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Engineering Your Future� Inventor, Designer or Problem Solver?

What do you know about engineering? Have you ever considered it as a future career? If so, you�ve obviously done your homework on the opportunities that engineering has on offer �

Engineering is worth shouting about and to get rid of a few stereotypes, you�ll be glad to know that more often than not, engineering is not dirty, not boring and certainly not badly paid � in fact, the average wage for experienced petrochemical engineers is actually higher than most equivalently experienced office workers � including accountants and legal executives! So it should come as no surprise to learn that the same applies to those in most fields of engineering � including civil engineering, communications engineering and those in the mechanical engineering field.

What�s in it for you?

In addition to the nice pay cheque which can accompany an engineering job � (think of all those nice Jimmy Choo�s you could buy with a hefty annual salary), engineering also offers a varied, intellectually challenging career with opportunities to travel, gain professional qualifications and even have the responsibility of running your own company.

However, even though engineering can offer such fantastic opportunities, very few of us girls are choosing engineering as a potential career � baffling really when you weigh up the facts�for example, there are more engineers holding directorships than there are accountants, the salary is good (if you haven�t grasped that already!), international respect has never been higher and there are daily opportunities to make a real difference to the way we all live � think about the amazing buildings that civil and structural engineers and those in the construction sector have helped bring to the UK � The Gherkin, The Bullring and the impending arrival of the new and improved Wembley Stadium to mention just a few.

Unlike many more popular careers that women might favour over an engineering career, being involved in the engineering sector is guaranteed to provide you with work. You�ll find that whichever type of engineering you choose to pursue, you�ll be in demand both here and abroad and shouldn�t find it too hard to find employment whether you�re starting out in your first engineering role or progressing up the ranks.

Engineers work for lots of different types of company, which opens up a whole range of opportunities and exciting new sectors to tap into - you can work for an industrial firm, a contractor, a consultant, a local authority, central government, the armed services or a non-government organisation � or perhaps if aeronautical engineering is your thing, a job with NASA might even be an option! . Every single one of these organisations need engineers and are literally battling it out with attractive benefits packages to grasp the new talent (that�s you) who are entering the industry fresh out of school, college or university.

What do you need? �

First and foremost it�s a good idea to have a decent grasp of the area of engineering you want to enter into, a few helpful websites include www.wisecampaign.org.uk which provides information for those women currently in education who are looking to get involved in a science or engineering career. www.wes.org.uk is also a great source of info and provides careers advice from the Women�s Engineering Society.

Just like many other jobs these days, engineering employers have a few key skills that they look for when recruiting new employees � as always it�s good to demonstrate a wide range of skills but some of those attributes most highly sought after include interpersonal skills, teamworking skills and IT ability. It�s also a huge bonus for any engineering job hunter to try and get involved with any work experience you can and your careers advisor at school or college should be able to point you in the right direction.

Inspired?�What to do next?

If you think that an engineering career might be for you then your next steps
� Do your research � surf the web for info and speak to a careers advisor to discuss the options and routes into your chosen career.
� Do your homework � it�s no misconception that you need to work hard to get into to engineering, so by trying to get decent grades � particularly in maths and science related subjects.
� Do your networking � try and contact employers for further information and potential work experience or job opportunities � this could prove invaluable in the future as employers love to see a keen candidate.