Mechanical engineers need to:

Communicate

• Understand written information.
• Understand spoken information.
• Read and understand work-related materials.
• Listen to others and ask questions.
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• Speak clearly so listeners can understand.
• Write clearly so other people can understand.

Reason and Problem Solve

• Follow guidelines to arrange objects or actions in a certain order.
• Combine several pieces of information and draw conclusions.
• Analyze ideas and use logic to determine their strengths and weaknesses.
• Use reasoning to discover answers to problems.
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• Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong.
• Judge the costs and benefits of a possible action.
• Recognize the nature of a problem.
• Identify what must be changed to reach goals.
• Understand new information or materials by studying and working with them.
• Develop rules that group items in various ways.
• Think of new ideas about a topic.
• Recognize when important changes happen or are likely to happen in a system.
• Think of original, unusual, or creative ways to solve problems.

Use Math and Science

• Use math skills to solve problems.
• Use scientific methods to solve problems.
• Choose a mathematical method or formula to solve problems.
• Add, subtract, multiply, and divide quickly and correctly.

Manage Oneself, People, Time, and Things

• Manage the time of self and others.
• Check how well one is learning or doing something.

Work with People

• Change behavior in relation to others’ actions.
• Persuade others to approach things differently.
• Look for ways to help people.

Work with Things

• Analyze needs and requirements when designing products.
• Inspect and evaluate the quality of products.
• Design equipment and technology to meet user needs.
• Determine the causes of technical problems and find solutions for them.
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• Watch gauges, dials, and output to make sure a machine is working properly.

Perceive and Visualize

• Imagine how something will look if it is moved around or its parts are rearranged.
• Identify a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in distracting material.
• Quickly and accurately compare letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns.