Discover 106 opportunities in engineering

Most buildings around the world – residential, commercial or industrial – use a lot of energy during their lifetime, whether for lighting, heating, ventilation systems or plugged-in devices. In fact, buildings use about 40% of global energy, 25% of global water, 40% of global resources, and they emit approximately one third of greenhouse gases.

Based on all the available evidence, climate change is real and it is happening – the planet is experiencing rising temperatures, melting snow-caps, and increased numbers of floods, droughts, and wildfires. 2019 was the second warmest year ever and 2010-2019 was the warmest decade on the planet – ever. Limiting the global temperature rise to well below 2°C this century is one of the defining challenges from the Paris Agreement.

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.

The Canadian aerospace industry plays a big part of the Canadian economy. In 2018, the industry contributed over $25 billion to GDP and was responsible for 213,000 jobs. Until the pandemic hit, those numbers had increased year on year. The country’s aeronautical companies cover a broad spectrum of opportunities for engineers, including structural design and assembly, space systems manufacturing, avionics, and numerous opportunities in maintenance, repair, and overhaul. Below are ten of the top companies in Canada to consider when pursuing  a career in aeronautical engineering.

Civil engineering is a branch of engineering that deals with the design and construction of buildings, roads, bridges, and other large-scale structures. It is an established profession that has existed since the establishment of the first permanent human settlements. Within the civil engineering profession, there are many subdisciplines to specialise in, including:

Electrical engineers design and test all types of electrical devices, including simple handheld electronics, complex communication systems, power generation plants, and electrical grids. They can also work in a factory, where they may oversee the manufacturing of consumer electronics and other electrical equipment. If you are interested in working as an electrical engineer in Canada, you must first complete an undergraduate degree. After graduating from the program, you can apply to work as an electrical engineer-in-training at one of Canada’s many electrical engineering companies. Once the engineering experience prerequisite is met, you will be able to use the Professional Engineer (P. Eng) title, which allows you to fully practice as an electrical engineer in Canada.

Mechanical engineering students study the forces and thermal environment encountered by a product and its parts so they can come up with the best designs and manufacturing processes of a product. Most importantly, an in-depth understanding of objects and systems in motion are required, which makes mechanical engineering a broad and diverse discipline of engineering. While it can be difficult in the current climate to move to a new city or country in order to pursue your studies, many universities, including some of those on our list, offer distance-learning online degrees. You don’t have to leave wherever you're holed up and, most importantly, you can stay safe!

The modern world is a product of human endeavour, our species’ ability to envisage, design, and to construct. Engineers have always been at the forefront of this process, and today, more than any other time in history, we are living in a world of outstanding innovators. These figures have provided humanity with some invaluable advancements, and are now beacons of success, inspiring the minds of tomorrow. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest names.

Many graduates in computer engineering dream of working for one of the top 5 largest tech companies in the world. With offices in every major city across the globe, it doesn’t matter where you currently live, there is bound to be an opportunity to join one of these tech giants – provided you are good enough of course! Although some may opt for a smaller startup or mid-level business, in truth even at the larger corporate companies there are many benefits to accrue, from flexible working hours and great health benefits to a relaxed, fun atmosphere in the office.

The world is beset by intertwined crises: the climate, pandemic, and, increasingly, a crisis in the global food supply. It’s prosaic to say, but as the world’s population increases, more food is needed to sustain it. And regardless of the population size, humanity will only ever have the same amount of land on which to produce its food. This, as one may expect, is a growing tension. Luckily, engineers of all stripes are busy using their expertise, conjuring up innovative solutions to address the issue. Here we take a look at some of the most impressive.

At first glance, engineering and music may seem worlds apart. But when we look closer, the impact of engineering on the music industry cannot be underestimated. In the second part of a series on “Engineering in Pop Culture”, we look at how engineering has influenced music and what happens when their paths cross. Over the years, engineers have altered how music is created, performed, recorded, stored, transmitted, and heard.

Global water scarcity is a huge problem and one that is not going away soon. In fact, as noted by the United Nations World Water Development Report in 2018, it is an issue that is only going to get bigger, the report stating that nearly 6 billion people will suffer from clean water scarcity by 2050. This shortage is caused by a combination of rising global population (leading to economic development) and a reduction of available water (due to global warming).

Long gone are the days when women were believed to have no place in the workforce. In the United States today, women make up 49% of the college-educated workforce. However, despite this encouraging number, careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) remain severely lacking when it comes to females in the field. Let’s break down why that is, and how it can change.

It is amazing how often engineering concepts (or engineered products) have been incorporated into popular culture. In this blog, we consider the impact of engineering on popular films and vice-versa.

1. Three Mile Island nuclear accident The Three Mile Island nuclear plant is located near Middletown, Pennsylvania. On March 28, 1979, the Unit 2 reactor partially melted down. Although the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island did not result in death, it remains one of the worst engineering failures in American history. Despite the substantial consequences of the accident, it could have been much worse.

For many years, around the world, it has been recognised that there is a skills shortage in engineering; that there simply aren’t enough engineers required to complete large-scale investments of local, national and international importance.

The world’s population is growing – and ageing. This means that more people are getting sick, and new ailments are constantly popping up. The pressure, thus, to keep developing and manufacturing the pharmaceuticals that people need to stay healthy is constantly building. And who exactly is shouldering that burden? Pharmaceutical engineers.

Smart or intelligent materials are described as materials that can achieve a controlled, predictable, variation in one or more of their properties as a direct response to an external stimuli and/or a change in their environment. The external changes can be fluctuations in temperature, light, pressure, magnetic or electrical fields, surrounding moisture, or chemicals. Not all smart materials are the same. Some can change their properties due to more than one of the external stimuli at the same time, and some materials offer greater adaptability due to certain external changes than others.

As we collectively learn the lessons from our handling of a global pandemic, there is an increasing awareness of the need to be prepared for the big issues our planet faces through the 2020s. In particular, what can engineers do to combat some of the known challenges that we will face? Here we look at 3 global and interconnected societal challenges and ask what engineers can do to help solve them. 

The first step in many engineers’ careers is an engineering internship. Some companies and universities call internships “co-ops”. Companies offer interns an opportunity to gain real-world engineering experience while they are still students and may offer full-time employment upon graduation. As a student, it can be difficult to get your first engineering internship because you don’t have much experience. You need to find other ways to stand out. Luckily, this article will give you some tips and tricks that will help you get a leg up on your competition.

Automotive engineering is one of today’s most exhilarating engineering industries. Want to design a car that will be driven in a Formula 1 race? Want to help develop the next electric vehicle? Then automotive engineering may well be the field for you!