Engineering is a fairly broad subject and applies to using maths and science to design, test, and build things for a variety of applications. It's often considered a good subject to study and has been for a while, but is it really and where are the best places to study it in Melbourne?
Here, we'll see why you should study engineering and what courses are available in Melbourne.
Reasons to Become an Engineer
Firstly, engineering is a really interesting subject because of how it creatively uses maths and science to solve real-world problems.
Engineers enjoy their work because they get to apply their knowledge in creative ways, but it definitely doesn't hurt that there are a lot of engineering jobs and the typical salaries for engineers are good, too.
Finding Work as an Engineer
While each kind of engineering has different job prospects, across the board, there has been excellent growth in terms of engineering jobs.
Recently, the number of engineering jobs has grown twice as much as the national average across all jobs.
Again, we have to be clear that some engineering specialisations are more in-demand than others, but the averages make engineering and engineering-adjacent fields a very promising option for anyone interested in studying an engineering course.
Some of the best engineering fields include agriculture engineering, biomedical engineering, civil engineering, environmental engineering, marine engineering, mechanical engineering, and mining engineering.
Engineering jobs also make up a significant percentage of job advertisements in the country so you'll see them popping up wherever you look.
The demand for engineers is so high that the Australian government is taking steps to make the visa process for foreign engineers easier, which means the outlook is good for becoming an engineer in Australia whether you're a resident or not!
How Much Engineers Earn
Of course, it's nice to know that there are jobs out there for engineers, but it is a job after all and even if being an engineer is interesting, you'll want to be paid for your work.
Fortunately, engineers earn a decent salary regardless of their specialisation. Some specialisations will command a higher salary than others depending on the market, the experience and qualifications required, and the value of the industry that they work in.
The average engineer across all specialisations earn an average of $112,000. As with every kind of work, experience will also affect the average earnings and new engineers start on an average salary closer to $93,000 while the most experienced and qualified engineers can command up to $155,000.
As these are just averages, however, it's important to look at the various specialisations, the job markets for them, and how much the earning potential increases over time. What we can say is that engineers can earn a good salary relative to their education level compared to other areas.
Find out how to become an engineer in Sydney.
What Are the Best Engineering Courses in Melbourne?
There are many different engineering courses offered in Melbourne from engineering degrees at universities to more vocational qualifications, certificates, and diplomas.
Which is right for you will depend on your career aspirations, how you like to learn, and the kind of specialisation you're thinking about doing, but the ones we've chosen here will be a good place to start your search before doing more research and making your choice.
Chisholm Institute
Chisholm Institute is a public vocational education and training provider in Melbourne that offers certificates, diplomas, advanced diplomas, and bachelor and graduate certificate courses.
They offer certificates in engineering studies, diplomas in engineering technology, and vocational skills including welding.
They also have ties to local industries and free and subsidised TAFE (technical and further education) courses.
Learn about engineering courses in Perth.
Melbourne Polytechnic
Melbourne Polytechnic is another vocational training institution that has been around for over 100 years.
With a focus on TAFE and Higher Education degrees, there are a lot of options for students interested in studying engineering in a more hands-on way.
Courses focus on different interest areas including civil engineering, fabrication and welding, manufacturing and mechanical engineering, and robotics and automation.
There are options for everything from short courses to advanced diplomas or even a bachelor of engineering technology.
Victoria University
Victoria University offers everything from TAFE courses to bachelor's and master's degrees in a wide range of engineering and engineering-adjacent subjects.
The university has been around for over a hundred years and is one of the few universities in the country to offer both higher education and TAFE programs.
The university is #1 for employability in Australia and is ranked one of the best universities in the world across all subjects.
Victoria University has a huge selection of engineering courses including bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, undergraduate certificates, TAFE certificates and diplomas, and short courses.
Degrees include majors in specialised areas such as architectural engineering, civil engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, and mechanical engineering.
Students wishing to continue their education after their bachelor's degree may be interested in the graduate diplomas and certificates offered or even the 2-year Master of Engineering available from Victoria University.
Discover the best engineering courses in Brisbane.
La Trobe University
La Trobe University is a public research university in Melbourne that offers a few engineering degrees and courses.
The Associate Degree in Engineering Technology is a 2-year course and industry-recognised qualification that also allows students to start a bachelor's degree in the third year.
La Trobe also offers 4-year bachelor's degrees in civil engineering or industrial engineering, both of which can be joined by those who complete the aforementioned associate degree.
Beyond that, there are also postgraduate courses including the Graduate Diploma in Engineering Management, the Master of Engineering Management, the Master of Construction and Engineering Management, and the Master of Engineering.
Swinburne University of Technology
Swinburne University of Technology is a university in Melbourne that started out as a technical college over 100 years ago.
It's been a university since 1992 and now offers an impressive range of engineering courses and degrees across a large number of specialist areas including:
- Advanced Manufacturing Technology
- Architectural Engineering
- Biomedical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Computer Systems Technology
- Construction Management
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Product Design Engineering
- Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering
- Software Engineering
- Telecommunications
These areas include associate diplomas, associate degrees, bachelor degrees, graduate certificates, master's degrees, and PhDs.
RMIT University
The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) is one of the world's top 100 universities in civil and structural engineering and one of Australia's top 10 universities in engineering.
The Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) program starts as a general engineering degree in the first year before students are given a multitude of options to specialise in including areas like aerospace engineering, chemical engineering, environmental engineering, mechatronics engineering, and sustainable systems engineering.
After the Bachelor of Engineering degree, there's also the Master by Coursework option that could give you an honours degree and a master's degree in 5 years rather than 6.
Monash University
Monash University is ranked 21st in the world across all subjects and is one of Australia's top universities for engineering.
Much like at RMIT University, the Bachelor of Engineering is a 4-year course where the first year focuses on general engineering before students choose their specialisation.
There are also double degrees where students can study two completely different subjects such as architectural design, arts, biomedical science, commerce, computer science, design, IT, pharmaceutical science, or science.
Not every engineering specialisation can be combined with the choices for these double degrees, but there are lots of options for students to choose from, especially given they won't be choosing their specialisation until the second year of their program.
Postgraduate engineering courses at Monash include the Master of Professional Engineering and the Master of Engineering programs.
The University of Melbourne
Last but not least is the University of Melbourne, which ranks second in the country for engineering.
Options for study areas include:
- Biomedical engineering
- Chemical engineering
- Civil, structural and architectural engineering
- Electrical and electronic engineering
- Energy
- Engineering business and management
- Environmental engineering
- Mechanical, aerospace and mechatronics engineering
- Software engineering
- Spatial information
Basically, if your results at school are good and you're thinking about going to one of the best universities in the country and studying engineering, the University of Melbourne should be one of your choices.
Don't forget you can also study engineering degrees online.
Get Help Studying Engineering
While there are lots of engineering jobs out there that pay well, if engineering was easy, everybody would be studying it.
Engineering is definitely fascinating and a great way to be creative while solving problems, but the truth is that engineering also requires an excellent knowledge of maths and science and students often struggle with it.
Fortunately, there are plenty of tutors out there specialising in every kind of engineering including STEM subjects and even study skills so help is available if you need it!
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