Engineering Courses Australia

STUDYING ENGINEERING in AUSTRALIA

Many tertiary institutions in Australia offer undergraduate and post graduate courses in engineering that meet high quality international standards and the skills gained in these courses can be used across a range of disciplines throughout the world. Engineering courses take a lot of discipline and sacrifice to complete and the successful undergraduate student in the field of engineering is defined by passion, inquisitiveness and a desire to learn about the nature of reality in a scientific and analytical way. Students who choose to study engineering come to the discipline for many reasons, but the major reason seems to be a desire to contribute to the world of technology, making society a better place. Many engineering students have a passion for curing diseases, reducing pollution or combating hunger on a global scale. As well as developing new technology and becoming a driving force behind innovative companies that put many of the disciplines of engineering into practice in new and exciting ways. Other students are simply enchanted with the study of engineering as a process and the social prestige that comes with being knowledgeable in one of the world’s oldest scientific disciplines that was first formulated in the writings of the Greeks.

The most common sub-disciplines in engineering include civil engineering and chemical engineering but also include the following disciplines as well that have their own emphasizes and professional associations. Some of the sub-disciplines in engineering are: environmental engineering / materials engineering / mechanical engineering / mechanical and aerospace engineering / mechanical and material engineering / mechanical and space engineering / mechatronic engineering / minerals processing engineering / mining engineering / software engineering / software systems and aerospace engineering / chemical engineering. So there are many sub-disciplines in engineering for an international student to specialise in and make a contribution too.

Additional costs for undergraduate engineering students include: safety boots / senior first aid certificate / hard hat / safety induction program / transport and accommodation costs for vacation work, field work and work experience.
As an undergraduate student you will be dealing with the general principles of engineering and it is possible to get an excellent position with only a bachelor degree and move your way up the management chain with hard work, luck and skill. This is the way to go for many students who are passionate for starting a career and developing their engineering career in the field. It is also possible for a student of engineering to complement this process by studying professional development courses that emphasise risk management / project management / mentoring skills / negotiation skills / writing technical documents / time management / contract management / asset management / constraint management / earthworks / design – building contracting / electrical engineering practice /managing self and leading teams / building services engineering. But take into consideration that these extra curricula professional development courses cost a pretty penny and you will need to look hard and weigh up the pros and cons of doing these courses. So make sure you get what you paid for and the modules offered in these courses contribute to the development and continuation of your career as an engineer. An undergraduate course in an Australian university takes 4 years to complete and there are 64 units in a Bachelor of Engineering (BE) program. And BE programs can be taken in conjunction with other programs like business, law, art and information technology.

But take note!

Many of these programs are very complex and you will need assistance from your AA Education Agent to make the best decision on what undergraduate program is appropriate for your needs. AA Education Services will help you make the best decision when you are studying in Australia and will gladly help you to do that free of charge.

As a postgraduate student studying engineering you will be applying what you learnt as an undergraduate student in new and exciting ways that will contribute to the study of engineering as a discipline into a single field of endeavor that you are truly avid for. And if you follow the path of a postgraduate student you will need extra resources of discipline and sacrifice as you watch many of your contemporaries begin their career in the field and start enjoying the financial benefits of doing so while you are seemingly stuck in a thesis project that never ends. But the upside is, is that you will build on the knowledge you have learnt as an undergraduate student to a higher technical level and have the opportunity to do research and apply for positions teaching in any university throughout the world with an Australian postgraduate qualification.

So good things will come to you, you just have to wait a little longer (about 3 years) to see it arrive. A postgraduate engineering student is truly passionate for engineering and may have to let other aspects of their life like buying a house or getting married slide for a time until they complete their postgraduate studies successfully.

And as a student in Australia you can join professional memberships like:
Australian Computer Society / Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy / Engineers Australia / Institute of Chemical Engineers
http://australia-university.org/application/

So what is engineering?

There are many sub-disciplines in engineering, but the two of the best known are mechanical engineering and chemical engineering.

Mechanical engineering deals with design, construction, development, installation and manufacturing of different products and the skills learnt transfer across a wide range of different industries like: automotive and marine design, transport and building services. Mechanical engineering was developed using the principles of physics and materials science. Mechanical engineering uses heat and mechanical power in the design and production of instruments like machines (combustion engine) and tools (air compressors, nail guns, mechanical building tools) and is one of the oldest and broadest engineering disciplines that have many everyday applications. Mechanical engineering is best suited to people who have a practical side to their personality and enjoy experimentation. Aspects of mechanical engineering can be taught at vocational colleges and TAFE’s, as well as in a more academically defined engineering courses at an undergraduate and postgraduate level. Mechanical engineers use their knowledge to design, fix and install products like engines, medical devices, cars, planes, trains, industrial equipment, heating and cooling systems and robotics. And mechanical engineering has its origins in Greece, China and Medieval Islam. Where many of the principles first defined by Greek thinkers like Archimedes and Heron of Alexandria were developed upon by Islamic philosophers like Al Jazari who wrote a treatise on the ingenuity of mechanical devices called by the same name.  But it was in 19th century England and Scotland that the modern science of mechanical engineering was formulated with the development of the steam engine and other mechanical devices fueled the industrial revolution of the time and gave us many of our staples of modern technological life. And the modern field of mechanical engineering is used by scientists and researcher’s working in the depths of the ocean to the outer solar system.

While chemical engineering is a sub-discipline of engineering that has also benefited society very well through research and development of materials and substances from nature into more convenient forms that can have multiple applications. Chemical engineering uses physics, mathematics, chemistry and life sciences (biology, microbiology) to do this. Chemical engineering is also concerned with developing new materials like nanotechnology, biomedical engineering and environmentally sustainable fuel cells. Chemical engineers like other engineers are involved in the design and implementation of the processes and materials involved in chemical engineering in a safe, productive and economically efficient way. The difference with other engineers lay in the fact that chemical engineers do this with biological and chemical processes for large scale manufacture and distribution to the marketplace.

Here are some of the products chemical engineers design, develop and implement: petrochemicals / fuels / ceramics / dietary supplements / pharmaceuticals / fertilizers / plastics / eleochemicals / detergents / explosives / herbicides / additives / flavours / fragrances and agrochemicals.

Chemical engineers both simplify and complicate reactions for economic advantage, but are also involved in projects that have an altruistic purpose like the mapping of the human genome. Today, the modern discipline of chemical engineering is more than process engineering (transforming raw material) and now include high performance materials used in biomedical research, space technology, aerospace technology and military applications like the design of Kevlar body armor. Modern chemical engineering is also heavily synthesized with biomedical engineering and chemical engineers conduct research in disease detection and prevention.
So engineering is an interesting field for anyone to go into, but be aware that you will need passion for mathematics, chemistry, architecture, natural science and physics and have a deep interest in the natural world to make it through the extensive study that you will have to undertake to have a career in the engineering arena.

So contact your AA Education Agent today about studying engineering in any of Australia’s major universities, technical colleges and vocational schools.