'm burnt out on a long study session. I love you both. Thank you.

Damn that's like the perfect video for me right now, as I am going in car mechanic next spring and then in Mechanical engineering! Thanks a lot, very informative

as a current mechanical engineering student, this video is extremely helpful in hearing some of the things to expect after college!

Thanks so much for making this video guys. After attending tech school I worked as an auto mechanic for several years. What I found out was that I really loved the diagnoses and problem solving portion of the job. I always wanted to do things the right way while everyone else was just cutting corners. The guys who cut corners were looked highly upon by management because they sent cars out faster than I did, even though a lot of there cars would come back. When I repaired a car I really solved the problem. Now I'm going to school for engineering with the hope that I can actually use my problem solving abilities as opposed to just doing mindless part swapping (what my management wanted).

I greatly enjoyed this video! Originally I planned to go into engineering, and I've always loved learning how things work and the theories behind it. However, I realized I couldn't sit at a computer for long periods, and that I needed to be physically active. I'm now a locomotive mechanic and electrician, going on 8.5 years in the industry, and I love it. I've also been in a unique position to work along side engineers in designing and modifying systems to eliminate complexity (in some cases), improve designs, increase efficiency, and hopefully reduce environmental impact. Again, this is a fantastic video, and I've thoroughly enjoyed all of your videos. Keep up the good work!

First of all good conversation guys! speaking from a technician's stand point, one other disadvantage is the stigma that goes with this type of job. Most people thinks a mechanic/technician is someone who has very little educational back ground and that is wrong even more so today, that is definitely not the case. Maybe back in the days that statement would have some validity...but to effectively repair today's vehicle it takes more than jus turning wrenches. Like the "Humble Mechanic" tee shirt where can I get them?

As a marketing guy who has been inventing stuff since I was a kid - from CO2-powered spear guns to data storage equipment to hydraulic mechanisms used in my Chevy-Healey, I think it is important to understand that - after all is said and done - the task of civilization is to invent and build things that people actually want. Listening to what they want to buy to solve their problems is the key skill needed in the development process - whether engineering or mechanical construction. Many scrapes, blue thumbs, and solder burns later, I always strove to get built something of real worth to someone instead of an "epic" testimonial to imagination that sat in a corner unloved and unused. We're all in this together. Enjoyable video - marketing-bashing notwithstanding.

Guys, I just love the way you make it look so simple regarding the difference in both areas, but more important is that you both realize how much both areas rely on each other, the just graduated is supported by the technical expert and technical expert learn some methodology as well! Cool humble video, congrats!

Nice talk guys, both of my passions Mechanical engineer and Mechanic at home always learning. Thanks for sharing.

I love videos like these! College summers I was working as an electrician’s apprentice, and now I’m an electrical engineer. Both professions are incredibly important and difficult! On another note, I wouldn’t mind making engines tho haha!

Man this really helped but I'm still so indecisive. I wanna work on cars more than working in an office but I wanna make great pay too. Ugggghhhh

videos like these would make an excellent podcast to listen too on my daily commutes to college. I really like watching these videos, thanks.

Hey! It's two of my favourite guys online! Great to see you doing a video together. A big fan of both of your shows!

So to sum it all up; Engineers make it Mechanics fix it Correct??

This was a fantastic discussion. Thank you!

Great video. My son is planning to start college next year in Mechanical Engineering, and they start the students hands on in the lab from day one.We spoke with a Sophomore there when we went for a visit and he said by the end of his Freshman year he had used every machine in their shop.

What a great video about pros and cons of both fields and their difference. I LOVE these videos guys - you two should definitely do more of these together. Keep it up!

This is perhaps the least toxic comment section I've ever seen on a youtube video, keep being awesome humans guys!

I hope this collaboration between you (EE) and Humble can become a series, maybe on both channel ;)

Really appreciated the video guys. I am currently a mechanical engineering major working on my bachelors, however I still wanted to eventually take an automotive tech program afterwards, since it has always been a passion of mine. Alot of my questions were answered with this video. Thanks.

i love these videos that have a different format. Very informative and after being subbed for a while, seeing a new side to Jason

when someone asks me what I am going to be as a mechanical engineer, I tell them I have no idea because it's such a broad field to the point that I can end up designing the paper towel dispenser for the restroom.

funny thing is engineers have no idea how thing works when they get out of school. we do understand the physics behind it, I'm in my last year of civil engineering and I can tell you what type of concrete to use and have how much stress the structure can take, but don't ask me how to go about actually making it

Fantastic video. As more high school grads are venturing into the ~minefield~ major choice section of college, I say we need more of these videos!

great video! I'm a mechanic who's halfway through engineering school and really enjoyed this episode. I love working on cars but can't wait for those engineering checks. I'm not looking forward to the amount of stress and time that those checks will come with though.

You forgot the biggest difference -- Mechanics get dirty !!!! And Engineers can get paper cuts :-) Love these talks. Keep them coming.

After watching this, I've decided that I definitely want to be a beard when I grow up! Genuinely interesting insights from each of you, thanks for sharing your respective experience.

Yeah I’m an engineering program at my hs currently, and I have no clue what I wanna do in the future, but you being confused too at one point in your careers gives me hope because you always hear of engineer having to always be knowing what to do at any given moment, nice talk glad I watched

I really appreciate that both of you mechanic and mechanical engineer try to make videos about the difference between your jobs or works. Greatly I watch this video that make me happy. Beside from the advantage and the disadvantage it reveal the truth from the reality on how it feel, how hard being a mechanical than mechanic

Performance engine builders, Engine tuners, Race car builders etc, regularly disregard automotive engineering and construct some amazing things. Some things defy textbook knowledge and are only learned from experience. An engineer can tell you what SHOULD work. Sometimes pretty accurately. A sharp, hands on guy will tell you what ACTUALLY works. And can tell you exactly why.

I have been a design engineer for over 20 years. The knowledge you learn in school is almost completely irrelevant as the theory does not usually have a practical application. I do not design automotive parts, my career has been completely designing hydrocarbon plant or power plants. To design those you learn about the different codes and standards related to those facilities .... university does not teach you anything about the codes and standards followed by working engineers. Engineering is the toughest undergrad degree you can enroll in. The math and other subjects they teach you will make most other students wince. Starting wage for me 20 years ago was $32,000/yr. Today new grad students are hired at $60,000 to $70,000/ year depending on how good they are at negotiating. It took me 7 years of working before my salary exceeded $60,000/year but that was just the way the market was. My salary has since gone above $170,000/year. Consulting is a tough and thankless job though.

Love your discussions. Hope you can have more of these types in the future. Great channel BTW.

Going into college with the intent of becoming a mechanical engineer, this video really helped me solidify my decision. Cant thank both of y’all enough

I studied ME for years, got a BS and an MS and worked for three years in a manufacturing line machine company. I hated it. All the passion I had for math and science proved useless, I was expected to jocky a desk for 9 hours a day and wasted most of those on BS. I felt like I had just signed away the next 40 years to my life to meaningless drudgery and existential terror. My advice to aspiring ME students: do a lot of interships. Don't get blindsided into a corporate nightmare the year after you graduate.

make a video on difference between mechanical engineering and automobile engineering reason to select which engineering to study

This conversation was a good perspective to get a glimpse of what goes on behind the making and maintaining of things and the challenges faced to do the jobs in question. Thanks! I've been pretty harsh before on technicians and on the design of products I've purchased in the past. I hope I can be more understanding when my expectations aren't met, since people have worked hard behind the scenes to make it all happen.

This video is so perfect! I am currently in a Mechanical Engineering program and am transferring to a different University to go in to Auto Mechanics. It was so helpful hearing about both of the careers I am/was considering from people in those careers. This video fits my situation perfectly. I love your videos and have learned a lot of helpful things i will be able to use in the future.

Great video, I really appreciate it and wish something like this was out when I was looking into my higher education. I took mechanical engineering and was in the exact same boat as Jason, so I dropped out after getting my diploma and started working on cars on my free time while developing a business. I learned so much yet so little from engineering ( most importantly as he mentions, the mindset and work ethic) , and it gave me the confidence to jump head first into very advanced situations. It showed me that I'm the only limiting factor in solving a problem. If Elon Musk can teach himself rocket science, you can teach yourself dynamics and thermo/fluid transfer to build your dream race car. I've since looked into trades school engineering programs and every single course they take seems to be related to the degree, with a lot more hands on work. If you want a good mix of both fields, I highly recommend looking into it. Nobody cares where you went to school when you have the reputation to back up your work. It's not where you went to school anymore, it's who you know and what you're capable of doing. Employers want results and proof of production, not grades.

I found this very useful as someone who is currently looking at different possible university courses (in the UK) and I am still unsure of what field of engineering I want to go into. PLEASE, if you could do more of these then I'd find it super useful thank you.

Watching after 5 yrs. Still epic! Not only passion will help, but skills. Balance those two and money will come.

Thanks! This was actually pretty helpful. I finished with a communications degree and now hold a job at an IT company, but I seriously love cars and I really wanna learn more, and coz of this vid, I started considering the possibility of taking up part-time classes at tech school. Thanks again!

I would like to see a conversation between a group of mechanics and a group of automotive engineers. Have the engineers/designers explain why they built things a particular way. Did they ever think it might have be fixed or taken apart?

"OHH, I've never used a tool before". That is the motto of every engineer I've ever had to work with. Lots of ideas of what something needs to be, zero idea how to make it.

Being in the automotive industry almost my whole life this was an interesting perspective video. Thanks.

If you guys had a talkshow I'd subscribe and listen in while I was working lol. I've been into Engineering explained's channel for about 2 years now every so often I encounter a problem or question that is well explained and answered. Now that I'm out of the Military I've become an entry-level Lube tech at ford and when I started I found humble mechanic on youtube. I just realized you two actually met up and had this discussion! I was just wondering the ins and outs of engineering while currently working as a tech at a dealership. How cool! Keep the channels going guys it's awesome that you guys can go out of your way to help educate and shed light on possibly not so well known things within the industry.

Everyone... The engineer designs/innovates a new cylinder head using 3D modeling and a deep understanding of how heat transfer, hot spots, air/fluid flow, and material cross-sectional properties effect the combustion efficiency, pre-detonation, flow capability, and longevity of the cylinder head. The mechanic bolts the cylinder head on... An engineer is a designer, a mechanic is a laborer... Any GOOD engineer can do the mechanics job, but a mechanic can NOT do an engineer's job!!

Man I wish youtube was around before I decided to be mechanic. If you see this comment and thinking about being mechanic...DON'T!!! I would have been an engineer just based off this video. Mechanics average 40k a year. Engineers starting at 60k going up to 75-80k range is not even in the same league. Even after 2 years school I still have to keep my master ASE up to date. I'm often sent to training classes for continued education. I would've been better off doing the 4 years and be done with it. The dirt and grime, heavy lifting, cuts in hands, being burned as occupation risk, expensive tools to pay for out of salary, certification to maintain, all for pay similar to a Liberian. Mechanic is a terrible field right now.

When i was a kid growing up on a farm, we had to fix everything, and my family; cousins etc would bring me all kinds of electrical stuff to pull apart. Then i started putting broken items back together..... I was lucky to have such a hands on education with lots of tools and open places/workshops to create stuff. I wish every child had the same.

Excellent video. Thanks for posting. Great to get both perspectives.

Wow I'm studying mechanical engineering thinking I would have more involvement with cars lmao

I feel like car engineers make life harder for mechanics :/

i have a BS in physics and math and ended up as a contractor having to fix fleet vehicles and found both science and hands on part go "hand and hand" you seem to be one of the few to explain things feom a science mechanic engineer background . good work

Just subscribed to @humblemechanic after seeing this. Owner of a '13 MK6 GTI with a K04 setup! Also an engineer with a dad who started as a union machinist who later went to Purdue to become a mech. engineer. Both avenues of vocation are great!

Hey! I'm a marketer! Nice vid guys like both your channels

What US mechanics need to buy their own tools? That's completely different here in the Netherlands

This is a great video and answered many of my questions. Thank you so much for doing this!!!

You really nailed the description of a new engineer's experience. I work for a Major supplier in the automotive field and from day one I was cast into projects more complex than anything I had ever dealt with in school. The thing school teaches you is how to approach problems from an engineering standpoint which allows you to take on projects that you would think are out of your capability. Anybody who is good or enjoys math that asks me if they should go into engineering I just give them an idea of what my salary is in order to seal the deal. Great videos by the way I really enjoy your insight. As an engineer, contrary to popular belief, I don't know everything so I am always trying to expand my knowledge base. You never know when something you picked up can help you on a future project. Keep it up!

Jason, were you on any project teams in school, like FSAE? That's a super great way to learn the practicals of vehicle systems and engineering in general if classes aren't cutting it.

15:34 logical efficiency

This video is very interesting. I'm glad there is some real information on what being an engineer is like. Thanks for the vid!

Great video! Lot of respect for both of you and both of your fields

Mechanics repair what the Engineers or Production failed at..... IF you rarely/never have to take your vehicle in for repair, Thank an Engineer. On older vehicles that are well outside their industry determined useful life span(planned obsolescence), the successful mechanics become engineers to keep vehicles on the road..

I could instantly tell you have more than 60 frames per second at the first two seconds of watching this video

Great video. I'm a junior engineer myself and definitely feel the same about getting thrown into the deep end. One main difference I didn't see mentioned is the gratification of completing challenges. My projects have been high stress for 1 year or more with very little gratification in the end. I see sales of the products climbing and feel great about that of course but whenever I correctly diagnose and fix car problems, I get that great sense of pride and satisfaction with completing a much smaller task. The feedback is just so much more direct. I imagine that is a perk of being a technician. In engineering we're never truly satisfied with our products because we want the best. Faster, quieter, more efficient, more durable... but have to make sacrifices for the budget to keep management happy. It's a tough gig!

This is probably the coolest video I have seen in a while. While I am a Computer Systems Engineer well into my career, it is completely awesome hearing such clear and well thought out statements of the compares and contrasts of 2 similar type careers. I already sub to Engineering Explained but I am totally checking out Humble Mechanics channel too.

An Engineer is the one who designs a car around a single component, thus making the mechanic have to take everything apart to get at it, lol. they are also the ones who make the transmission fluid filter and drain pan plug look identical to what would otherwise be an oil filter and drain plug and then burries the drain plug behind a bunch of plastic and then puts the oil filter right next to the exhaust manifold...

I'm an engineering student right now and you keep saying that starting at 60k is really good for a 4 year degree? Prior to going to school full time I worked in the Oilfield with absolutely no degree and a Ged. Making 80k. Just before I quit my boss offered me a 10% raise. So you're saying I'm getting an education to make less money?

This is a really helpful video. Very insightful. Thanks for the upload 😄

Oh god, I needed this vid since a kid. I was always into cars. I swear with all ur knowledge u could build a car with your videos and tools alone.

2:12 reading from your left hand I see lol

1 year of tech school???? In Australia we do 3 years tech school and then a further year on the job before qualifying...... my Automotive Mechanics ticket, Auto electrician ticket, LPG ticket, Vehicle Safety Inspector ticket and Diesel ticket took far longer than 1 year of tech school.

best video ever, being a technician with a passion for engineering (little bit) is really cool, I would love to see more view points from more techs or engineer's.

its great to see these worlds collide and get a sort of perspective from both areas. great video btw