Engineering is a fairly broad subject, but to put it simply, it's about designing, testing, and making things using maths and science.
It's a fascinating subject and one that's traditionally been considered an excellent career choice. But is this still the case? Should you study Engineering in Australia? And if you should, where can you?
The answers to these questions and more are in our quick guide to studying engineering in Australia.
Why You Should Study Engineering in Australia
Before we get to all the ins and outs of studying engineering and working as an engineer, let's have a look at why you should study engineering.
When you choose to study engineering, you'll want to know whether or not there's work out there for you when you graduate and whether or not you'll be well paid for it.
Is Australia Good for Engineering?
Firstly, Australia is considered to offer an excellent education in engineering. Naturally, not all courses are equal, but an engineer that qualified in Australia will be looked upon favourably by potential employers in Australia and around the world.
If you're Australian or already living in Australia, then you're in an excellent place to study engineering. If you're not, then Australia should be one of the places that you look to if you're thinking about doing an undergraduate degree in engineering.
In Australia, there are many different engineering courses of a very high quality and while there are specific ones in certain parts of the country that we'll give a special mention later on in the article, the general quality and range of engineering courses is excellent.
There are lots of different types of engineering, but areas like civil engineering, mining engineering, mechanical engineering, and marine engineering are all popular choices. Fortunately, engineering comes with a lot of options to specialise in areas that offer good career choices or that you find interesting.
Is It Hard to Find a Job As an Engineer in Australia?
Australia has historically been an excellent country for engineering and finding work as an engineer, which is why engineering is both a popular subject to study and why there are so many excellent choices when it comes to engineering courses.
Demand for engineers in Australia is high because we live in a rapidly-changing world and engineers are natural problem-solvers in a wide range of industries.
Engineering roles are some of the most commonly advertised in Australia so whenever you're looking for work, you'll see that somebody is looking for an engineer.
With so many diverse types of engineering, not every engineering job is for every engineer, but it goes to show how important engineering is in the country.
Engineering is an area that draws in a lot of international engineers because of how high the demand is, There are jobs in engineering both for Australian nationals (who won't have to worry about visa requirements or anything like that) and international engineers, who can use their job in engineering as their way into Australia.
Do Engineers Get Paid Well in Australia?
It's great knowing that engineering is a career choice that will make finding work quite simple. However, you probably want to know how much you'll be taking home if you work as an engineer.
It's nice to have steady work, but you'll want to be fairly remunerated for your work according to your qualifications and experience.
In Australia, the average engineer makes around $112,000 a year with salaries ranging between $93,000 and $155,000 according to specialisation and experience.
Again, this number can vary wildly according to the engineer's profile as well as the type of engineering that they do. Supply and demand play a big role in salaries paid so engineers will earn more if their specialisation is niche but there's a lot of work in that area.
How Much Does It Cost to Study Engineering in Australia?
As you can see, engineering is a good career choice with excellent job prospects and good pay to go with it, but becoming an engineer isn't free.
In Australia, engineering courses are around $7,000 per academic year, but there are ways to reduce this amount.
Through Commonwealth supported places (CSP), Australian citizens and permanent residents can have a significant part of their university place (between 61% and 83%) paid for them, which could bring down the cost of studying engineering to closer to roughly between $1,500 and $2,000 a year.
Australian degree courses aren't the cheapest in the world, but they're not the most expensive either. Tuition fees in Australia are closer to that of countries like England (there are different tuition fee systems for the constituent countries of the UK), the US, Canada, and Japan.
How Many Years Is an Engineering Course in Australia?
Like other Bachelor's degrees, a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Australia is typically four full academic years.
Australian students will mostly start as general engineering students in the first year of their course before having options to specialise in the remaining years of their degree course.
There are also options to do 5- or 6-year courses that combine the Bachelor of Engineering with a master's degree, which may be a requirement for certain kinds of engineering.
The Best Engineering Courses in Australia
If you're now convinced that engineering is worth it, we can finally see where in Australia the best courses are and which you should look into studying.
We'll only be considering which courses are the best academically, but remember that when choosing where and what you study, you need to think about the kind of person you are, where you'll be happy living, the kind of environments that will be best for you to study in, and the type of engineering you'll look to specialise in.
However, all of these courses would be a good place to start your search!
The Best Engineering Course in Sydney
As the top ranked university for engineering and technology in the country, the University of New South Wales is obviously also the best in Sydney.
The university ranks first in Australia in the ARWU Shanghai Subject Rankings and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
With 19 different disciplines offered, students can specialise in almost any area of engineering that they're interested in and there are also electives for fourth-year students in related subjects and areas.
Discover the other places to study engineering in Sydney.
The Best Engineering Course in Melbourne
There are a good number of good engineering courses for aspiring engineers in Melbourne, but the best option is probably attending the University of Melbourne.
There are many options for specialisation including biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, civil, structural and architectural engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, environmental engineering, and mechanical, aerospace and mechatronics engineering.
The University of Melbourne was ranked just behind the University of New South Wales in engineering by the QS World University Rankings for engineering and technology.
Overall making Melbourne a great location to begin your path to becoming an engineer.
The Best Engineering Course in Brisbane
The University of Queensland also made the top 10 list for engineering in Australia as well as the top 100 in the world.
The Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) course offers more options than any other in the state with a choice of 14 majors and 3 minors for students.
The first year of study, like many other engineering degrees, forms the foundation of the student's knowledge in engineering before they go on to choose their specialisation.
Students can also complete a dual program whereby they complete the Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) with a Master of Engineering or the whole undergraduate degree alongside another subject like biotechnology, computer science, IT, maths, science, arts, business management, economics, design, or commerce.
The University of Queensland isn't the only place to study engineering in Brisbane, though.
The Best Engineering Course in Perth
The University of Western Australia in Perth is one of the top 10 universities in the country for engineering and offers four-year engineering courses with majors in areas such as:
- Automation and robotics engineering
- Biomedical engineering
- Chemical engineering
- Civil engineering
- Electrical and electronic engineering
- Environmental engineering
- Mining engineering
- Mechanical engineering
- Software engineering
There are also combined options where you can study engineering alongside arts, commerce, modern languages, science, and even philosophy!
Discover where else you can study engineering in Perth.
Online Engineering Courses
You can also study a degree in engineering in Australia online. These courses are a good option if you're already working or have other commitments that would make studying full-time at a university impossible.
The good thing is that through Open Universities Australia, you can get diplomas, certificates, undergraduate degrees, and even master's degrees from universities all over the country including the University of Tasmania, Southern Cross University, the University of Queensland, and Griffith University.
Which makes studying engineering online not only a possibility but a solid option, on par with studying on campus.
Before choosing any course, online or in-person, make sure that your research includes more than just the academic aspects of the course.
Look into everything from the cost of living where the course is to the other activities available where you'll be studying as you'll definitely want to live somewhere where you can make the most of the rare moments when you aren't studying!
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