You’ll gain marketable knowledge and skills from day one
An undergraduate degree in engineering (which at UBC is a degree in applied science) directly prepares you to work in your field of study. The projects you work on in your courses and the learning opportunities inside and outside the classroom are all carefully designed to equip you with the knowledge and experience most valued by employers.
This starts with the very first engineering course you take. All first-year UBC engineering students take a year-long course where they learn to think like an engineer by working on real-world projects (learn more about UBC’s first-year advantage).
When Emiko Wijeysundera was a first-year student, one of those projects focused on designing bike lanes in Vancouver. That experience helped her get her first-co-op work term with an urban planning consulting company that was working on a comparable project.
As she says, “it was very helpful to be able to talk about this project in my interview.”
Start earning and building your career while you’re a student
If you decide to pursue co-op, you’re definitely on the path to setting yourself up for career success. UBC has the second-largest co-op program in Canada and we attract top national and international employers who are eager to hire our students for work terms that range from four to 12 months.
Not only will you gain real-world experience, you’ll grow your professional network, get to test out different kinds of jobs and be well on your way to creating a stand-out resume.
The added bonus? You’ll be paid well.
Take a look at the monthly co-op wages for a sense of the income you can make as a co-op student.
Strong starting salaries after graduating
Engineering is one of the only undergraduate degrees that offers a clear path to a job right after graduation. Most other professional degrees – like law, medicine or architecture – require additional years of study after your undergrad. Other popular undergraduate majors, like science or business, don’t offer a straightforward career path and you may need to pursue additional training, certification or credentials to move into desirable positions.
Engineering grads tend to be paid well from the get-go.
A research report by the Labour Market Information Council How much do they make? New evidence on the early career earnings of Canadian post-secondary education graduates by credential and field of study states that students who completed undergraduate degree in engineering earned more than graduates of other programs. “Across fields of study, Health and Engineering graduates have the highest earnings in the first year….In the fifth year [after graduation], Engineering graduates earn by far the most,” said the report writers.
UBC Engineering grads are set up for success
UBC Engineering prepares you for a rewarding transition to your first full-time job after graduation. We have one of the top-ranked engineering programs in the country and our graduates are in demand by top employers in Canada and beyond.
Why study engineering? And why study engineering at UBC?
Pro tip: Get involved and stand out! Our alumni have lots of advice on how to set yourself apart when you’re applying for jobs. The key takeaway? Gain as much project experience as you can by pursuing co-op and getting involved in student design teams.
This is also a great career development strategy because you can test out different kinds of technical projects and organizations while you are still a student. When you’re applying for a job after graduating, you’ll be targeting positions and organizations that align with your skills and interests – and you’ll therefore more likely find a good job fit where you’ll be successful.
Salaries that keep growing
Engineering is a field with growth potential. Not only are you more likely to start off your career with a great salary, but you’ll continue being paid at higher levels than others.
The article “The 25 highest-paying college majors—more than half earn at least $100,000 by mid-career” shows that students who choose engineering consistently place “at the top for median salaries within five years of graduation.” In fact, of the top eight majors, seven were engineering programs.
Learn more about the engineering programs on offer at UBC
Engineers have skills that will always be in demand
You’ve likely read alarming reports that AI could eliminate the need for all sorts of jobs – from lawyers and accountants to writers to coders. But you’ll notice in the Forbes article “21 job titles that will disappear by 2030” that engineering doesn’t make the list!
As we wrote in our article 4 reasons why engineering is a profession for the future, engineers will always be in demand and at the forefront of shaping our world. Every single industry requires people who are curious problem-solvers and innovators, able to use design thinking to solve problems and come up with better and more sustainable solutions.
Engineering is a very versatile degree. While most people who study engineering will work in an engineering-related field, many do not. Engineering is a great stepping stone to other areas, like architecture, medicine, law, teaching, research, entrepreneurship and so much more. As Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering Dr. Lisa Tobber says, “You’ll become really good at solving problems, which is a skill you can use in any field.”
