From an old excavator to mechanical engineering degree

With this degree, you get a broad education – and your career prospects are correspondingly diverse, reports Lasse Wack, who is currently completing his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He sums up: “The course is cool. I'm very satisfied.” He recommends that prospective students and first-year students gain practical experience as early as possible – as a student assistant, for example.

When asked why he decided to study mechanical engineering, Lasse Wack smiles as an appropriate anecdote immediately springs to mind: a few years ago, he and his family renovated an old farmhouse. “At some point, my dad wanted to get an old excavator up and running again.” Lasse Wack did detailed research on how to reactivate the old machine: “It was fun. And it made it clear to me what I wanted to study.” At the RPTU, he enrolled in the bachelor's degree program in mechanical engineering. The most obvious university for this subject – from the point of view of a native of Saarland.

Broad basic knowledge: the mechanical engineering program has a little bit of everything

A decision he has never regretted: “The course is cool. I'm very happy with it.” Why does he like it? What is special about his subject? “There's a bit of everything. It's very broad, you get a lot of basic knowledge.” The bachelor's degree program covers the development, construction and operation of systems, machines and technical products of all kinds – over their entire life cycle. Lasse Wack: “We have mechanics, thermodynamics, materials science, manufacturing technology, electrical engineering, design theory and machine elements.” The most important contents of the engineering sub-disciplines – taught in a seven-semester course.

Specializations can be chosen as early as the fifth semester

From the fifth semester onwards, you can also choose your own specialization, adds the 24-year-old. Product development, automotive engineering, materials science and materials engineering, production engineering, computational engineering, applied computer science, mechatronics and automation technology are available. The specializations, in turn, form the basis for the advanced master's programs. Lasse Wack is specializing in mechatronics and automation. His upcoming bachelor's thesis will also be in this area: “I don't yet know exactly what the topic will be. Maybe it will be about automating a test stand.”

But despite all the enthusiasm, his studies surely also have challenging aspects? “The fact that mechanical engineering is so diversified can sometimes be difficult. Because there are always parts that you are not so good at. But if you sit down and do something, then it's all doable.”

From the automotive industry to aerospace: the professional future is diverse

He doesn't yet have any “specific idea” about his professional future, says Lasse Wack, who in any case still wants to do a master's degree after graduating with his bachelor's. “I'm interested in a lot of things.” Possible fields of work with a corresponding degree are construction, research and development. “There are also various sub-areas here, such as developing pumps.” The aerospace or automotive industries could also be possible fields of work later on.

Gaining practical experience as a student assistant

And what should prospective students know? How do you get off to a good start in your studies? Lasse Wack recommends accepting a position as a student assistant in the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering as early as possible, and getting straight down to work in the laboratory, for example: “This is a great opportunity to put what you have learned during your studies into practice. And you can make contacts in the department at the same time.”

It's also important, he adds, to join a study group: “That makes a lot of things easier.” The basic internship, for which you theoretically have until the sixth semester, should be completed as early as possible, according to Lasse Wack: “That's six weeks in a company, maybe in a metalworking shop.” You learn important skills there: “Welding or pressing, for example.” It's good to get to know the basics as early as possible. “And that also takes the time pressure off the entire course of study.”

Enthusiasm for machines

What personal qualities should you have? “You should be motivated and interested in math and physics.” And also – adds the bachelor's student: “I notice time and again that many of my fellow students have an enthusiasm for machines.” And this is precisely what you encounter at Lasse Wack – once awakened by an old excavator.

Author: Christine Pauli