Hello hello! Are we excited for the summer? I sure am. I have reached that point in sem 2 where I have already exhaused all my energy throughout the year and motivation in me is zero. Can’t say I’ve been operating at peak productivity, but we are all human – think of us like an engine, if we are constantly running at the max we are more likely to break down (literally lol). Make sure to take your breaks (I am currently reading The Poppy War, I love R. F. Kuang).
Anywho, engineering spec submissions have just opened! Still got a month to go before it closes, but now is an important time where you will make a huge, influencial decision to your future career and path!
I’m just kidding. Seriously. If theres anything I’d like you to takeaway from this post, it is this
Your specialisation does not dictate your future. Choose a specialisation that you think you would enjoy, not based on the future job market.
Ignore what everyone says around you and online. If you choose biomedical engineering, you are not confined to F&P Healthcare or a researcher at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute. I spoke to a project manager at Beca who specialised in biomedical engineering at UoA. Beca is one of the largest engineering consultancies in Asia Pacific.
This post is all about sharing the key takeaways to Mechatronics, based on my experience so far. I’m sure a lot of you are still figuring out if Mechatronics truly is for you. Hopefully this will provide useful!
I love mechatronics, because it allows me to discover my interests and figure out what I would like to pursue further in the future.
Me in part 1 when i was deciding my spec:
- omg i love CAD 😍 and I also love enggen 121 dynamics, mechanical engineering is at top of list frfr
- I love pure math, comes quite naturally to me, but bro I absolutely hate stats so alas goodbye to engsci 🙁
- def not civil. don’t think much needs to be said (jk. love my concrete stans e.g. Ankia the part II civil blogger, a proud devotee of not only concrete but also soil!)
- chemical materials could be cool, but no.
- we have enough software engineers (jkjk, idk just doesn’t really appeal to me bc I like to broaden my knowledge and skills outside of pure abstract concepts. I wanna make stuff see tangible outcomes man)
- computer systems? They need to promote this spec more bc I did not know it existed. Seems v cool, but again I don’t wanna say goodbye to mechanical engineering.
- i enjoyed electeng 101 bc of the challenge, problem solving, and the lecturers. Jesin and William are so goated
- biomedical engineering?? Ok genuinely my heart lies at biomed no kidding I was so confident on biomed since high school. But its like, do I know what biomed engineering is about? Did i just overly romanticise it in my head based on the name itself?
- Mechatronics?!!??!!? Mechatronic graduates can design medical devices, prosthetics, robots, cool high tech stuff, drones, everything!?!?!?!? The spec will teach me software design, become a master coder, while broadening knowledge in mechanical and electrical engineering (CAD 😍😍)? And there is a biomechatronics elective in part 4. OK SLAY SAY NO MORE SIGN ME UP.
And thus, I chose Mechatronics. Do I regret it?
Well, here is Me in part 2 almost completing part 2 of my spec:
- aight i don’t think i like CAD that much
- enggen 222 (121 dynamics on steroids) is cool but, do I really like it thaaat much?
- enggen 131 wasn’t my fav fav course but bro turns out 131 was such a scam like coding isn’t that bad I ACTUALLY LOVE CODING BRO MECHENG 270 SOFTWARE DESIGN COURSE I SWEAR I am not a master in c++ programming but the assignments are so fun and I HAVE LEARNT SO MUCH. Literally an inspiring course. The assignments and course is quite difficult, but bro like its the course where I actually learn to understand not because i want to pass.
- bro MECHENG 201 was absolutely amazing as well. CODING ROBOTS. LEARNING ABOUT CONTROL SYSTEMS AND DEVICE COMPONENTS. GETTING TO ACTUAL INTERACT WITH AND TOUCH THE ROBOT AND SEE IT MOVE AROUND BASED ON OUR CODE. absolutely inspiring
- hm. based on the points above, it seems like I only enjoyed the non mechanical papers. lollllll. Did the “jack of all trades” element of Mechatronics save me from specialising in a course that I wouldn’t even end up enjoying? If it wasn’t for mechatronics offering software papers, would I have discovered my interest in coding?
In other words, Mechatronics really made me reflect and realise what I do and do not enjoy. And in fact, I am glad for mechatronics, because next year in part 3, our degree will no longer have mechanical papers, we will be entering the electrical circuit aspect of our degree. I am hyped! Who knows, maybe I have an unfound love (or dislike) towards electrical engineering!
To summarise: if you are still on the fence, then maybe Mechatronics is for you.
My experience says enough. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but knew there were a few things I def wanted to try out. Mechatronics gives you the privilege to play around, try everything out, and discover what is truly for you. Sometimes you can’t trust your judgement until you actually try it yourself.
That said, regardless what you specialise in, you can always switch to another spec halfway thru your current one! Spec choices can seem like a big decision, but it aint that big.
Anywho, that is all from me. Check out my Q+A series with industry professionals who graduated with a Mechatronics degree! It’ll show you how diverse the pathways are as a tron graduate (and how your degree does not dictate your future 😉).
Rest heaps, eat heaps, I’ll see you next post!