Aspiring Engineers

On Reddit, I saw a post in /r/engineering:

I'm a thirteen year old aspiring mechanical engineer. I am going into the eighth grade. What steps could I take now to become an engineer later?


Here is my reply:

1. Take things apart. Learn all the ways they work to build up your understanding of how things are done. The engineering term is "prior art." The colloquial expression is "Don't reinvent the wheel." It's like learning a language; build up your vocabulary by direct observation.
2. Break things. I assign my interns to make threaded holes in a plate, and then, using levers, use physical force to break screws of different sizes. Understanding the ways in which things break is key to designing things that won't break. Having a feel for the forces involved is very important for building up your engineering intuition.
3. Build things. Have something in mind and try it. See what stops you. Work around it. Draw it, and then build it. Learn to draw parts in a standard 3 view, and learn to do it by hand with paper and pencil.
4. Keep an open mind about learning things in other fields. Sculpture, chemistry, biology, english, dance and many other subjects have direct relationships with mechanical engineering. Learn what interests you and use it to think about the forces flowing through structures.

Great question!!