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When you think about it, virtually everything around you was either designed, developed, produced or delivered by an engineer. To be sure, engineering is an extremely important profession. Mechanical engineers constitute approximately one fourth of all engineers in the United States and represent probably the largest field of engineering. Mechanical Engineering is an extremely broad discipline and a precise definition is difficult to construct. It may be more helpful to consider instead what mechanical engineers do. But before doing so, it should be borne in mind that the diversity of the field is a strength in at least two respects. First, mechanical engineeers have the capability and the perspective to address broad problems. In addition, mechanical engineering employment is relatively insensitive to downturns in specific industries since other fields that require mechanical engineers are not in a slump.