Some people may remember I did Specialisation Corner last year, where each week I would choose to discuss an Engineering Specialisation. Like the massive nerd I am, I decided to analyse data on people’s intended first choice and the number of spots available in each specialisation.
Well, guess what? I’m doing it again this year. For comparison, here are the results from last year:
The specialisations in the graph are ordered by most competitive to least competitive based on the ratio of first choices vs # of places for that year.
This year, I used data from a poll from the 2018 First Year Engineering Facebook Page. I then used aDVancEd stAtiStiCs meTHoDs to extrapolate the estimated number of people who would choose each specialisation as their first choice. Here are the results:
The allocations for next year haven’t changed much except Software gained an additional ten spots… which is good I guess? Unfortunately, the data doesn’t lie and Software seems to be on track for being the most competitive specialisation for the 2nd year in a row (yes I was wrong last year, Software was the most competitive, not BME)
If you were following my blog last year, then you know that I was a little bit concerned whether I could get into Software Engineering, but it all worked out in the end. I know a lot of people want to get into Software, so much so that it’s the most competitive specialisation out of all of them. However, there are alternatives! You don’t need to actually study Software Engineering to become a Software Engineer, funnily enough. Don’t choose Software just because you love to code (but definitely consider it). Both Computer Systems and Electrical Engineering have required courses that involve coding, and you learn a lot in addition to that. Engineering Science is also a great, maths-centric alternative to Software. Definitely would have been my second choice if I had known that last year.
Are you a first year? Remember the selection form is open now and closes on the 3rd of December. Your first choice should be the specialisation you actually want to study next year – don’t listen to people who tell you how to “game the system”. And I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: It’s not the end of the world if you don’t get into your first choice :).
Good luck for exams, everyone!