Hello All,
My nephew is planning to come in here for Engg in Mechatronics. He has spent his life since childhood in Dubai. There are few questions, any help would be appreciated, TIA
1.) What university is best for the course
2.) I know its hard to tell;with respect to PR, is Mechatronics any good?
3.) Any suggestion from someone who has done Mechatronics for him, scope of it in future?
Bachelor in Mechatronics Studies Any Good in Future?
kanij on 08/02/2022 - 10:19
Comments
If he gets it I don’t know how many mechatronic jobs would be available in Australia. I know someone who studied it and they work as an analyst.
If he is really passionate why bother about PR
Will he be bringing his Lamborghini over with him? (YouTube tells me that everyone in Dubai drives an exotic)
YouTube tells me that everyone in Dubai drives an exotic
Or a Landcruiser
The structure of Mechatronics degrees are they give a somewhat in depth introduction into electrical, computer and mechanical engineering. However, this does not match with industry in practice where specialist knowledge is most valuable. An engineering company that is building a team to design a rocket to mars is not going to employ a team of mechatronic engineers. They are going to hire a team of engineers with specialist knowledge in electronics, rocket design, materials design etc.
Academically, mechatronics isn't a discipline in itself. Rather it is a degree constructed from subjects from other engineering degrees. One can do say electrical engineering and pick the same electives offered in mechatronics (as long as the elective is not too far from electrical).
I respectfully disagree. Holistic knowledge is just as much important as specialised knowledge, if not more. No point in creating multiple specialised systems that are great on their own but do not integrate well in a system of systems. Mechatronic engineers are ideal candidates for Systems Engineering roles. Have an actual look at teams building rockets, defence products and other highly advanced (and therefore, complex) technologies.
You can’t hire an electrical engineer to do mechatronics job the same way you wouldn’t hire a mechatronics engineer to do pure electrical job.
Edit: grammarThat's one of the main selling points of Mechatronics. Being a "specialized integrator". In reality, the knowledge gained in a Mechatronics degree is so sparse that it is not much better than an electrical engineer learning the mechanical required for the job (or mech eng learning electrical etc). Also in practice, for large engineering projects/firms, the level of specific knowledge is abstracted up the hierarchy such that the integration is performed by project managers. I think in theory, Mechatronics engineers are supposed to be ideal candidates as project managers. However, again, in practice to be a technical project manager, one would require an intimate knowledge of the business or industry. Things which come from 5-10 years experience. But then (again) a base electrical or mechanical with 5-10 years experience has plenty of time to learn enough cross discipline to become a project manager.
IMO Mechatronics is something which sounds good in theory but does not reflect the reality of the engineering industry.
Would not recommend doing mechatronics as a degree. I had friends who did mechatronics and biomedical engineering degrees and they regretted not doing a straight electrical/ mechanical engineering instead.
Their experience was that when it came to getting a niche job in their speciality the students with electrical engineering degrees had pretty much the same chance as them for getting a role. Especially given none of them had much hands on experience anyways. And when it came to more generic jobs their degrees were not considered as valuable as a straight electrical engineering degree by HR.
Depends on the individual I guess. I know plenty of mechatronics engineers who did get good jobs and are doing well in their respective careers. Hands on experience is quite valuable nonetheless and without that even an electrical engineer would face difficulties in landing a job.
10 years ago mechatronics had little to no exposure in Australia but today the story is quite different.
This isn't going to be immediately helpful, but in the long run - he needs to do what he has interest in. An engineering degree goes over 4 or 5 years, during which time he'll need to actively evaluate and re-evaluate where his strengths and interests lie.
There's no shame in starting a degree and switching or combining or whatever after the first year or two. In fact I'd say this is a superior option to struggling through a degree in which he isn't feeling it, just to get the paperwork at the end.
If he enjoys what he does, he'll spend time on it and likely become good at it, which will (hopefully) lead to job satisfaction. Plenty of engineering grads working in unrelated fields.
Not much use unfortunately. There are few to no jobs in Australia. You can get a mechanical engineering job as a Mechatronics grad, but then you may as well have just studied Mech Eng.
I did Mechatronics from THE proper engineering uni in WA about 10yrs ago. It's true that there's no straight forward employment opportunity post graduation. However, our group of uni mates have been able to get jobs and progress our career quite well. Within our group, we now have:
- metal shop owner - mining
- control system engineer - mining
- control system engineer - oil & gas
- piping/process engineer - oil gas
- rail system engineer - infrastructure
- snr business analyst - infrastructure
- software engineer - mining specific
- tradie - mining
- production manager - defenceRobotics and automation is a sad affair in Australia. Some unis will run Mechatronics under Mech department, while some would run it out of Electrical dept. EngAus has Mechatronics as specialisation of Electronics Eng. All in all, it's a dog breakfast of indentity crisis in Australia.
However we enjoyed our uni experience. It's a fun degree which gives you a taste of multiple engineering disciplines. Every traditional faculty will dis you as you're jack of all trades but master of none in their eyes. But when boots hit ground, you'll be able to work in/with all sort of engineering disciplines and be able to cut through the BS that discipline engineers normally are able to throw at outsiders. It's been a roller coaster ride for our professional career as well since we got out of uni just at the tail of the GFC. But as of now, things seem worked out well for us and I would say the ability to get ourselves through the degree plays a role in everyone's success at work.
To your questions in OP:
1.) What university is best for the course
Can't say. Best to check the curriculum of each uni offering the course to see the amount of industry specific training and hands on activities. The more of those components the better2.) I know its hard to tell;with respect to PR, is Mechatronics any good?
Almost anything with "Engineer" in the title is good for Australia in terms of PR. Mechatronics is currently 233999 on the ANZSCO list which is currently part of the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL), i.e. the better list for PR applications. But be mindful that ANZSCO and MTSSL can change by the time your nephew finishes his degree.3.) Any suggestion from someone who has done Mechatronics for him, scope of it in future?
See my earlier commentDid Mechatronics in UNSW in school of mechanical eng. Obtained general knowledge of everything(mechanical, software , electrical), but can't apply for anything at that time, as many job requires specific knowledge in their discipline.
I focused on mechanical engineering job afterwards, got into building related industry (commercial elevators and electrical doors). and pretty much reliant on self learn skill (solidworks, programming) to work in these companies. Mechanical stuff learnt in school did help to make me understand the design easier.
Another mate of mine branched to power hydraulics system. involving sales and technical support.
Knew one mentor who worked in defence with mechatronics PHD, probably moved on to something else.
If he creates a fully functioning Iron Man suit just like in the movie by the time they graduate then they’ll definitely land a job here.
Manchester Uni is well known for those kind of fields. Would suggest getting a UK degree to improve his chances at a successful future.
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/202…
Same advice for most Engineering fields. UK > Aus in this respect. Get UK degree, few years experience and transfer to Australia on skilled worker visa for the big bucks.