Reading magazines is a great way to stay up to date with industry trends within your specific field - key if you are keen to advance in your engineering career . Magazines offer a centralised accumulation of all relevant and current information, with most magazines offering archives stretching back for years where you can find past issues. There are many different types of engineering magazines, with some geared towards entertainment, while others are more focused on detailed engineering topics. 

This article offers an overview of engineering-related magazines for some of the main branches of engineering, including mechanical, civil, chemical, and electrical engineering. The magazines mentioned below are aimed at engineering students and professionals.

1. Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical Engineering Magazine is primarily for mechanical engineers who are involved with design and product development activities. The magazine covers a broad range of topics such as design & development, manufacturing processes, case studies of design problems, 3D printing, big data, medical equipment design, and current news on technological advances. These topics are presented not as entertainment pieces, but rather as informative, in-depth, and most importantly usable in an everyday work environment. The magazine is available in both printed and digital versions.

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2. Chemical Engineering

Chemical Engineering magazine is an incredible resource for chemical engineers, covering a broad range of topics such as water treatment engineering, solids handling, fuel production, automation and control, and separation processes. There are a variety of sections in the magazine, including technology profiles and information about new products. 

The magazine has three different subscription packages available: Gold, Platinum and Platinum Pro. Each package includes the option to receive the printed or digital version of the magazine. The higher tier packages include access to online seminar series, product discounts, and access to the affiliated annual conference.

3. Civil Engineering

Reading Civil Engineering is an excellent way to keep up with developments in the civil engineering industry, including all the latest about new materials and construction techniques. This magazine, which is published every two months, consists of both structural engineering and civil engineering content. 

The content in the magazine is broken down into specific areas of interest, such as water treatment works, new technologies, and the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to assist with flood management. Different civil engineering projects, including bridges and transit projects, are regularly featured in the magazine. 

Unlike some of the other magazines mentioned in this article, this magazine is completely free. It is a no-brainer to subscribe, since you have free access to the full archive of magazines dating back to 2004.

4. IEEE Spectrum

One of the best ways to keep up with developments in electrical engineering is reading IEEE Spectrum, published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The IEEE is the world’s largest professional technology organisation, and if you are a member of this organisation, your membership will come with a subscription to the IEEE Spectrum magazine.

This magazine is broken up into a variety of engineering topics, including computing, robotics, semiconductors, and energy. The content is usually highly technical, so the magazine’s audience usually has a background in electrical engineering.

5. Popular Mechanics

If you are looking for a general engineering magazine that is both entertaining and easy to digest, then Popular Mechanics is a great choice. This magazine does not provide in-depth technical detail that would be useful to a practising engineer, but is a good way to keep a finger on the pulse of technology developments.

Popular Mechanics presents technical topics in a way that is both interesting and understandable to a non-technical audience. Some of the topics that have been recently discussed are satellites, magnets, and human genomes. The magazine is broken up into a variety of areas of interest, including science, technology, and sci-fi.

Bottom Line

This article mentioned only a few of the best engineering magazines available. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of publications available around the world with a wealth of information to be discovered in a wide variety of areas. However, this selection of magazines should provide a good starting point to dive deeper into different areas of engineering for those just starting out in their engineering careers. For those who have already landed their first engineering job, or who are more advanced in their field, magazines are a great way to keep up to date with information and news in the field.