If only our engineering faculty spent their budget on a Harry Potter sorting hat, then one of the biggest decisions of our life could be completely up to fate! But alas… we must make this scary and overwhelming decision with such limited perspective, all by ourselves.
✨CHOOSING YOUR SPECIALISATION!✨
Today I shall share some out-of-the-box career ideas to kickstart your decision-making if you are in need of some creative specialisation inspiration!
Department: Civil, Structural
Silly Student Stereotype: Concrete munchers
- Extreme set design for movie stunts and you might end up designing a bridge for Tom Cruise or creating a building for spiderman
- Natural disaster relief, be a good Samaritan, make a BIG difference
- Design your city buildings and bridges (not very creative I know… but imagine the pride you would feel driving over a bridge you designed and actually not ending up in the ocean?!)
Department: Electrical & Electronics, Computer Systems, Software
Silly Student Stereotype: The socially challenged
- Contribute to high profile government agencies or intelligence services so you find out important info and secrets
- Create emerging technology (AI, robotics, IoT applications), be part of the next technology addiction breakthrough
- Join the energy sector and be the reason your friends and family have electricity (Keep The Lights On!)
- Game design (possibly VR?) cause how cool would your younger self think you are
Department: Mechanical, Mechatronics
Silly Student Stereotype: Competition central
- Design rollercoasters and theme park rides – spread some joy
- Vehicle manufacturing cause I know many of you out there nerd out over cars
- Create kinetic art like functional fashion or moving sculptures
- Join the aeronautical or astronautical industry and help humans fly and explore the world and beyond
Department: Chemical & Materials
Silly Student Stereotype: The forgotten ones
- Optimise the processes in place to create your favourite sweet treats or maybe the coffee carrying you through this degree
- Innovate eco-friendly alternatives for fast-moving consumer goods to save our planet
- Develop space materials and get involved in things that are ‘out of this world’ (literally and figuratively)
Department: Engineering Science
Silly Student Stereotype: Are they really engineers?
- Predict the future with modelling and always be ahead of the game
- Use algorithms to influence social media giving yourself the power to control what goes viral
- Carry out the roles of other engineers with a mathematical spin
Department: Biomedical
Silly Student Stereotype: Sleepless biology book brain
- Design next generation prosthetics limbs with 3D printing or function-inducing software to give people equal opportunity and help them feel superhuman
- Work on next generation smart hospitals and improve the efficiency and reliability of healthcare – save lives!
- Create wearable devices making health technology more accessible, practical, and user-friendly
🦉My Final Words of Wisdom for Making Your Specialisation Decision🦉
There are endless organisations hiring qualified engineers so keep researching and consider your long term aspirations!
The two most common temptations are to choose the same spec as your friends or base your preference list of GPA requirements. Don’t chase your friends as you will eventually part ways after graduating. GPA requirements are more impacted by popularity than difficulty so you aren’t proving anything by choosing the spec with the highest GPA. If you aren’t passionate about what you are learning I can guarantee that your next three years will feel as miserable as writing a hundred essays!
Choose the spec that will lead you to an industry job that inspires you, or the spec you are fascinated to learn more about (even if it is one you may find challenging). There is plenty of flexibility to move around in second year so don’t feel overwhelmed by the number of options in front of you.
All the best with making your big decision! Good luck engineering on… I’ll see you in the next one! 🤗