You may think it’s a bleak world out there with recession and redundancies. However if you’re an engineer you’re in luck! This is an industry with such a skills dearth that you’ll be able to pretty much pick and choose what job you walk into and what salary you’ll earn – yes, a big one. OK, so that might be a bit of an exaggeration but you get the idea. This is a great career to break into as far as prospects go.
What kind of jobs are there?
If you’re lucky enough to be an engineer, you’ll be happy to hear that engineering is one of the industries with the biggest range of jobs available. It would take a whole day to list all of them. Some of the jobs included in this field are chemical engineer, civil engineer, computer engineer and construction engineer. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. All you need to decide is which route to take.
What does it take?
If being an engineer is so great, why isn’t everyone an engineer? Because it is also tough - extremely tough. You have to have a naturally analytical mind, be able to solve problems and be highly intelligent to really succeed. It’s far from being the easy option.
Oh the glamour
Engineering, not so glamorous, right? Wrong! Lots of the biggest action movies star engineers saving the day, be they in space, on a plane, underwater or losing their minds. Some of the movies that will inspire you are ‘October Sky’, ‘Space Cowboys’ and ‘Apollo 13’. If these don’t grab your fancy then you can always work in the movies as a sound engineer!
...But what is it REALLY like?
Engineering can be a very rewarding job, particularly if you’re working towards creating something that will benefit society – or a really fast car.
Many engineers have a personal passion for what they do so work is an extension of their hobby, which is really the ideal when working hard. And you are likely to be expected to work hard with long and often unsociable hours.
Money, money, money
Four of the top 10 highest paid graduate jobs of 2010 were engineering jobs, and with starting salaries like these it’s easy to see why:
Chemical engineering: £28,415
General engineering: £25,455
Civil engineering: £24,473
Mechanical engineering: £24,446
