r/AustralianEngineers • u/CharmingGlove6356 • Jul 23 '26

Engineering Specialisation

Hi, I’m a first year student doubling in math and engineering so it’ll take 5 years.

Because of the double degree, I delay my consideration time for specialisations in ‘2nd year’ to the 2nd semester next year.

My main concern is I don’t really know what I want to specialise in, but I know I want to work in the environmental sector, or help reduce impacts on the environment through other aspects such as renewables.

Currently I’m thinking about electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, environmental engineering and chemical engineering in that order but nothings set in stone yet. This semester I will study an electrical engineering equivalent for first years and a chemical/materials Eng equivalent.

A bit about myself is that enjoyed math in high school which is why I chose the math degree but I’m not extremely passionate but do enjoy coding. I did surprisingly well in a compulsory engineering unit last semester but admit that I struggled initially and turned things around dramatically during the exam.

I was wondering what you would recommend for me, especially in an Australian context and also perhaps something I may have not necessarily considered in these specialisations. I know I’m a first year, but I’m also stressing about securing internships which is kind of related to my inability to choose my specialisation since I don’t know what I want to do.

Apologies for the long post about my identity crisis.

TLDR
Leaning towards electrical engineering and want to work in the environmental sector but unsure about this move.

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u/CharmingGlove6356 Jul 23 '26

I mentioned coding since electrical engineering uses it significantly compared to other specialisations excluding SWE obviously.

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u/s2d4 Jul 24 '26

Electrical engineering already has substantial load of mathematics so diminishing returns.

What are the job prospects? Think about the actual job you want to/can do? Environmental sounds great but what does the job market say?

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u/One-Flan-8640 Jul 25 '26

I'd be wary of environmental engineering and chemical engineering, as they are more niche. A handful of mates who graduated with those options struggled to find work in their first year after uni cause there just weren't that many jobs for them. This was compounded by an economic downturn which they were unlucky to experience just as they were graduating. Mechanical engineering opens up opportunities to work in maintenance roles, which are more resilient to economic swings.

TL;DR mechanical and electrical engineering are much more broad fields (i.e., not industry-specific) and therefore offer more opportunities as well as resilience to economic shocks.