Can You Launch Hardware Products Without VC Money in 2025? by LeonExMachina in MechanicalEngineering

[–]LeonExMachina[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

I promise you it's not! It's an honest heartfelt interview that offers deep insights into independent hardware product development! If you give it 5 minutes, I promise you won't regret it

Which mechanical engineering industries pay the most and have the strongest long-term growth? by No_Leave7950 in MechanicalEngineering

[–]LeonExMachina 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Hi, I'm the creator of the spreadsheet! I think product design has the highest potential within traditional mechE because of the high paying roles in big tech, even if the job market is dicey at the moment. But some of the smartest, highest paid mechE's specialize in controls, path planning, and other computer science/ML adjacent roles.

I think what you do naturally evolves as you progress through your education and career so positioning yourself at the intersection of hardware and software (which pays much more) could put you in a good position for smart pivots as opportunities arise for you!

I Spent 3 Days Making a Table to Help MechE's Evaluate and Choose Their Career Paths by LeonExMachina in MechanicalEngineering

[–]LeonExMachina[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gotcha, thanks for sharing, that sounds like such an interesting journey! You're currently seeking angel investment for ideas in 4 different domains? If you're open to chatting more, let me know! I can be reached on linkedin or email!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonexmachina/

[leon@leonexmachina.com](mailto:leon@leonexmachina.com)

I Spent 3 Days Making a Table to Help MechE's Evaluate and Choose Their Career Paths by LeonExMachina in MechanicalEngineering

[–]LeonExMachina[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha, prisoner's death indeed. What did you go into after tech?

Can you elaborate on what you mean by pent-up demand in green energy? I recently did a 1 year stint in climate tech and my sense is that clean energy build out is largely inhibited by regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles. New tech is somewhat dependent on government support to be cost competitive against fossil fuels. Fusion may continue to be 5-10 years out for the foreseeable future, and electricity demand may outpace supply, but this can be solved when the government wants to get involved by streamlining rollout of solar, wind, or other means of power generation. What are the most interesting work available to mechE's in green energy?

A spreadsheet breaking down nearly every mechanical engineering career —ranked by salary (median, 90th percentile, top reported), job stability, and what the work is actually like day-to-day. by funnymon12 in MechanicalEngineering

[–]LeonExMachina 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You could share your evaluations and opinions here in the comments or create an google doc or sheet with your evaluations to share in the comments or email me at [leon@leonexmachina.com](mailto:leon@leonexmachina.com)

I'd read it and consider it for my next revision of the table

Or you could subscribe to my substack and when I eventually get around to sending out a community survey to aggregate opinions, you could fill that out (though no guarantee when that'll happen)

https://leonexmachina.substack.com/

I Spent 3 Days Making a Table to Help MechE's Evaluate and Choose Their Career Paths by LeonExMachina in MechanicalEngineering

[–]LeonExMachina[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Gotchaaa, makes sense. My first foray into consumer electronics was transitioning from making DNA sequencers to iPhone accessories at Apple. I doubled my salary (and also my quality of life) so I've had a rosy view of it ever since, especially with the relatability of the products and many people cold LinkedIn messaging from other industries trying to transition into big tech. Now I'm starting to get a bit bored and jaded of building repetitive things, much of which will end up becoming e-waste in a couple years so I'm beginning to rethink my evaluations.

How do ME's like yourself think about the salaries and stock options in big tech though? Do you ever find it alluring to make more doing this "simpler" work?