Are you curious about engineering? Just like it’s sometimes hard to know what it will be like to travel to a place you’ve never been before, it can be difficult to imagine what it would be like to study engineering or work as an engineer.
Just what is engineering?
Engineering is something you can study in university and it’s one of the few professions you can start working in with only an undergraduate degree.
With an engineering degree, you could design eco-friendly buildings, create life-saving medical devices, develop the next generation of smartphones or even work on space exploration projects.
Engineers are incredibly diverse individuals who work in many different areas. But no matter where they end up, they have something in common: they tend to be the sort of people who like to solve problems, who are curious about how things work, and who like to be part of a team working together for a shared purpose.
Could engineering be right for you?
Ask yourself:
- What subjects do I enjoy most at school?
- What are my interests?
- How do I like to spend my time?
- How do I feel about open-ended problems where there is no “one” solution?
Your answers to these questions can help you figure out if engineering might be something you’d like to pursue.
There’s nothing like some hands-on experience! You might want to:
- Sign up for engineering outreach camps, like Geering Up
- Join clubs at your school where you can have fun exploring hands-on activities, like clubs focused on robotics, sustainability or coding
You can do some research too!
- Talk to your teachers or guidance counsellors
- If you have any family friends who are engineers, ask them about their work
- Read about how to choose a career path that lines up with your talents and interests
- Learn more about the differences between engineering and science
