Engineering Work Experience Builds A Better Future
Summary: Engineering work experience programs provide Australians in Year 10 of school and up a great opportunity to get an advantage in joining an in demand career field.
If you’re a young Australian looking for a promising career that allows YOU to think out of the box and use creative and critical thinking skills to solve problems, consider engineering. Work experience in these programs can help students get their foot in the door if they decide to pursue a career in this field.
Demand for engineers in Australia is high, as the nation simply isn’t turning out enough engineers to meet the demand. Even in the darkest days of the global financial crisis, Australian companies reported having a constant shortages of engineers.
According to Engineers Australia, the lack of engineers poses a big problem for Australia in the long run. The country is expected to be entering a prolonged period of economic growth, but without adequate engineers, this growth could be hampered. It can be expected that the high demand for engineers will give young professionals entering this field excellent job security and pay.
Students participating in a work experience program can:
- Master engineering basics in a non-classroom environment. It’s one thing to hear about how engineering works in a classroom, it’s entirely different having the opportunity to see how the concepts taught in the classroom are used to build facilities, devices or other engineer-designed material.
- Valuable contacts. A student’s participation in a work experience program gives him or her to meet, and make a good first impression upon, employers in the industry. Students will also be able to meet their future peers and have the opportunity to work with individuals who share their enthusiasm for math and science. Enthusiasm is infectious, and students will find that being around other motivated individuals boosts their own interest and drive.
- Hands on experience. No textbook can duplicate the opportunity to take on an engineering problem on your own and find a solution. That’s why participating in a work experience program can be so valuable – it gives students the same ‘sink or swim’ scenario they’ll face in the real world.
- Credibility. Students who participate in work experience programs have a valuable example of commitment that they can put on a resume or job application, or application for university.
For students looking for a way to get a head start on a great career in engineering, the solution is simple. By participating in an engineering work experience program, students get the hands-on experience they need and the contacts with peers and industry leaders they need to make a great start in the highly competitive field of engineering.