Why engineering?

An engineer is someone who takes scientific knowledge, initiative and inventiveness and applies these attributes to real-world problems. Engineers give shape to our world and make a difference to society and many aspects of people's lives. In practice this means that engineers are the product-makers of our time.

Being in high demand world-wide, they are highly mobile and highly respected.

Engineering today

While engineering as a discipline has an established and respected lineage, engineering is changing.

To quote Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Sunny Auyang:

'Engineering today is not only a collaborator with science but its equal. The goals of natural scientists - to discover what was not known - and that of engineers - to create what did not exist - are undergoing an unprecedented convergence.'

Professional prospects

Professionally, engineers are held in the highest esteem with graduate engineers enjoying starting salaries of around $54,500 (with a total package worth $64,600) and an engineer of 10 years standing having a total package of around $120,000 (2007 Professional Engineer Remuneration Survey).

To this can be added substantial benefits such as international travel, great career prospects and the chance to work on projects that are transforming Australia and beyond. 

Professional accreditation

It is vital for engineers to be professionally accredited. This means starting with an award that has an Engineers Australia accreditation. Such recognition means that your award is recognised wherever you go - interstate or overseas - and that studies you undertake have been thoroughly reviewed for quality and depth.