Being in Gee's "Discourse"

   The next aspect of Gee's "Discourse" is being. In the discourse community of mechanical engineers being means pretty much the same thing as it has not changed much over the last several years.

   In the discourse of mechanical engineering the dominate gender has always been males and although in recent years more women can be found in the field the majority are still men. In addition to most members being men the age range has not really changed much either and currently it is at about 25-44 years old which comes to show that many begin working right out of college.

   The professional discourse community of mechanical engineers also has a minimum level of education that must be met in order to be considered a member. They require at minimum a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering from a university level college. Pay is also somewhat related to educational prestige as well because the higher your degree the more opportunities you may get. The average annual income for mechanical engineers has not changed much over the years and is currently at about $78,160, which is a pretty good starting pay for an individual right out of college and yearly salary does tend to increase over time and the experience level that one has.