Why engineers rule

Six reasons why engineering is the best degree you can choose

#1 Save the planet

Work on the world’s most pressing problems

Environmental engineers are coming up with solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing humans. Like Joel Stewart, whose work takes him from Sydney’s Northern Beaches to the Indus River in Pakistan. “The problems I’m trying to solve are large-scale water resources issues – the question of how much water and when – and the quality of that water,” Joel says. Environmental engineering is about more than just the environment: it’s also about society and communities as well as people and politics.

Touch base with the Sustainable Engineering Society: bit.ly/Eng_planet

#2 Sizzling salaries

Engineering graduates have some of the highest graduate salaries

Engineering is not only a dream job, it can also deliver a sweet salary. Electrical engineers earn an average of about $160,000 per year in Australia, while engineers in the mining industry can make around $147,000. Even the lowest average engineering salary – in construction – is still about $100,000. Starting salaries for engineers are around $60,000; the fifth-highest in STEM.

Show me the money! bit.ly/Eng_money

#3 Exciting choices

There are at least 14 different types of engineers

Engineering careers come in all shapes and sizes. There is hardly a single aspect of our lives that hasn’t been improved by the expertise of those in this field. Maybe you see yourself writing killer code as a software engineer or helping to design skyscrapers and build bridges as a structural engineer. You could help the sick and injured as a biomedical engineer, reduce the problem of pollution as an environmental engineer or develop a new, super-light but strong compound as a materials engineer.

More career inspo: bit.ly/Eng_choice

#4 Get the job faster

Each year, there are more than 18,000 engineering jobs needing to be filled in Australia alone

Of all the fields in STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – engineering graduates have the best chance of finding a job as soon as they graduate: three in four engineering students get a job straight out of university.

Where can I find work? bit.ly/Eng_work

#5 Level the playing field

While about one in 10 engineers is a woman, the number of female engineers is increasing steadily

Women are achieving great things in engineering. UNSW’s Professor Veena Sahajwalla is working to turn old mobile phones and computers into a treasure trove of valuable materials. “It’s reimagining the future,” Veena says. “if you want to do that, you have the licence to do it as an engineer. Women may see this as an exciting approach to life, because you can play a role in shaping the future.”

Calling all girls! Get paid to study: bit.ly/Eng_women

#6 See the world

Your degree can take you anywhere in the world

Engineering skills transcend boundaries of geography and language. Once you’re an engineer, you can work anywhere in the world: take your software skills to Silicon Valley, your electronic skills to Tokyo, your mechanical skills to Germany, your construction skills to Dubai, your biomedical skills to Melbourne or your environmental skills to Oslo.

Connect with engineers around the world: bit.ly/Eng_travel

– Bianca Nogrady

Find out how new technology is transforming careers in engineering or check out our new Careers with Engineering magazine.