University students who choose engineering as their path continue to enjoy a healthy job market, according to the latest data from Graduate Careers Australia.
Out of the four subjects in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths), graduates in the engineering sector have better than average prospects of finding a job after finishing their degree. In contrast, graduates in maths, life sciences and physical sciences are facing difficulty in finding their first jobs: in 2014, graduates with these degrees were among the least likely to have found a full-time job four months after graduation.
According to the Graduate Careers Australia report, the average figure for graduates from all disciplines who found a full-time job within four months after graduation was 68.8 percent. Comparatively, only 62.2 percent of maths graduates managed to do the same.
The sciences performed even worse, with figures hovering around 50 percent: life science graduates at 48.7 percent, physical sciences at 53.9 percent, chemistry at 50.3 percent and geology at 55.4 percent.
The situation is much better for engineering graduates, however. In civil engineering, 77.7 percent of graduates found a full-time job four months after graduating. In electrical engineering, 78.1 percent; electronic and computer engineering, 78.5 percent) and mining engineering, 76.3 percent, despite the downturn in the mining sector.
Not all engineering prospects are above average however: only 63.4 percent for chemical engineering graduates, and 60.1 percent from aeronautical engineering.
The good news, however, is that STEM graduates, especially engineers, command high starting salaries, with their $60,000 median annual salary being the fifth-highest for graduates.
While the industry has long emphasised the need for STEM education and training, it appears students are heeding the call. Nearly 16,000 domestic students graduated from science bachelor degrees in 2014, up 40 percent from 2009. Between 2009 and 2014, engineering graduates increased by 27 percent.
This puts Australia in a good position, because according to a 2015 PwC report, 44 percent of current jobs might disappear in the next 20 years, while STEM skills will underpin 75 percent of the fastest growing occupations, as businesses compete in a global economy driven by data, digital technologies and innovation.
However, the work is not complete. PwC claims Australia will need to shift one percent of the workforce, equivalent to 126,000 workers, into STEM disciplines within the next two decades in order to be globally competitive. That means 20,500 additional engineers will need to be trained in the next 20 years, above and beyond current projections.
In 2014, then chief scientist Ian Chubb pointed out that Australia's STEM performance was slipping, with standards in mathematics and science significantly less competitive on a global scale, due largely to Australia failing to improve its students mathematical and scientific literacy, even while other countries worked actively to boost their STEM training and education.