Like all engineering jobs, mechanical engineers have a specialized set of skills that are useful to them in their work. If one does not possess these characteristics it does not necessarily mean that one can never be an engineer; rather, this is a sign that mechanical engineering may be a difficult career for them to pursue. After all, no one is perfect, and most engineers don't have all of these skills. What you don't know, you can learn, as most mechanical engineers do. Furthermore, the perseverance required to acquire these skills is already a step in the right direction. According to Neil Kokemuller, the three main traits of a mechanical engineer are creativity, communication, and problem solving (n.d.). Along with these characteristics, states D. Jeffress, “A successful engineer is… efficient, detail-oriented, and mechanically inclined;” they also require IT design skills and specialist knowledge of mathematics, physics and electricity (2014). The Alberta government also wants its mechanical engineers to have “the ability to visualize three-dimensional objects from two-dimensional drawings” (2009). The Virginia Career VIEW website is much more in-depth and adds that mechanical engineers should have knowledge of design, manufacturing, and machining, as well as customer and staff support (2014a); critical thinking, reading comprehension, active listening, and judgment and decision-making skills (2014b); and be able to obtain data and information, analyze data and information, process data and information, and document data and information (2014c). There are many websites that have similar information and some that go even deeper, but these are the essential traits, skills and characteristics of...... middle of the document ...... Employment for Mechanical Engineer? WiseGEEK. Retrieved February 13, 2014, from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-skills-are-needed-for-mechanical-engineer-employment.htmKokemuller, N. (n.d.). What are the three personal characteristics of a mechanical engineer? Chron.com. Retrieved February 13, 2014, from http://work.chron.com/ three-personal-characteristics-mechanical-engineer-25155.htmlVirginia Career VIEW. (2014a). Knowledge. Mechanical engineers. Retrieved February 13, 2014, from http://www.vacareerview.org/careers/career/17-2141.00/KnowledgeVirginia Career VIEW. (2014b). Skills. Mechanical engineers. Retrieved February 13, 2014, from http://www.vacareerview.org/careers/career/17-2141.00/SkillsVirginia Career VIEW. (2014c). Work activities. Mechanical engineers. Retrieved February 13, 2014, from http://www.vacareerview.org/careers/career/17-2141.00/WorkActivities