Ok, so once upon a time back to not-so-long-ago August, your lecturers probably mentioned spec choices to you, or you’ve at least probably starting to have a little think about what you might pick. Or, maybe you’re a student looking into studying engineering in the future, or you’re looking into switching specialisations. And if you’re being brutally honest 😬 👉👈 …you have no flAmBoYAnT idea what any of the specialisation actually do 😃. Like what do you mean structural makes structures??? What do you mean electrical means zapping things?? hUh?! It’s often really hard to understand what actually goes into each spec unless you’re actively doing it. So, what do you do if every time someone mentions “specialisations“, your mind literally look like this:
Or this:
The Tree Thinking 🌳
Back in first year, I spent a lot of time thinking about my selection possibilities. For me, I ended up finding that the most HELPFUL way by far to think about UOA’s specialisation are through the connections that they have to each other. So, fingers crossed this representation is not too disputable, but if it is but you actually understand the relationships between the specs even a little bit better, then it’ll be totally worth it ☺️ (😈).
~ Let me explain with the engineer’s favourite thing (second to calculations, of course)~
*A bad stereotype, don’t worry if you hate diagrams or calculations <3
Through research into what each “spec” did, I started to realise that if a spec did not standalone as the most niche form available (like structural, chemmat, electrical & electronics and software), then all other specs were really a just different combinations and percentages of these niche base forms. So, I began to think of specialisation along a spectrum from most specialised to most generic, which is indicated by the arrows on the left side of the diagram above.
| For instance, if you were thinking about computer systems, you would be considering a mixture of electrical & electronics as well as software. Meaning that you’d develop skills in both of these sectors and ways to integrate them together. |
Remember for a lot of the degrees that you will not “get rid” of other skills entirely, for instance Mechanical still has to do Software every now and again. But this diagram can be a good indication of what’s the most likely to pop up. If you want to learn more about what these specalisations, whether that’s what the base/niche ones offer for you to extrapolate upon or whether it’s the breakdown of components for any of the specs, make sure to check out the relevant blogger’s posts for more information (BME’s breakdown was published not too long ago 🙂 – and it has another diagram 😱!
☝Q: How easy is the switching process if I change my mind within departments?
The good thing about having specialisation within departments is that, *provided that spaces are open*, switching is rather easy. For instance, one could complete their first full specialised year (Part II) in Civi, switch to Structural and not loose a credit! It becomes harder for other specialisation, such as BME and ENGSCI which have one different paper in Semester 1 of Part II and then seperate entirely for Semester 2 and beyond – but taking those other 3 papers may help you a lot later in terms of completing your degree earlier than it would be if you switched out of the department. If this is something that you’re interested in, whether your a first year who cannot quite decide or someone in subsequent years looking into switching, make sure to consult the Course Viewer page which breaks down the specific requirements for each specialisation (and if you need more help, talk to Student Services).
☝Q: Broader vs More Specified?
This is up to you, and what you’re keen to do – or to explore – in the future.
| For me, I wanted to explore: 1. Mechatronics/Robots (because I loved it and wanted a broader degree) –> This lead to an interest in control systems. 2. Biology (because I loved it) -> This gives me a basis to going into research (which I’m not as interest in) or medicine later on (which I’m potentially keen on). The results of these interests were both things that I could not of predicted in Part I easily, but things that you learn along the way. A “broader” degree works for me because: 1. I’m interested in entrepreneurship and so want to be able to speak the language of multiple engineers (e.g. understand electrical terms, mechanical equations etc) 2. I wanted to understand all of the components that something needs to operate (so that I could make it if I wanted to and because it’s really interesting to me). My visual design skills are reasonably strong, so I currently want to develop my knowledge around control systems to further my understanding of electronics, software and integrated systems! 3. I am also interested in general finance, where it does not matter what kind of engineering you pursue as long as you pursue it well. |
All of this is up to you, so try to take some time to think about how broad vs how deep you want your skill set to be on your certificate at graduation. 🎓🌟
✨ 💼 Your Own Career Development 🤝✨
So if you are deciding between specs, remember that it really comes down to a question of what specialised knowledge you want to walk out with and have ON PAPER. You can build knowledge in so many other ways, whether that’s personal projects, internships, research or other methods – and those quite often define the trajectory of your future a lot more than a piece of paper.
You can learn so many things outside of your degree, but what’s on paper can make that jump into industries just that little bit easier for you. So do make sure that you pick something that you are genuinely interested in and make sure that you do the research around what kind of work environments and industries you might be interested in. You can always explore this throughout your degree (heck, I really realised this year that I’m really keen to learn more about control systems!), but having a basic idea will help you to pick something that is right for you to explore :).
You’re almost at the end of the year, and I know that there is a bit of competition, but you’re going to do amazingly. Looking onwards and forwards to what you want to do can help with motivation and push you to keep going :). You’ve got this! 🌟
Basil & I signing out for this one 🐸!
Always keep growing 🪴 <3,
– Basil & Iz