Engineering Degree?

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Franky_024

Franky_024

Club Legend
Oct 18, 2011
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AFL Club
Melbourne
Hi , i'm a 27 year old male that has worked in the retail sector since I was 15 and have decided i'd like to do some further study and improve my chances of getting a more worthwhile career.

I completed year 12 and did not apply for a VCAT score. After much research and having a few mates in the engineering sector I had decided i'd like to do a bachelor of Engineering. To even enroll in my position I need to do some perquisite training (certificate IV)

To do this I need to do on campus study 2 nights a week for 12 months in a place 1 hour away from where I live. I currently reside in Mt Gambier SA and they do not offer this course at their TAFE. So once I complete this 12 month course I then will enroll in a 4 year offline course.

So my question is simply at my age, at this stage would this be a good idea? I have had an offer to move to WA and do PR course with a mining company but do not want to leave my fiance. I do however wish to find a job in Adelaide in 5 years time and this seems like a legitimate option to me.
 
Age isn't a barrier in your case (27 is still young!) but life stage could be!(some 27 year olds have children , a mortgage , and other such responsibilities ). I'm not an engineer but have lots of friends and family in the field. Seems like the industry isn't too great at the moment (recent graduates even with high marks /from highly regarded universities are finding it hard to get a job and are often opting for further study ), but things can change in 5 years . Any chance you could have the best of both worlds and take the mining offer (could be useful experience on your resume as mining companies obviously do hire engineers ) and study at a WA tafe ? As its a course through a mining company , would you get paid while you study or would it be like work experience ? What sort of work does your fiancé do?
 
That does sound like a reasonable option, we plan to move in the next 2 years but i'm sure we can discuss perhaps moving a bit sooner. My fiance is a chemical engineer and seems to think i'd have no trouble with the study involved but she does have a pretty good job here. I might look at doing the prerequisite study then perhaps look at moving to WA after that's completed.
 

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Scotland said:
Were you bright at school?

There's not heaps of work in an engineering degree compared to some others, but the concepts some people simply don't get. Calculus, thermodynamics etc. are second nature to some and witchcraft to others.
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This is definitely a factor. Signal processing in electrical eng would fry the brains of a large percentage of the population.

For the OP, which stream of engineering interests you, e.g. mechanical, civil, chemical, electrical, materials, etc? The drop out rate in some streams is pretty high.

Having a decent grasp of maths is helpful for most streams. Good lecturers, tutors and demonstrators make a big difference too. A lot of it is easier if you have someone who can explain it well.
 
Currently Studying 2nd year civil; anyone have some insight of what job market is like at the moment?
 
I know a few Civil Engineers out of work. Some good ones, too.

Must absolutely blow to be a grad right now. Companies aren't looking to invest into overheads - which is what grads basically are - and the few entry level jobs that do come up have folks who already have a couple of years experience applying for them also.
 
Its shyte now, especially for those fields that boomed during the "boom time era" e.g. environmental, mining, minerals, civil. Some other engineering fields are often too nichey to get work in e.g. materials, mechatronics, aeronautical and may require you to go overseas to find the work (e.g. Asia, Europe, US).

I'm a qualified environmental engineer and my story is already known by some on here, so no need to re-iterate it again. I can speak a lot in that field. There's senior environmental engineers out of work for 18 months and counting so its going to take some time to get better for grads. Got friends at the Water Corp who have been there since they finished their course five years ago, very bright but may be in the batch of redundancies to be announced soon.

I would say there's a chance that things could be on the up again in four years time if you say started the course this year. However there's a lot of universities that sell their engineering courses with regards to job prospects immediately once you have finished like used car salesmen, so don't rely on their advice on how prospects will be for your chosen field of engineering.
 
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Franky_024 said:
Hi , i'm a 27 year old male that has worked in the retail sector since I was 15 and have decided i'd like to do some further study and improve my chances of getting a more worthwhile career.

I completed year 12 and did not apply for a VCAT score. After much research and having a few mates in the engineering sector I had decided i'd like to do a bachelor of Engineering. To even enroll in my position I need to do some perquisite training (certificate IV)

To do this I need to do on campus study 2 nights a week for 12 months in a place 1 hour away from where I live. I currently reside in Mt Gambier SA and they do not offer this course at their TAFE. So once I complete this 12 month course I then will enroll in a 4 year offline course.

So my question is simply at my age, at this stage would this be a good idea? I have had an offer to move to WA and do PR course with a mining company but do not want to leave my fiance. I do however wish to find a job in Adelaide in 5 years time and this seems like a legitimate option to me.
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I went to uni at 29, I'm finishing this year, I'll be 33. It's been brutal.

I got married in the first year. We already had a mortgage. I'm not working because my degree has mad contact hours plus clinical placements. So money has been tight to say the least. Going to uni at my age was insane and I have forgotten what it's like to have money. Long term though, things will be much better than if I hadn't gone to uni. Secure job in a field that is near immune from GFC.

My biggest issue is that we would have liked to start a family sooner. All put on hold.

If you are going to do this, be absolutely sure it's the right course. You don't have the option to do 2 years then switch to something else like an early 20 year old.

Oh are you fine with maths? If you study engineering you will be up to your neck in calculus and physics. Don't be put off, it's definitely doable. But take it from me, it will be tough.

edit: I can't speak for your job ops post graduation. Others have addressed that anyhow. If you have any questions about being the old dude at uni I can help with that though.
 
wowlace said:
I went to uni at 29, I'm finishing this year, I'll be 33. It's been brutal.

I got married in the first year. We already had a mortgage. I'm not working because my degree has mad contact hours plus clinical placements. So money has been tight to say the least. Going to uni at my age was insane and I have forgotten what it's like to have money. Long term though, things will be much better than if I hadn't gone to uni. Secure job in a field that is near immune from GFC.

My biggest issue is that we would have liked to start a family sooner. All put on hold.

If you are going to do this, be absolutely sure it's the right course. You don't have the option to do 2 years then switch to something else like an early 20 year old.

Oh are you fine with maths? If you study engineering you will be up to your neck in calculus and physics. Don't be put off, it's definitely doable. But take it from me, it will be tough.

edit: I can't speak for your job ops post graduation. Others have addressed that anyhow. If you have any questions about being the old dude at uni I can help with that though.
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What was your previous job before uni?
I'm 27 and a fitter and turner and I'm redoing my year 12 maths ready for uni. I'm looking at doing mech eng.
 
HirdyLannister said:
What was your previous job before uni?
I'm 27 and a fitter and turner and I'm redoing my year 12 maths ready for uni. I'm looking at doing mech eng.
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Patternmaker. Tradie.

Being a fitter, you should have great industry contacts in mech eng.
 
Manufacturing is at its lowest in a very long time.
 

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Grads in every degree are having a pretty subpar time in the employment stakes (well from my knowledge and experience).

Have had friends from eng have to either wait for 6+ months for a job (short if you have no industry contacts) or further study.

All I can say is do all the intern/vac work you can.
 
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