In four months I will have finished high school and it is time for me to go to college and learn a career. The career I intend to choose is that of a mechanical engineer. A mechanical engineer is a very broad career path with many jobs available. “These jobs can range from designing parts for space shuttles, buildings, computers, automobiles, and various other important mechanical parts needed for today's society” (bls.gov). The part of mechanical engineering that I want to delve into is the design of automotive engines. In this career you are hired by a car company to design engines for their cars. An example of this would be Toyota hiring you to design a more fuel-efficient and reliable engine for the next generation Prius. The work of a mechanical engineer takes place in an office setting with visits to manufacturing facilities and meetings with your mechanical engineering team. The average salary is approximately $80,000 per year, with the highest ten percent earning $121,000 per year and the lowest ten percent earning approximately $52,000 per year. Employers are looking for intelligent, hardworking, dedicated, creative and professional people. An entry level job in mechanical engineering requires a bachelor's degree. The main subjects to study in college include physics, chemistry and trigonometry. Internships are highly recommended for undergraduate students studying mechanical engineering. Mechanical engineering jobs are expected to grow 5% over the next 10 years, a slower-than-average rate than most occupations. There are two car companies where I would be very happy to be hired and they are Ford or Audi. The reason I chose Ford is because I like the direction the company is going financially and they are making great strides with smaller turbo engines to replace the large gas-hungry engines found in most vehicles. The reason I would like to work for Audi is because they have a very different vision on how to save gas and emissions. They use small, clean turbo diesel engines in their cars to deliver better performance, fuel economy and reliability than a conventional hybrid. I would also like to design high performance engines for these brands as well. Both brands have a long history with performance cars and that has always interested me.