What is the difference between mechanical engineering and electrical engineering?

Hi DJ, this is a great question! What you might like to know is that you can combine both majors.

I went to an engineering school (MIT) and studied electrical engineering (EE). Part of my course work was studying physics which included a lot of elements from mechanical engineering (ME). I think the best way to think about each major is that EE help you understand electrical components and electrical design & ME helps you understand structures and how to physically build things.

Robotics is an application that combines both majors. In fact, at least two close friends pursued a Masters thesis specifically in robotics. They designed arms (ME) and the motors to operate them (EE). They were able to learn how to write software to make the system work and use other programs to prototype/simulate their robot before ever building it. There are also a number of ways you can learn how to code (different programming languages, video series on youtube or MIT's Open Course Ware). I would recommend taking a class in ME and EE and seeing which you like more as a major. You can then complement your major by taking a few classes in the other discipline. One cool thing you can do to get exposure in EE and ME is by getting involved with FIRST robotics (your school might have a program already).

All my best,
Antoinne

My brother struggled to choose between these for his PhD because he was interested in robotics also. Ultimately he chose Mechanical Engineering and as a result has gotten to do some very hands on work with a neat research project which has also included aspects of Computer Science at least and perhaps also Electrical Engineering and has been very happy with his choice.

If you are interested in robots, I would check out this website http://www.societyofrobots.com/

I read through the "My First Robot Tutorial" and the "$50 Robot Tutorial" and there is some great information there. If I had to choose between mechanical engineering and electrical engineering based on a career working with robots, I'd pick electrical engineering because in that degree program you will learn 2/3 of what you need for building robots (electronics and software programming). The other 1/3 of the robot, the mechanical part, is mostly going to be buying off-the-shelf parts and putting them together. If you have to make any custom parts, it will probably be out of aluminum, which is super easy to drill holes through and cut. You don't need a mechanical engineering degree to do the mechanical part, you just need imagination.

Robotics is an excellent example of an area that straddles multiple types of engineering, including mechanical, electrical, and software. Which to pick as a major depends on which area interests you the most. If you are most interested in robotic mechanisms, that suggests mechanical engineering; if you are most interested in the motors and servos that drive the mechanisms, that suggests electrical engineering; if you are most interested in the software that controls the motors that drive the mechanisms, that suggests computer engineering or computer science. But regardless of which type you choose as a major, you will need to study the other two anyway. It is very common for a robotics engineer to have an undergraduate major in one discipline (for example, mechanical engineering), also take courses in software and electrical in the later years of undergraduate school, then go to graduate school in one of the other two disciplines (for example, software engineering). Some of the most interesting engineering work is done on projects, like robotics, that involve multiple disciplines. It is a lot of fun.