Don’t Be the Stereotypical ‘Shy’ Engineer

Engineers by nature are shy, who do not like (or have time) to socialize. The words ‘outgoing’ and ‘engineers’ are rarely used together. Studying abroad can truly help you break away from this label. It will improve your communication skills and allow you to experience new conversations, gestures and languages.



Become More Employable

While employers would value your intelligence and knowledge as an engineer, they would still want individuals who are sociable, cultured and can communicate well. Studying abroad can help you develop these people’s skills and cross-culture etiquettes.

Imagine learning the French etiquette and using it to show your extremely disciplined and cultured side or using the concept of lack of personal space in Italy to your advantage by mixing in with the right kind of people or how about letting the jolly and loud people of Spain bring out the extrovert in you? The whole world is full of unique opportunities for you to explore.

These skills and attributes can help you expand your professional network. Highlighting these skills on your resume can set you apart from your fellow engineering applicants and make you more employable.

Travel While You Can – Before Beginning Your Career

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics the salary figure for Mechanical Engineers was up to $83,590 per annum in 2015. For Mining and Geological Engineers, it was up to $94,040 per annum. Nuclear Engineers earned up to $102,950 per annum. And Petroleum Engineers drew up to $129,990 per annum in the same year (2015).  

Breaking into the engineering field will be difficult. But once you do get in, you will most likely need to stick to the same company for five to ten years before you have enough experience to move up in the industry. So if you think your study schedule has little time for travelling, your professional life would typically allow you none. Therefore, travel while you can and enroll in an Engineering study abroad program.

States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State

Employment

Employment per thousand jobs

Location quotient

Hourly mean wage

Annual mean wage

California 16600.111.2618.1337720
Florida 11300.141.6817.9737370
Illinois 9600.161.9217.937240
Texas 7600.070.7816.6234570
New York 6500.070.8520.1241840

Source: bls.gov