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Here's a repost of mine from another thread about salary negotiations. Part of this isn't very relevant to you because you already have an offer, but other parts about drivign the number up apply.

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The best time to talk about salary is when they have decided they want to hire you. If they try to talk about salary before that time, try to put them off by saying things like "why don't we continue the conversations to see whether there's a good fit before we discuss salary".

When you start to discuss salary, do everything you can to have them make the first move and cough up a number (see below, and other comments in this thread). At that point you can start the negotiations. The company almost always has room to adjust, especially if it is a big place and they have someone that they want to hire. They don't want to go to the expense of screening and interviewing more candidates, checking references, making offers, losing working getting done, etc for another few thousand a year.

Make sure you look beyond just salary and are considering a complete compensation package which may include vacation (more accrual or more to start), signing bonus, relocation expenses, retirement contributions, etc, in addition to the salary. Some of these may only be available to executives though. Ideally you would want treat each one of these separately; negotiate base salary, then vacation, then lower deductions on your health insurance, etc.

If you have the time, meet with a professional counselor and work on how to negotiate! When I was applying for jobs after graduate school I went to a counselor and we spent an entire hour on negotiation techniques. It cost $60 and I used what I learned to increase my starting salary from $73K to $88K, with a grade increase to boot. That was over a decade ago, so I'm at over a $150K return (not including the percentage increases during the raises) on a $60 investment. As an aside, one of the contributing factors to women being paid less than men is that they generally are less likely to negotiate salary.

Make sure you look at GlassDoor, but you'll find a wide range and it may not be that helpful.

I put the material from my time with the counselor here so take a look at it and ask if you have questions. The key points are as follows:

1. These negotiations should always be done in person if you can swing it
   
   
2. The first person to mention a salary number is at a disadvantage. If they press, you can say things like "I'm sure your company has a standard salary range for this position. What is it?" or (if you have a previous salary history) "Given the new responsibilities of this position, I don't believe that my previous salary is terribly relevant to the discussion"
   
   
3. Talk in ranges. When I was offered $73K, I responded with "I was expecting something in the low $90s". That was when he said that that type of salary would be for a level 4 and this is a level 3 position that the offered, so I countered with "then maybe I need to be a level 4"
   
   Good luck!

Shigley's is great for learning how to design and why you design the way you do. It's the book I used in college and still reference at work. I'm not so sure it'd be great for a novice engineer. For a more practical approach, I'd recommend a few below (not necessarily in this order):

1. Machinery's Handbook - This is regularly seen as the [mechanical] engineer's bible. It has nearly everything you'd need to know for design. Most of the machinists used this in a shop I used to work in. Nearly every engineer in my current job (and there are a hundred or more) have a copy of this at their desk.
   
2. Pocket Reference - This is kind of (loosely) like Machinery's Handbook but much more broad. It covers a little bit of everything from engineering, to vehicle maintenance, to plumbing. I like it for it's all-around information.
   
3. Handyman In-Your-Pocket - this is by the same author as #2 but is tailored to the building trades. I also have this but I haven't used it much yet. Not because it's not useful, just because I haven't gotten around to it.
   
4. Marks' Standard Handbook for Mech. Engineers - I have an old copy of this book from the 80s, I believe, that my dad gave to me. It is also on the same order as Machinery's Handbook, but instead of covering EVERYTHING, it goes into more depth about the topics it does cover. If I remember correctly, it covers topics ranging from how to make a weldment to how to design a power generating steam boiler and turbine.
   
5. Solutions to Design of Weldments - This is a new one to me. I recently went to the Blodgett Welding Design Seminar and this was one of the reference materials they handed out. I had a few text book sized design guides by Omer Blodgett that I've often used, but this one seems to take all of the info from those books and condense it down to a handbook. Best part is that it's only $3.50 for a copy and I think (but I'm not sure) that it ships for free.
   
   A nice free reference manual that includes all sorts of design equations is the NCEES reference handbook. I used it back when I took my FE exam (the first exam you take before you become what's call a "Professional Engineer" in the US). It's a nice PDF to have around, though it doesn't go into a lot of explanation as to what the equations are.
   
   A few web resources I use are: http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/, http://www.roymech.co.uk/
   
   I'm sure I'll think of some more and, if I do, I'll update this post.
   
   Hope that helps.
   
   

The Machinery's Handbook. A bit expensive but very practical. Older editions are cheaper and pretty much just as good.

I also like the idea of good quality safety glasses (ANSI Z87.x), but would recommend safety shoes over safety boots. If you are the type of engineer who is mostly at a desk and occasionally goes down to the shop floor, your feet will thank you. There are many kinds that are "office appropriate" but still have the full safety certification.

I have been a maintenance engineer for nearly 3 years now, ever since graduation from university, however I grew up around mechanics and rednecks so I felt like I had a good feel for basic equipment when I accepted this position. My current professional experience is all in the oil and gas sector, so I am for sure not the subject matter expert on rotating equipment or really anything for that matter, however ill chime in my two cents and hopefully it'll help you out in some manner.

For the couple of maintenance engineers with less experience and knowledge of basic equipment that I have mentored or helped in some sort of way, I have really pushed for them to search youtube and google to see how similar systems work when they have questions on how the equipment we use works. Generally there is always some detailed video online which shows a similar comparable system to what we use, the difference for us is generally just how we use or apply it. I am sure the same applies in some manner for chemical/manufacturing plants as well.

One of the websites I use sometimes for reference is http://barringer1.com/. On this site there is an excellent pdf of Reliability Centered Maintenance and how the airlines developed their programs back in the 1970's (http://www.barringer1.com/mil_files/AD-A066579.pdf) its a long read but well worth it, as it gives in my opinion a good look into maintenance/reliability engineering and the theories behind it, which is applicable whether you are in the oil and gas industry or the chemical/manufacturing/airline industry. There are ton of old military reliability documents here as well, which should also provide plenty of reading material (http://www.barringer1.com/mil.htm) however they do tend to be pretty dry reads, and in all honesty I have only attempted to read portions here and there.

Another website which may be helpful and reads a bit more like a magazine is (http://www.reliableplant.com/), just found this one recently! Here is also a relatively cheap book which should be helpful to you in your role as a maintenance engineer (https://www.amazon.com/Maintenance-Best-Practices-Ramesh-Gulati/dp/0831134348).

Lastly in my opinion, if you don't have a lot of experience with the equipment that is in use at a chemical or manufacturing plant, don't worry. Learning the ins and outs of the equipment and how it works takes time around it, monitoring it, getting dirty with it, wrenching on it, operating it, and performing failure analysis on it. Spend this time that you have now to learn the basic theories of maintenance engineering such as reliability centered maintenance, that way when you get your shot at an interview it'll be smooth sailing!

I really love my Logitech m510 wireless. Mouse has two thumb buttons & wheel has center & tilt buttons and - I use SolidWorks and Excel most of the time I'm on my computer with X-Mouse Button Control (free) I get some very intuitive shortcuts specified for whichever program I'm currently in (SW-normal to & isometric on the thumbs, rotate 90 on the tilt buttons; Excel-tab shit forward/back on the thumbs, page left/right on the wheel tilts). If you watch amazon (via camelcamelcamel) you can get it for $16 (currently $20 in black), but full price is $40. I also appreciate that the receiver is really tiny and doesn't get in the way when you throw your laptop in your bag (storage compartment in the battery compartment if you want to totally remove it without losing it), but my real hesitation was battery life which turned out to be amazing (13+ months of daily use thus far and I either haven't changed them at all or once, I honestly don't remember doing it, but I might have forgotten). Lastly, I had tried smaller travel mouses, but I'd much rather carry a slightly larger wireless without needing extra batteries (2xAA) or a charging cable and the ergonomics make my hand happy, so there's that.

I think that you should look into Richard Feynman. This man was a truly influential member of the scientific community. There are several books about his life and findings. I think that all engineers should envy his lust for balance.

I think that the most interesting thing about him is his passion for his children. They were truly the center of what he focused on and that intellectual curiosity is reflected in his offspring.

I don't know what else I need to write to convince you to read books about his life; however, I will claim that learning about this man has made me into a better engineer, son, and SO. Just thinking about this book gives me goosebumps because I appreciated it so much.

I took (and passed!) the PE test in HVAC in Oct '17. In my opinion, the only books I actually needed were the 4 ASHRAE Handbooks. I did purchase MERM, and brought it, but only opened it once or twice during the test.

My best piece of advice is to get lots of practice before the test, and write a formula sheet.

Highly recommend the practice exam by NCEES. I also practiced with a book called 100 Questions to Pass the PE: HVAC

https://account.ncees.org/exam-prep/340

​

https://www.amazon.com/100-Questions-Pass-Engineering-Refrigeration/dp/1728630592/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1540262083&sr=1-10&keywords=pe+hvac

​

Cheers and good luck!

This really depends on what type of engineering you're going into. I'll put in my two cents for Civil or Structural Engineering:

Two books I've loved recently are The Big Roads by Earl Swift, and The Great Bridge by David McCullough.

The Big Roads shows the big picture perspective of how the US federal highway system came into being over the last hundred years or so, and is a great overview of how transportation planning and engineering fits in with politics and business. The Great Bridge is exactly the opposite; an incredibly in-depth narrative of the planning and construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, which is a fascinating story.

The Eurocode series.

Ah but really, I quite like this: Reinforced Concrete Design

This is supposed to be quite good:Dynamics of Structures: Theory and Applications to Earthquake Engineering

I used to love this book, but I wonder if there is an updated version for eurocodes, will have to check it out

And of course it always depends on your field of interest, for instance I particularly like this book: Theory of Shell Structures

Also, this is supposed to be a classic: Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down


I now apologise if you don't live or work in Europe.

Wow, I'm seeing a lot of "I studied the reference manual the night before" comments. I think I may be the only one who studied for the damn thing!

I'd say go ahead and study still. You are paying $100 and will commit a day to an 8 hr test, and you do not want to go through that process more than once. I'll go ahead an assume you are civil, where pass rate is 72% overall and 68% for those that choose the other section. You don't want to be the 30% that has to take it again.

You may have heard this already, but what you'll need three things:

$76 The FE Review Manual. This is the review text nearly everyone uses to study for the test. It covers every subject, works out the problems, and has a practice exam. I'd strategize by looking through the book and working on what you feel you are weak in.

$24 NCEES FE Reference Manual or free download here. This is a the book they will provide you during the test. It has many formulas. It's important that you study with this beside you so you are familiar with the layout and organization of the book. You'll be flipping through it during that test. Now, I noticed that this book really has everything you need, and can even deduce a few things without having studied.

$14-$25 Calculator of your choice, it's restricted so here's a list . I used the Ti-36X Pro because I am more familiar with Ti's and the learning curve was better. Study with the calculator beside you and only the calculator you will take with you to the exam. How to do inverse sin? How to do matrices (oh yeah, these calculators will find determinate, solve systems, and so many other things for you, you just have to find out how).

Apart from that, find videos on youtube for topics you are having difficulty in.

There you have it, my two cents. You will hear often that it is an easy test, but I've heard that from people that have failed the test too (Yeah, trust me I question their train of thought). You are taking an admirable initiative in choosing to study for this test. Good luck and best wishes!

• Shigley's is my go to for any machine component calculations
  
• Engineering Materials by Budinski is pretty good for material information and selection if you can get how full of themselves the authors are
  
• BASF Design Solutions Guide (PDF link) is a pretty good resource on designing things like snaps, fits, ribs, etc. and other things related to injection molding design.
  
• Machinery's Handbook is just incredibly useful for anything involving fits, threads, etc.

I took and passed the FE exam this past April. Honestly the best way to prepare for the exam is to a.) be familiar with the reference handbook and b.) review most (not necessarily all) the subjects on the exam by doing practice questions from the FE Review Manual (it's the one everyone uses.)

I studied for a solid 3 weeks reading the review manual and had the reference manual by my side. It helps to know how the reference handbook is organized so that when you take the actual exam you don't have to keep flipping to the index.

Oh and get a TI36X PRO. It can solve derivatives, integrals, matrices, and a crapload of other things.

TL:DR Study the FE Review Manual by Lindeburg, know the reference handbook like the back of your hand, learn how to use your calculator.

You don't really need much to be honest. A calculator is good start although you probably wont be able to use your calculator in your Calculus classes. A drafting table is not required as most drafting is done on computers.

To be honest, the best resource is probably purchasing an FE book. FE (Fundamental of Engineering) books have all the formulas you'll ever need in a very concise form. When you graduate college, you'll want to take your FE and you'll already have working knowledge of the text. In addition, the FE will help you recall formulas that you learned in class while doing your homework (rather than navigating to your notes)

http://www.amazon.com/Supplied-Reference-Handbook-8th-2nd-revision/dp/1932613595/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1368565956&sr=8-2&keywords=fe+review+manual

I might as well start.

Skunk Works -- This is a memoir by Ben Rich of Lockheed's Advanced Development Programs division(AKA Skunk Works). If you're interested in aviation, I'd highly recommend it! Ben Rich lead the Skunk Works during development of the F-117 Nighthawk and the development of stealth technology(including a stealth ship for the Navy that never got the green light). He also worked on the U-2 Dragonlady, and designed the engine inlets for the SR-71 Blackbird.

The Machine that Changed the World -- I'm currently working on this one, so I don't have a fully developed opinion just yet. So far it's pretty neat. This is an expositional work about the Toyota Production System, and similar aspects of industrial engineering(dubbed Lean Production) that were developed in Japan after WW2. The authors have a tendency to proselytize it seems like, but maybe that's for good reason. It's not my area of expertise.

Luckily it's never been easier to start learning electronics. I know you want hands-on experience but you gotta learn some theory first - I'd recommend a book like Practical Electronics for Inventors to learn the basics (some people swear by The Art of Electronics but it is not a beginners book, rather more of a intermediate-advanced reference). Then something like the Arduino Starter Pack that will start you on the path to building circuits!

Along the way, watching electronics tutorials and teardowns on youtube, and taking apart stuff to see how it works would also really help.

Here are some of the metrics producing formulas a maintenance/reliability engineer can benefit from being familiar with.

http://www.six-sigma-material.com/TPM.html

There are also some good books here are three that I use:
Uptime: Strategies for Excellence in Maintenance Management, Third Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/1482252376/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_hQdEDbJED1HVW

Reliability-Centered Maintenance Second Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/0831131462/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_UQdEDbZMFWPZT

Maintenance Best Practices https://www.amazon.com/dp/0831134348/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_dRdEDbZ4QH9YH

It may not fit exactly what you're looking for, but my first thought was Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!

It's essentially a bunch of anecdotes throughout his life. It's easy reading, highly entertaining, and covers a wide enough variety of topics that it shouldn't be too hard to annotate. Even if it doesn't fit the requirements for your project, I'd recommend you read it anyway.

Skunkworks, by Ben Rich. Nothing to do with mechatronics, but it's a good book.

Reading a book on control systems will just make you want to throw yourself off the tallest building you can find, and won't help you all that much should you actually finish it. PID control is sufficient for about 80% of engineering tasks, and you can learn it in 20 minutes using google.

You'd be better off picking a project with electrical and mechanical components and just running with it. Anything you don't know you can look up on google, or ask around for help.

Great question!

Skunk Works by Ben Rich is a great read. He tells his story of his time in the Skunkworks as both a designer and a project leader.

A nice set of calipers, or micrometers could be a gift that would last decades, but a quality set will run you at least a few hundred.

If this engineer does a lot of CAD work, you might consider a 3D mouse? $115 for this guy , but man I cant imagine doing design work without it now.

A nice Kuru Toga mechanical pencil is also great for drafting and pretty inexpensive.

As someone in a similar situation, I'd recommend these two books. They're what were were taught with when I was in college for my Plastics Engineering degree (Bachelors at Umass Lowell). I've had both of the authors as professors.

I'd also recommend this book by Professor Kazmer: Injection Mold Design Engineering if you want to design the mold of a injection molded part. DON"T OVERLOOK THIS. A lot of times our professors were explaining how they'd have to help companies who designed a good part that couldn't physically be molded.

The previous book mentioned by Professor Malloy: Plastic Part Design for Injection Molding 2E: An Introduction is for actually designing the part.

Also, make sure that you get a book on polymer material science. Learn about the different types of plastics, how they handle, ect.

Start with reading some simpler PDFs from resin suppliers like this one.

A big thing to consider is also this: Does the company

• Design the part?
  
• Manufacture the part?
  
• Design or make it's own molds?

The link below is a book that is supposedly pretty helpful. I haven't used it myself but from what my friends have told me, its the best option. Plus, if you fail the exam (don't do that) they'll give you your money back. And its only 45 bucks, not 150 so much more affordable.

I'm in my senior year and this is the book our professors recommend.

http://www.amazon.com/Review-Manual-Preparation-Fundamentals-Engineering/dp/1591263336/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457224799&sr=8-1&keywords=FE+exam+Review

The New Science of Strong Materials or Why You Don't Fall through the Floor
http://www.amazon.com/Science-Materials-through-Princeton-Library/dp/0691125481

Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down

http://www.amazon.com/Structures-Things-Dont-Fall-Down/dp/0306812835/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_y

Great real world overview of lots of mechanical engineering concepts like stress/strain, how I beams work, how cracks form etc.
Not too theory/equation heavy, very well written. 1960s Era but still pretty relevant.

Although it's not a course but I recommend picking up this book, Plastics Part Design for Injection Molding by Robert A. Malloy. Professor Malloy recently retired but he was the head of the Plastics Engineering at University of Massachusetts Lowell. The book is really great for design engineers like yourself. Buy it and you will not regret it.

https://www.amazon.com/Plastic-Part-Design-Injection-Molding/dp/1569904367/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Thank you so much for the reply! What is the best answer you've gotten when interviewing the Engineers, or most interesting? Also is this the book you are talking about.

You can't go wrong with calipers.

Another idea - Rotring 600 pencil. Arguably one of the best mechanical pencils ever made. Kind of thing an engineer might appreciate.

If he does CAD work you could get him a SpaceMouse I use one every day and they are life changing.

For plastic injection molding, this book was a good start for me. The issue is, you can take a feature (e.g. snaps) and write volumes on design and application - don't take one book/source to be the only reference.

The various resin suppliers also publish DFM literature that can be useful and worth reading.

Dupont Assembly Techniques -- more articles here

BASF on snaps -- more from BASF

And, as silly as it is... Occasionally protomold will publish a useful nugget of practical information.

This may not be a perfect suggestion, but have you considered study materials for the field-specific FE test?

This study guide exists, and the testing company NCEES offers a PDF of the official reference guide (mostly equations, very surface level) for free here.

I don't know whether these would cover everything to the level of detail you want. However, they might be a good way to identify things you're rusty on so you can go back to your textbooks/class notes for more detail.

Amazon links for books mentioned in this thread:

\/u/thetrueonion (OP)

• Digital Apollo, David A. Mindell    -    Other books by this author
  
  
• Eagles of Mitsubishi, Jiro Horikoshi
  
  
• Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, Richard P. Feynman    -    Other books by this author
  
  
• A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking    -    Other books by this author
  
  
• Ignition!: An informal history of liquid rocket propellants, John D. Clark
  
  \/u/llothar:
  
  
• Amazon.com's list of books authored by Richard Feynman
  
  
• The Martian, Andy Weir
  
  \/u/DallasGreen:
  
  
• Closest I could find was Engineering and the Mind's Eye, Eugene S. Ferguson
  
  \/u/gearnut:
  
  
• Slide Rule, Nevil Shute    -    Other books by this author
  
  \/u/frothysasquatch:
  
  
• Waterpower in Lowell: Engineering and Industry in Nineteenth-Century America, Patrick M. Malone
  
  \/u/Beefstyles:
  
  
• Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed, Ben R. Rich
  
  \/u/CalledCaptainHook:
  
  
• One Second After, William R. Forstchen    -    Other books by this author
  
  \/u/75footubi:
  
  
• The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge, David McCullough
  
  \/u/Bradm77:
  
  
• The Soul of A New Machine, Tracy Kidder

MIT opencourseware is pretty interesting

Also The Toyota Way is always a good start.

The best thing I can recommend is Machinery's Handbook, which includes sections on practically everything you would need to reference when producing a first article. Important sections include Tooling, Machining, Manufacturing, and Fasteners. You can essentially use it as a primer on mechanical engineering.

What it does NOT include is stuff outside of mechanical engineering, which you will need to Google for yourself.

Fresh graduate, I have a job and am looking for an apartment but something else that's been on my mind is the FE exam.

What's the best way to prepare for it assuming I get this textbook/manual

Marks' Handbook for Engineers - Great specific reference for tolerances and fits, also has good general design "common knowledge", formulas, and practice.

I took the FE three years ago and passed first try. I did not study much, maybe 1-2 hours a week for 3 months, mostly did practice problems. I bought the FE Review Manual by Lindeburg but it didn't get much use.

As others have mentioned, the most important thing is to know the handbook inside and out. Most of the time if I didn't know the answer I knew where to find the equation.

Stow your fancy TI-89xi calculator now and start using the FE approved calculator. Don't be the guy who buys a new calculator and uses it for the first time in the exam. A friend of mine did that and spent the first 4 hours stuck in fraction mode.

Machine Design by Norton
Theory of Machines and Mechanisms by Shigley
are considered the two bibles on machine design and are common in machine design courses.

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design by Ashby

The Machinery's Handbook is a must have and I assume you already know about this.

Mechanisms and Mechanical Designs Sourcebook is good to help spark ideas or solve problems. There are other books along the same lines.

There's information on tolerancing and machining in The Machinery's Handbook especially. I'm not sure on other resources for those. There are books on manufacturing processes that'll discuss the tolerances capable and design limitations.

This is the study guide I used. It's pretty good.

One other piece of advice though, study what you know. Most of the material on the test is stuff that you should already know. Don't focus on learning new material. Your time is better spent on reviewing material that you might be rusty on to prevent mistakes on the test.

Mine had both in roughly equal measure.

NOTE: I did not select this book independently, it was selected for my mechanical design class by my professor who wrote the chapter about mechanical engineering so it is what I have. But it's a pretty good book, and cheap too.

Plastic Part Design for Injection Molding is probably one of the best books out there on the design of plastic parts. Might also be worth looking into a course or book for injection mold tool design since understanding, draft, parting lines, shutoff, ejection, lifters, gates & runners and all other stuff that contribute to the limitations of plastic part design.

Condolences man (or woman.) Did you you feel you put in a good faith effort studying? I can only speak for my own experience (almost six years out of grad school) but I worked through PPI's review manual. There's 54 chapters, and I'd guess that I averaged an hour fifteen per chapter, but at least it's over with and I can put all the fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, and chemistry out of my mind now.

A distressingly-high ratio of pop psych nonsense suggestions in here. Sticking to engineering, one of my faves is Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down by JE Gordon (and The New Science of Strong Materials by the same author). Does a great job of qualitatively AND quantitatively explaining structures and materials.

I have this book and I love it

https://www.amazon.com/Mechanisms-Mechanical-Devices-Sourcebook-5th/dp/0071704426/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542986124&sr=8-1&keywords=mechanisms

Here is a good snap fit guide:
http://web.mit.edu/2.75/resources/random/Snap-Fit%20Design%20Manual.pdf

Also we have this book in our library at work:
Plastic Part Design for Injection Molding 2E: An Introduction https://www.amazon.com/dp/1569904367/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_AjduzbRTN0ZFN

If you're working in 3D, you might be interested in something like this.

I just got this book a few weeks ago, it is full of awesome mechanisms.

There is a book that I used, has a ton of practice problems and goes through solutions as well as reteaches the fundamentals again.

I have my copy at home, ill put it up later tonight (morning for you)

Cheers and good luck.


EDIT: just got home, http://www.amazon.com/Barrons-FE-Fundamentals-Engineering-Exam/dp/0764137077/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333371509&sr=1-1

that is the book i used! worked for me. There are a few versions of the book idea, different authors etc. I found this book useful personally, but you may have a different learning style.

Mark's Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers.
At least it is a good reference whenever you want to remember how to do something, and learn some things you didn't learn in school.

https://www.amazon.com/Marks-Standard-Handbook-Mechanical-Engineers/dp/0071428674

Get the NCEES exam handbook (http://www.amazon.com/Supplied-Reference-Handbook-8th-2nd-revision/dp/1932613595/). The big key (to most of engineering / life IMHO) is knowing where / how to find the information, not knowing everything off the top of your head. They give you the same book the day of the exam, so it's very important to know what formula's are there and where they are.

I used FE Review Manual: Rapid Preparation for the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam (http://www.amazon.com/Review-Manual-Preparation-Fundamentals-Engineering/dp/1591263336). It's layout matches the FE exam book so it's important to have both and review using them side by side.

Basis: I passed the FE last October on my first try.

Yeah, here: http://www.amazon.com/Skunk-Works-Personal-Memoir-Lockheed/dp/0316743003 ... it's usually THE recommended book for anyone technical.

Get yourself a student edition of some Autodesk products - AutoCad and Inventor at the least - to practice CAD and drafting skills.

Some books about Mech Eng specifically:

http://www.amazon.com/Mechanisms-Mechanical-Devices-Sourcebook-Edition/dp/0071704426

http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Machines-How-They-Work/dp/0486217094

http://www.amazon.com/Engineering-Formulas-Kurt-Gieck/dp/0071457747

http://www.amazon.com/507-Mechanical-Movements-Mechanisms-Devices/dp/0486443604

http://www.amazon.com/Mechanical-Engineering-Principles-John-Bird/dp/0415517850

Don't forget about basic electricity, electronics, hydraulics and pneumatics too.

Get some hands-on experience with machine tools such as lathes and mills. Learn how to program CNC machines using G-code. Try to land a summer job at a factory or assembly plant for the experience. Learn how to make metal castings by watching some YouTube videos and visiting a local foundry.

Find some local ASME members to network with and seek a mentor. ASME also offers a limited free membership to college freshmen.

The Toyota Way. It's like an Industrial Engineers Bible nowadays.

Skunk Works, it's literally about aerospace/defense/rockets. I recommend it.

The FE changed about a year ago to be a computer based test. It is only 6 hours long and there is no longer a general portion and discipline specific portion. The questions are entirely based on the discipline you select. I've been using the FERM to study and it seems ok. The author has been putting out disciple specific books just for the new test as he gets around to them. I'd suggest you spend the $160 to get the one for the test you are going to take. They do include chapters on things that the general book does not cover.

I'd also suggest not signing up for the test until you are about a month out from wanting to take it. People seem to reschedule their tests and as long as your schedule is a bit flexible, you can sign up relatively close to the test.

if you studied this book you should be fine

FE Review Manual: Rapid Preparation for the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam

It's by the same author that someone recommended to get for the pe exam ( Michael lindburg or something, sorry on my phone), that guy must know his stuff

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1591263336/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_YmEHub11SE3JX

Here you go.

http://www.amazon.com/Review-Manual-Preparation-Fundamentals-Engineering/dp/1591263336/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331485841&sr=8-1 this is the one I'm using now

structures: or why things dont fall down.

https://www.amazon.com/Structures-Things-Dont-Fall-Down/dp/0306812835/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482348485&sr=8-1&keywords=structures+or+why+things+don%27t+fall+down

As an engineering manager for a contract manufacturing firm that specializes in Plastic Injection molding, if you're looking at "free" online resources, the "best" I've run across is [The GE Plastic Design Guide](http://www.manterra.com/GE_Design_Guide.pdf)

For non-free, the "gold standard" is [Malloy](https://www.amazon.com/Plastic-Part-Design-Injection-Molding/dp/1569904367)

Mark's Handbook for Mechanical Engineers

You sir are a man in need of a Machinery's Handbook.

i used a similar edition to this in school. It has exactly what you're looking for.
There is a program somewhere that has this information built in, and can generate your graphs, but unfortunately I don't remember the name, nor do I believe you could/would pony up the license fee.