Engineering is a fantastic choice of career thanks to the prestige it carries, the numerous job opportunities and the excellent financial security it offers, plus of course the wealth of ways in which it enables you to improve people’s lives and the world we live in. It is also an extremely broad field, with many different specialisms that you can choose between. Here’s an overview of six of the main spheres of engineering to help you decide which you want to focus on.
Civil Engineering
This is perhaps what most people think of when they hear the term ‘engineering’. It involves designing and developing a wide range of infrastructure projects such as transportation networks (for instance, roads and bridges), a wide variety of buildings, and water supply networks (including dams). Nowadays, there is often a strong focus on protecting the natural environment during building projects.
Mechanical Engineering
This broad and diverse subject area covers the design, manufacture, development, maintenance, and operation of various types of machines, devices, and mechanical processes. You’ll study everything from fluid dynamics and thermodynamics to mechatronics in order to produce all sorts of different products and systems. This includes electric generators, air conditioning systems, industrial conveyors, elevators, internal combustion engines, wind turbines, and much, much more.
Chemical Engineering
This multidisciplinary field concentrates on using chemical processes to create innovative substances and materials. It mainly focuses on process industries‘ applications, for example, those involved in manufacturing food, fuel, textiles, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. It’s a newer subject area than civil and mechanical engineering, in which you’ll study topics such as reaction engineering, transfer processes, and separation processes to learn how to find practical applications for chemistry in the real world.
Electrical / Electronic Engineering
This modern branch of engineering focuses on designing and applying large and small-scale electronic systems, ranging from the supply of electric power to the electronic circuits in computers. As a field that affects almost every aspect of our daily lives, from healthcare and communication to entertainment and commerce, there is a lot of scope for specializing in an area you’re passionate about.
Biomedical Engineering
This vital field combines engineering with biology and medicine to create innovations that save people’s lives and improve their quality of living. For instance, you could work on technologies such as artificial limbs, organs, and joints, new surgical equipment and medical instruments, and rehabilitative tools for patients. This makes it a great choice for those with an interest in improving human health.
Aeronautical / Aerospace Engineering
This exciting branch of engineering is concerned with aircraft and spacecraft – everything from the research, design, and development to construction and testing, plus the science and technology behind it all. You’ll study topics such as aerodynamics, flight dynamics, turbulence, propulsion, turbomachinery, and orbital mechanics, plus work with both computer simulations and real-life wind tunnels to test out your designs. With interest in space travel and missions to Mars continuing to grow, this is sure to be a field that continues to grow in fascinating new directions!
