Orto Botanico dell'Università di Pisa, Photo Credit: Daderot, Wikipedia.

These universities produce some of the best engineering talent in the world. And engineers trained in the most sought-after fields can command among the highest salaries of all college graduates in the country. But with over 40 different types of engineering careers in 5 different sub disciplines, it can be daunting for fresh graduates to navigate the vast variety of career options.

Electrical engineering is the field that deals with the research and application of electricity, electromagnetism and electronics. It is highly lucrative as all people rely on products in their everyday life that require the expertise of electrical engineers to function (and even exist).

As global travel increases and commercial space travel closely approaches, the next big thing in the field of science is aerospace engineering – a field that holds great potential for career development and exciting opportunities.

Every year, there are various conferences that focus on relevant topics in the field of the engineering sciences that are attended by thousands of professionals.  Discussions and presentations on IT technologies, performance challenges, new regulation and frameworks, platforms, software developments and career development techniques attract engineers across all fields. Given time and budget constraints, it is important to plan ahead on which events are worth visiting.

Navigating a career in engineering and figuring out how to get ahead can be daunting, especially if you're trying to do it alone. No matter how successful you are, you'll get where you want to go faster with a little help from an informed source, and that’s exactly what a mentor does.  A mentor can help you set reasonable goals and achieve them, avoid career mistakes, and navigate social politics or bureaucracy.

Engineering graduates fresh out of school would be wise to do some research on which companies offer the best working conditions and career advancement prospects.