Thread: Engineering (Mechanical) Cadetships in NSW (or Aus)

Gidday Will

Mate go to this site it will help you heaps. Google search

Engineers Australia

They will set you on the right path..

I dont want to dishearten you but my partner is a Mechanical Engineer and team leads for a big national company and there currently downsizing staff. It appears most last companies are doing it.

Anyway try Engineers Australia site.

Good luck with your search something will come along sooner or later

Thanks mate, thats a big help, can't believe it didn't come up on google, when i was searching other things

Cheers
Will

Many companies may not offer formal cadetships, however will take "work experience" students, which are often paid.

Just draft up a letter and send it to all companies you can think of or would want to work for.

If you manage to find a company local to where you will be going to uni, and they like your work, they may keep you on while you study.

Have a look at Rio's web site in regards to their grad program, they may also take you on as a vacation student.

You could try some of the larger defence contractors BAE Systems, Raytheon, General Dynanics, Boeing, Thales and L3 come to mind. Also try DMO or the state/commonwealth public service.

Will,

Don't be put off by any negative talk, the world is desperately short of engineers and if you are prepared to travel there are some fantastic opportunities out there, particularly in the mining industry. Note here that working in the mining industry doesn't just mean working in a mine - there's a lot of industry supporting the mines, in areas like equipment supply and plant design and construction (which is the field I work in).

While most of the local work (Sydney) is civil/structural, I think mechanical is a good choice as it gives you a broader range of options. It is easier to move from mechanical to structural than vice-versa. Mining is currently the place to be and there are local opportunities with the major equipment suppliers such as Outotec & Metso.

I personally would not worry about a cadetship and Bluescope would not be my first choice of employer - things are not too good down there and will only get worse. There's not much of a future in steelmaking in this country. I recommend you do a sandwich course (work 6 months, study 6 months) and move around as much as possible to broaden your experience. Wollongong is a good uni for engineering and I would also recommend UTS.

The universities have employment services which can help you find placements. Once you are into your course I would also suggest approaching some of the local consultancies and equipment suppliers directly. The company I work for puts on sandwich students. Another good source of information on companies and jobs is Linked-in.

The big consultancies, such as SKM, Hatch, Laing O'Rourke, and the big miners, BHP, Rio, have graduate programs and these are very good, especially if you are prepared to travel. Try and move around as much as possible when you are young - ten year's experience is much better than one year's experience ten times. Also get as much site experience as possible - practical hands-on experience is sadly lacking in the younger generations as a result of poor training opportunities.

One thing you will have to do is work. Its not an easy course and its long, and the better your results, the better your opportunities will be. However, it is worth it. It can be very interesting and satisfying work. And if you don't like it, its very easy to move into other fields such as finance or business management with some post-grad study.

Good luck, and I'm happy to try and answer any questions you may have - PM if you prefer.

Cheers,
Jon