Mechanical engineering vs computer science: which is best in 2021

In this article let’s take a look at everything you need to know about mechanical engineering vs Computer Science Engineering in detail.

If you are confused regarding which engineering branch to choose between the both you do not need to worry about it and I would recommend you to read this article to the end and bookmark it somewhere.

So without further ado let’s get started.

Table of Contents

Definition & duties

What is mechanical engineering and its duties?

Basically mechanical engineering is one of the oldest engineering branches which combines principles of maths and physics for design and maintenance of mechanical systems, These engineers specialise in fluid mechanics, automation and control system, renewable energy, automotive design.

What is computer science engineering?

Computer science engineering is a field of engineering which deals with computer science networking algorithms programming languages computers software and hardware.

The main job of a computer engineer is to design test and maintain computer software web applications and algorithms.

Now that you know all the duties and responsibilities of a computer science engineer, let’s move forward.

Difference between the two

Here is a table that explains the difference between the two in detail

Factors	Mechanical engineering	Computer science engineering
Started from	This started in the 18th century due to the industrial revolution in Europe.	It began in 1939 when John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford Berry started creating the world’s first electronic digital computer
Subjects taught and specializations	Material Science and Engineering. Engineering Mechanics. Thermodynamics. Heat Transfer. Robotics, Engineering Management, Nanotechnology Fluid Mechanics. Machine Drawing. Fluid Machinery. Kinematic Analysis and Synthesis. Workshop Practice.	Fundamentals of Computer Programming. Data Structures. Object-Oriented Programming. Design and Analysis of Algorithms. Computer Architecture and Organisation. Database Management Systems.
What is the work	The work of mechanical engineers is to research and develop machines and tools and work on physical part of objects	The work and focus of computer engineers is to design and develop computer software and hardware
Work environment	The majority of the time mechanical engineers work in factories testing and manufacturing and in the office room in front of computer designing and developing the machines	Majority of the time computer science engineer work in front of computer in office writing code and programming and developing new products and softwares
Type of work	They work in creating physical products like machines and tools	They work in creating digital products like softwares and websites

These are all the important differences you should know between the two.

Similarities between the two

Here are some important similarities between the two professions.

Both the branches are related to designing, development and maintenance of new products
Both engineering branches requires a lot of creativity and problem solving skills
Even the work environment of both are quite similar because both of them work on the computer using different softwares for long hours of time and exchange different ideas with team members
Both of them get a chance to work in similar sectors and companies because every machine needs some computer software to run automatically
Both of them have good demand and have good earning potential in the world
Both of them are equally competitive
Both of them are constantly changing due to technology advancements
Both engineering branches are four years long, you have same eligibility criteria which is to have maths physics and chemistry as main subjects in your 12^th
The admission process to get seat in the top colleges is also similar, you should write & clear JEE main exam to get seat in the top engineering colleges like IIT, NIT in India.
In both of the degrees you will get knowledge about variety of subjects including mathematics, computers and design, etc

Skills required for both professions

Here is a table which lists the important skills you need in both the professions.

Computer science engineering	Mechanical engineering
Problem solving skills	Problem solving skills
Creativity skill	Creativity skill
Analytical thinking skill	Analytical thinking skill
Communication teamwork and interpersonal skills	Communication teamwork and interpersonal skills
Good programming skills	Design and detail oriented skill
Basics of machine learning	Maths & computer skills like geometry trigonometry calculus and statistics and using various computer softwares for design and development
Strong Data Structures and Algorithms skills	Project management and evaluation skills
Basics of web development	Ability to work under pressure
Being open minded and learn new things quickly	Good negotiation skills
Effective Time management skills	Effective Time management skills

these are all the important skills you need to have in order to get in to both the profession and become successful in it.

Why you should choose either one?

Why you should choose mechanical engineering?

Here are some important reasons why you should choose mechanical engineering as your career option.

It is an evergreen industry because machines are not going anywhere and the demand of mechanical engineers is continued to grow and the artificial intelligence cannot completely replace this engineering branch in the coming future
Mechanical engineers are used in Almost any industry which requires the use of machines and you can work in both National and multinational companies
As a mechanical engineer you can get a chance to work in public sector undertaking companies like BDL, and midhani, etc after completing your engineering through GATE exam and get a government job
Using this degree you can also start your own business and startup because this degree will help you develop skills like problem solving and creativity which are the core essence of starting any business apart from getting the knowledge of mechanical engineering
Using this degree you can get a lot of knowledge in wide variety of subjects including physics mathematics thermodynamics and computers, etc

You can learn more about the pros and cons of Mechanical Engineering in detail here.

Why you should choose computer science engineering?

Let’s take a look at some important reasons why you should choose computer science engineering as your career option.

This is most highly paying engineering branch at present
As a computer science engineer you can work in many multinational companies like Google Facebook and Amazon, etc
Computer science engineers have high demand and also has a good future because every business requires computers and softwares to run efficiently
Because this is job deals with designing and development of softwares so it’s not completely replaced by artificial intelligence and cannot be automated completely
It is also a very broad field and you can get a job in various sectors including cyber security data science machine learning and web development
You can also start your own tech business by creating any software as a service product using your knowledge of programming, sell and make money
In this job you can work from anywhere in the world all you need is a computer and internet connection so you do not have to move to office for work which can give you a lot of work flexibility

You can learn more about the pros and cons of computer Science Engineering in detail here.

Job opportunities in the two

Job opportunities in mechanical engineering

Now let’s take a look at what are the job opportunities and which companies hire mechanical engineers and what is the average salary and growth of jobs in this branch.

Now let’s take a look at what are the job opportunities in mechanical engineering are,

Nuclear engineer
Maintenance engineer
Cad technician
Automotive engineer
Aerospace engineer

As a mechanical engineer you can work in different sectors and industries like,

Automobile sector
Aerospace industry
Defence sector
Materials and metals industry
Railway coach factories
Chemical manufacturing plants
Research and development field
Oil exploration sector

And when it comes to earning potential and salary,

According to bls the average salary of mechanical engineers is 90000 dollars per annum which is 43 dollars per hour and according to pay scale the average salary of a mechanical engineer in India is 3.5 lacs per annum and there is 7% job growth for mechanical engineer between 2020-2030 in America.

And there are many company which hire mechanical engineer like, Ashok Leyland, general motors, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata motors, Ford motor company, etc.

Apart from private companies you can also get a job in government funded companies and in PSU sectors like BHEL, HPCL, DRDO, BDL, IOCL, NHPC, coal India, and many more companies which you can get a job through the GATE exam.

You can also find thousands of jobs to apply on platforms like naukri.com with mechanical engineering degree.

Job opportunities in Computer Science Engineering

There are different types of job opportunities you can get after computer science engineering like,

Web development
Software engineer
Data scientist
Application developer
Game designer and game developer
Machine learning expert
Full stack developer
Information system manager
Computer programmer
Ethical hacker
System database administrator
Blockchain Developer/Engineer
Computer Network Architect

As a computer science engineer you can get a chance to work in various sectors like finance, defence, health, education or government, banking, agriculture, cyber security, large software companies, etc.

And when it comes to earning potential and salary and the growth in jobs,

As per BLS, Employment in computer and information technology occupations is projected to grow 13 percent from 2020 to 2030, faster than the average for all occupations. These occupations are projected to add about 667,600 new jobs.

The median annual wage for computer and information technology occupations was $91,250 in May 2020.

Because of this many job opportunities in computer Science, Engineering like Java developer, software engineering, data scientist, information security engineer, frontend designer, etc is listed among the top 25 best jobs in America according to Glassdoor.

According to Glassdoor the average salary of a computer science engineers in India is around 40000 rupees per month.

And there are many companies that hire computer science engineers like Infosys, Google Microsoft, TCS, Amazon, Tech Mahindra, HP, Samsung, Facebook, Twitter, IBM Qualcomm, and many other product-based and service-based technology companies both National and international ones.

And if you have taken your under graduation in computer Science branch from top engineering institutions like IIT then you can also get a chance to work in foreign countries offices of companies like

Google, Microsoft & Facebook with the highest package you can expect and you can also get to work in government-owned PSU companies like ISRO, DRDO, BDL, BHEL, and get a job in many public sector company banks, etc

You can also find thousands of open jobs on platforms like naukri.com for computer science engineer and many specialisations like Java developer and web developers & you can apply and start earning money.

Mechanical engineering vs computer Science Engineering: which is best?

After reading all of this if you are still confused then I would choose computer science engineering to be better than mechanical engineering for a couple of reasons like,

Computer science engineers make more money and they have more demand compared to mechanical engineers
The demand of computer science engineer is more compared to mechanical because every business needs computers and software to run for example if you are a Java developer you can find more than 20000 open jobs to apply on naukri.com here
Computer science engineering is considered to be the best job in America at present considering both the salary, satisfaction and demand
As a computer science engineer you do not need to move to office, you can work from home as well which gives you a lot of flexibility and free time to spend with your family
Computer science engineers can also start a technology based startup using their programming skills by creating any SAAS product and software
You can also work and earn good amount of money as a freelancer in computer Science Engineering
You can also learn many important skills in computer Science Engineering like coding without investing large sums of money in college but in cheaper prices by taking courses on online platforms like udemy

Now it totally depends upon you regarding what are your interests and skills and if you are interested in computer and programming related stuff and Technology then you can choose computer science engineering and you can choose mechanical engineering if you like to work with machines and get a job in government sector.

I have no hate towards mechanical engineering students and those who want to do Mechanical Engineering it is just my opinion and when we compare both purely based on Statistics and data.

Mechanical engineering is also good in its own aspects if you don’t compare it with other engineering branch like computer science.

If you are interested in computer Science Engineering then I would recommend you to read my articles below for further knowledge and information.

With that said let’s end the article.

Conclusion

These are all the things you need to know between mechanical engineering and computer science engineering in detail.

Do comment down which is your favourite engineering branch in the comment section below.

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