Mechanical Engineering 1

Aeronautical EngineerAerospace engineers perform and supervise the design, development, manufacture and maintenance work of all types of flight vehicles. This may include military and civilian aeroplanes, helicopters, missiles, launch vehicles, spacecraft, satellites and control and guidance systems.

Automotive EngineerAutomotive engineers are involved in the design, manufacture and operation of ground-based vehicles, such as motorcycles, automobiles, buses and trucks and their respective engineering subsystems.

Building Services EngineerBuilding services engineers design and develop the inner workings of buildings to provide a safe and functional work environment.

Construction EngineerConstruction engineers are concerned with the planning and management of

the construction of structures such as highways, bridges, airports, railroads, buildings, dams, and reservoirs.

Consulting EngineerConsulting Engineers are independent contractors who offer expertise and knowledge to clients in a particular field. Consulting Engineers generally work on a project-by-project basis for a range of different clients.

Energy EngineerAn energy engineer is involved with the production of energy through natural resources, such as the extraction of oil and gas, as well as from renewable or sustainable sources of energy, including biofuels, hydro, wind and solar power.

Engineering Project ManagerEngineering project managers plan, administer and review engineering and technical projects.

Management ConsultantManagement consultants study the procedures and systems used in an organisation to assess how individuals and the organisation as a whole can best operate.

Manufacturing Systems EngineerDesigns and improves systems and equipment that complete tasks accurately and change raw materials into products with minimal wastage of time, materials and energy.

Mechanical Design EngineerDesign new machines, equipment or systems taking into account cost, availability of materials, strength and maintenance requirements.

Mining EngineerMining engineers plan and direct the engineering aspects of extracting mineral resources from the earth.

OvErviEw

Mechanical Engineering offers you diverse career options in areas including the aeronautics and automotive industries, acoustics, biomechanics, manufacturing, minerals and energy technology, robotics, management and finance industries.

Mechanical engineers plan, design and oversee the development, installation, operation and maintenance of machinery. They conduct research to solve practical engineering problems and improve efficiency.

Mechanical EngineeringCareer Pathways

Specialisations

2 Mechanical Engineering

Engineering Pathways (Mechanical)

School leavers

Melbourne Model degrees (3 years)

Master of Engineering (2 years)Specialisations:

Bachelor of BiomedicineMajors include:

Bioengineering Systems

BiomedicalBiomolecularChemical

Any Bachelors DegreeMust include Linear Algebra and Calculus 2 or equivalents, along with science relevant to intended specialisation.

Note: Duration of Master of Engineering will vary from 2-3years depending on amount of credit obtained from prior study

Bachelor of EnvironmentsMajors include:

Civil SystemsGeomaticsPhysical systems

Bachelor of CommerceSequences in the following Engineering areas:

Chemical SystemsCivil SystemsComputing and Software SystemsElectrical Systems

Mechanical SystemsPhysical Systems

Bachelor of ScienceMajors include:

Bioengineering Systems Chemical SystemsCivil SystemsComputing and Software SystemsElectrical SystemsGeomatics

Mechanical Systems

Exit to employment with professional accreditation

Exit to employment (without professional accreditation)

School leavers

Note: While the study stream highlighted above is considered the traditional pathway, alternative course plans can achieve the same qualification outcome. Please speak to a University of Melbourne course advisor to discuss your options.

CivilElectricalEnvironmental

Geomatics

MechanicalMechatronics

SoftwareStructural

EmploymentSectors and industries• Acoustics• Aeronautics• Automotive• Biomechanics• ComputerIndustry• Construction• Consulting• GovernmentDepartments,Agencies

and Municipal Authorities• Industrial• Manufacturing• MineralsandEnergy• PowerGeneration• ResearchandDevelopment• Robotics• TertiaryEducation• Transport

Choosing an occupation, getting that first graduate job, and growing in your job will require planning, self awareness, flexibility and a forward-looking attitude to help manage the personal transitions, as well as the technological and economic changes of the future. With so many factors to consider an effective employment plan will include strategies for enhancing career awareness & self awareness, and can be done in a 4-Step process, starting with:

1. Doing some self-assessment to clarify interests and strengths

2.Gatheringinformationandexploringcareers that appeal to you and match your interests, abilities and values – using

myFuture (accessible to the public) or Adult Directions (via Online Career Tools for current University of Melbourne students)

3. Learning about the job market by investigating Work Experience opportunities, browsing company/industry websites and talking to lots of people in your field of interest using the informational interviewing technique

4. Developing job search skills – preparing your job applications and preparing for interviews using the Online Career Tools or booking a Career Consultation through Careers Online (both services available to current University of Melbourne students).

Career PlanningFor university students, career planning is about choosing a career path related to your field of study and preparing for employment. While engineering can lead to specific occupations it can also give you the foundation for a variety of career paths.

Mechanical Engineering 3

Employers A sample of employers who actively recruit our Mechanical Engineering graduates includes:

For a more extensive listing including current employment opportunities, University of Melbourne students can visit Careers Online, our online jobs portal.

Itisalsoimportanttoattendeventslikethe Graduate Careers Fair in Semester 1 andstudent-runIndustryNightstobecomefamiliar with who the key employers are and the dates of their recruiting campaigns.

resources The Careers and Jobs Guide on the Library website has been developed for current University of Melbourne students in conjunction with Careers & Employment. This guide will help you find quality library resources to help with:• Career planning• Researching industries• Researching employers• Employability skills• Job hunting• Resumes and job applications• Interview preparation

Types of employmentwork ExperienceThere are many forms of work experience. With the introduction of the Fair Work Act 2009, all work experience must be paid unless the placement forms part of a university course. For engineering students, work experience could take the form of an industry-based final year project or a paid placement (such as those listed below). Voluntary work for not-for profit agencies

is another way of gaining valuable work experience but these placements must adhere to the Vocational Placements & Student Volunteering Policy.

vACATiOn PrOgrAMS

Are degree-related, structured paid work placements usually undertaken by students at the end of their penultimate year of study. These can often lead to a graduate position, so competition for placements is intense. Winter vacation programs are available from time to time.

inTErnShiPS

Internshipsaresupervised,paidworkplacements arranged between the employer and student, sometimes brokered by the university.Rangingfromafewweekspart-time to multiple semesters full-time, internships occur in a field relevant to the student’s qualification. Application opening and closing dates for internships are varied.

CO-OPErATivE PrOgrAMS

Enable students to alternate study terms with paid work and offer hands-on experience contributing to a real project, skills development and a chance to network with professionals in the field. Application opening and closing dates for co-operative programs are varied.

CADETShiPS

Employed positions offered to students or graduates, designed to provide specific training or mentoring.

Cadetships can be full- or part-time and vary from formalised, structured schemes to informal arrangements between an individual and an organisation. Application opening and closing dates are varied.

graduate Employment ProgramsIncludesubstantialtraining,developmentand support. Some programs include rotations through various departments within the organisation. Usually offered by large organisations and government departments, an increasing number of smaller organisations are now offering graduate employment programs. Many organisations offer a number of programs – some for specific or technical roles, and others which arebroaderbased.Graduateprogramsvary in length, from 1-3 years. Competition is strong and final year students must apply in March or April for commencement in January or February of the following year.

Opportunities to get exposure to industry through the Melbourne School of Engineering:Connect with industry through the curriculum, via:

• studentprojectsthatarepartnered with industry

• guestlecturesledbyindustryleaders

• sitevisitshostedbykeyorganisations

• careermentoringprograms

ABB Australia

AECOM

Alcoa

ANCA

BAE Systems

Beca Pty Ltd

BP Australia

Boeing Aerostructures Australia

DSTO

Energy Matters

Exxon Mobil

Fluor Australia

Gloucester Coal

Invetech

Norman Disney & Young

OneSteel

Orica Limited

Origin Energy

OzMinerals

Qenos

Robert Bosch

Schlumberger

Shell

SKM

Toyota

Transfield

Uhde Shedden

WorleyParsons

4 Mechanical Engineering

Careers in ResearchIf you are passionate about a certain field and would like to advance your research skills, enrolling in a research higher degree (RHD) may be a great option for you. RHDs enhance your ability to problem solve, think autonomously and creatively, and analyse. Careers in research are diverse and may include: academic positions at universities; policy-making or research positions at public sector organisations; private sector research and development projects; and self-employed consulting positions on technical or policy issues in your area of expertise.

Alternative CareersAn engineering degree offers you excellent technical and design expertise, but also equips you with the foundations for a diverse range of positions. Over a third of our graduates choose to move into non-traditional engineering roles, including:• Managementconsulting• Finance,economicsandbanking• Marketingandcommunications• Businessanalysis• Projectmanagement• Technicalwriting• Government,policyandintellectual

property management.

ForcurrentUniversityofMelbournestudents,Careers Online advertises numerous ‘generalist’ graduate jobs during the peak recruitmentseason(March-Aprilofyour final year). You will often find that many state and federal government departments and defence agencies will actively recruit for engineers as they value their high-end problem-solving and analytical abilities.

10 years experienceLeadMechanicalEngineer

PrincipalMechanicalEngineer

SeniorMechanicalEngineer

Graduate

Career Progression (trajectories) – Mechanical

GraduateMechanicalEngineer

GraduateMechanicalDesign Engineer

GraduateMechanicalProcessEngineer

ManufacturingSystems Engineer

Aeronautical Engineer

CADProductDesignEngineer

MarineEngineer

MechanicalEngineer

MechanicalEngineer–BuildingServices

MechanicalEngineer–MaterialsHandling

MechanicalEngineer–Mining

MechanicalEngineer– Oil&Gas/Pipelines

MechanicalEngineer–PlantPerformance

MechanicalEngineer–PowerStation

MechanicalEngineer–SolarIndustry

MechanicalEngineer–Underground

MechanicalEngineer–WaterTreatmentProjects

MechanicalDesignEngineer

MechanicalDesignEngineer–Automotive

MechanicalDesignEngineer–Heavy Industry Design

MechanicalDesignEngineer–UndergroundDrilling

MechanicalEquipmentEngineer

MechanicalMaintenanceEngineer

MechanicalProcessEngineer–Design & Documentation

MechanicalProjectEngineer–Oil&Gas

MechanicalSystemsEngineer

PipingEngineer

ReliabilityEngineer–Mechanical

ToolEngineer

UndergroundMechanicalConstruction Engineer

3-5 years experience

Mechanical Engineering 5

Salary InformationAccording to a survey conducted in 2011 by Engineers Australia, gross mean base salary figures for mechanical engineers across the private and public sectors are as follows:

New graduate: $67,477

2-3 years: $79,529

4-10 years: $96,117

10-15 years: $123,938

Over 15 years: $151,415

Job OutlookAccording to the Australian Government’s Job Outlook website*:

• Job Prospects for Mechanical Engineering Professionals are good.

• EmploymentforMechanicalEngineeringProfessionals to 2015-2016 is expected to grow strongly. Employment remained relatively steady in the last five years, and rose moderately in the long-term (ten years).

• TheinternetvacancylevelforMechanicalEngineering Professionals is very high.

* The Data on Job Outlook is updated on a yearly basis and is compiled from national statistics which may not reflect either regional variations or more recent changes in employment conditions.

Graduate Attributes for EmploymentAs a graduate software engineer you will have:

• Opportunitiestointeractwithindustryprofessionals through guest lectures, field and project work

• Asoundfundamentalunderstanding of the technical skills and principles of Mechanical Engineering and their application to complex, open-ended engineering tasks and problems

• Genericskills,includingmanagement,communication, problem-solving and design and innovation in Mechanical Engineering

• Theeducationalandprofessionalstandardsof Engineers Australia and EUR-ACE® with which the course is accredited

• Understandingofprofessionalandethicalresponsibilities and commitment to them

• Generalknowledge

• Understandingofthebusinessenvironment

• Abilitytocommunicateeffectively,with the engineering team and the community at large

• Abilitytofunctioneffectivelyasanindividual and in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams, as a team leader ormanageraswellasaneffectiveteammember

• Abilitytomanageinformationanddocumentation

• Capacityforlifelonglearningandprofessional development.

DR VASSILI KITSIOS

Post Doctoral Research Scientist, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research

Study Area: Mechanical Engineering

As a postdoctoral researcher with CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research (CMAR), Dr Vassili Kitsios is involved in developing turbulence models for simulations of the atmosphere and ocean:

“Thebestpartaboutmyjobisthefreedom Ihavetopursuenewideas.Thereiscurrently a high level of public interest surrounding climate change. It’s exciting tobeworkinginafieldthataffectsallof our lives.”

Funded by the Australian Government, CMAR undertakes research to advance Australian climate, marine and earth systems science, and houses leading regional climate change modelling research teams.

Before joining CMAR, Vassili completed a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, where he had the opportunity to travel and develop his research expertise:

“During my PhD, I travelled a lot, and worked with fellow research colleagues at the Université de Poitiers (France), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain), Manchester University (United Kingdom), Stanford University (United States of America) and Monash University (Australia). I developed sought-after knowledge and skills in the field of aerodynamic control, which gave me the opportunity to be selective in my next career move.”

Vassili worked with leading researchers during his PhD study and enjoyed the learning environment.

“ThehighlightofmyexperienceattheUniversity of Melbourne was studying in an environment that encourages curiosity and the challenging of ideas. I had the opportunity to work with world leaders in fluid dynamics in the Mechanical Engineering Department.”

Job Search Sites• Careers Online

• Engineer Jobs

• Engineering Career

• Engineering Jobs Australia

• Grad Connection

• Just Engineers

• Job Search Australia/Engineers

• Mining Careers

• MyCareer – Mechanical Engineering

• Oil Careers

• Seek – Mechanical Engineering

Recruiters• Recruitment and Consulting Services

Association’s Member Index

• Seek recruiter search

Professional Associations•Engineers Australia

•APESMA

•Society of Automotive Engineers Australasia

•Australian Institute of Energy

•Consult Australia

•AusIMM

Licensing and registrationThereisnoformalsystemofregulationforengineersthroughoutAustralia.

EngineeringservicesareregulatedunderavarietyofActsinadhocareas,manyofwhichrelatetoengineersinthebuildingandconstructionindustry.

EngineersinQueenslandarerequiredbylegislationtoberegisteredthroughtheBoard of Professional Engineers in Queensland (BPEQ).Inotherstatesandterritoriesengineersoperateundertheself-regulatorysystemoperatedbytheNational Engineering Registration Board (NERB).

International Students/GraduatesWorking in Victoria: An Engineer’s Guide

Overseas Qualifications Assessment Team (OSQA)Engineers Australia

Useful Links

DavidStribleyisworkingonExxonMobil’sKipperTunaTurrumprojectinBassStrait,oneofthelargestdomesticgasdevelopmentsontheeasternseaboard.The$4billionprojectwilldevelopcleaner-burningnaturalgassuppliestohelpsecureVictoria’senergyfuture.

“DuringatypicaldayatworkIlookafterateamofengineersandconstructionprofessionalstodelivertheBrownfieldscopeoftheproject.Thisrequiresmakingjudgementcallsbasedonengineeringrecommendationstobestmeettheprojectbusinessobjectives.”

ReflectingonhisstudyatMelbourne,Davidrecallsthefocusonproblem-solving,askillthatheusesdailyinhiscurrentrole:

“GraduatingfromMelbournegavemethetechnicalbackgroundtobeabletomakedecisionsbasedonlimitedinformation.Italsogavemetheabilitytobeenquiringinordertobetterunderstandtherootcauseofaproblemthatsometimesisn’tobvious.”

PriortocommencinghisroleatExxonMobil,Davidcompletedaninternship

therewiththesiteinspectiongroup.HealsocompletedaninternshipwithFord Motor Companyasafacilitiesengineerinthemanufacturinggrouponnewvehicledevelopment:

“Bothinternshipsgavemeahugeinsightintohowdifferentindustrieswork,andhelpedmedecidewhichpathIwantedtotakepost-university.TheyalsosupportedmyfuturejobapplicationsandledtomeworkingatExxonMobiltoday.”

Davidhasenjoyedadiversityofrolesinthecourseofhiscareer:

“Fromamachineryengineerworkingonoffshoreassets,tomanagingacontrolsystemupgradeona32-year-old8MWGasTurbine,infiveyearsIamnowontomyfourthroleandeachonehasbeenhugelyrewardinganddifferent.”

DAVID STRIBLEY

Project Engineer, ExxonMobil

Study Area: Mechanical Engineering

ANDREW GEORGE

Aeronautical Engineer, BAE systems

Study Area: Mechanical Engineering

AndrewGeorgeworkswithcutting-edgetechnologyonadailybasisinhisroleasanaeronauticalengineerwithglobalaerospace,securityanddefencesystemscompanyBAE Systems.

AfterstudyingMechanicalEngineering,Andrewfoundthatthebroadfoundationofhiscoursemeanthisskillswerealsohighlyapplicableintheareasofmechatronicsandaeronauticalengineering.

“It’sgoodtohavethebreadthofknowledgeyougetatMelbourne.Itmeansit’seasiertogointotheminingindustryorthe

aerospaceindustryorthefinanceindustryandapplythatknowledgetowhicheverapplicationinterestsyou.”

AndrewsecuredhisroleasanaeronauticalengineeratBAEsystemsthankstoafinalyearhoveringrocketprojectheundertookatBAE,whichgavehimafootinthedoorforagraduaterole.

“Ifeeldefenceisaninterestingindustrytobeinrightnow,butthenIalsohavethepotentialtogointofinanceandanalysemarketsorgointominingengineering.”

MechanicalEngineeringPathways.AuthorisedbytheIndustryRelationsManager,MelbourneSchoolofEngineering.PublishedbyTheMelbourneSchoolofEngineering,July2012.

Copyright:©CopyrightUniversityofMelbourne2012.CopyrightinthispublicationisownedbytheUniversityandnopartofitmaybereproducedwithoutthepermissionoftheUniversity.

CRICOSprovidercode00116K.Disclaimer:TheUniversityhasuseditsbestendeavourstoensurethatmaterialcontainedinthispublicationwascorrectatthetimeofprinting.TheUniversitygivesnowarrantyandacceptsno

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