Engineering is such a vibe.
That’s according to our latest industry survey, where we asked 645 young Aussies aged 15 to 24 what they really think of engineering as a career path.
We found 14% of Gen Zs said they had a very positive view and 48% a positive view of the engineering industry. As well, one in three (36%) said they felt ‘neutral’ towards engineering while just 2% said they had a negative view.
On top of that 6% of respondents said they definitely want to pursue a career in engineering, while 12% said they were likely to. To help eliminate bias and get a true gauge of interest our industry surveys do not specify the industry the survey is about before respondents take the survey.
The most popular engineering career paths for those who said they were definitely or likely to work in engineering were mechanical engineering which 51% said they were interested in working in, followed by aerospace engineering (43%), electrical engineering (41%), civil engineering (39%), environmental engineering (29%), biochemical engineering (21%) and biomedical engineering (16%).
When all survey respondents were asked what’s most attractive about working in the engineering industry, the number one response was great pay – top 5 highest salaries for university graduates (44%), followed by solving society’s problems e.g. climate change (24%), opportunities for work travel/working overseas (12%), every day being different (7%), no gender pay gap (5%), while 7% said none of the above.
When asked what barriers they have to pursuing a career in engineering, the top response was I’m not good at maths (49%), followed by I’m not good at science (33%), the ATAR is too high (30%), it is male dominated (25%), lack of flexibility in working hours (18%), while 24% said none of the above.
Now, this is pretty good news for an industry that just so happens to be booming right now. And it’s even better news for Gen Zs who are entering the workforce en masse, with the demand for engineers the highest it’s been in a decade with Engineers Australia reporting a 50% increase in engineering jobs in 2021.
While Queensland saw the biggest growth with a 67% increase in engineering job listings, New South Wales wasn’t far behind with 54%, followed by Victoria with a 44% increase.
Civil engineers are the most sought after at the moment, but there’s also a substantial demand for industrial, mechanical and production engineers, ICT support, and test engineers.
An 18-year-old male from NSW told us how he was drawn to engineering to innovate solutions to real world problems.
“The engineering problem of sustainable air travel is one that inspires me to become an engineer in the future,” he said.
“The need for sustainability in the booming industry creates a problem for engineers trying to work out how to incorporate various technologies, for example, hydrogen batteries and solar power in order to engineer a sustainable plane.”
And according to Engineers Australia’s Chief Engineer Jane MacMaster, Australia’s need for engineers will only grow.
“There’s also a focus on innovation and technology more broadly,” MacMaster told Create Digital.
“We’re living in an age where there isn’t a realm of life that doesn’t rely on technology, and ultimately that relies on engineers. If we don’t do something to address this significant skills challenge, I think the impacts will be felt really hard across many sectors.”
To help connect Gen Zs with the engineering industry, we’ve teamed up with Engineers Australia to show them what it’s really like to be an engineer, how to get started, and what sorts of exciting projects they could be working on in the future.
With our free online Engineering Your Future Academy course, young people can learn all about:
- How we use engineering every day
- Amazing Aussie inventions that changed the world
- Different fields of study in engineering
- What each professional works on each day
- How engineering career paths help change the world
- Different career stages in engineering and how to build your career
- The day-to-day life of an engineer
And much more. Ready to get started? Check out the course overview here.
