Question: Engineering in Australia...?

so i am just about to start my bachelors in civil engineering (at UNSW) and i have been looking around regarding the job prospects for civil engineers

from what i am finding - it seems that civil engineering isn't in high demand at the moment...

1 - is this true? is it because of the recession? (even though it hasn't affected Australia that much)

i was thinking of specializing in structural engineering later on

2 - which engineering field has the best job prospects? mechanical? electrical? something else?

3 - you think the job prospects for civil engineering will improve in 4-5 years time?

(just don't wanna graduate and find that there are no jobs in my field...)

Answer:

The demand for engineers is stable, the unemployment rate for engineers is half that of the general population. .

The problem is Australia is a small job market, and New South Wales is even smaller. You will have to relocate within Australia. The mining companies out west are recruiting engineers from Britain and the US. There is also the infrastructure projects from the floods.

Structural Engineering has really grown the last 20 years. It used to be you looked something up in your Mark's handbook, plugged in a safety factor of 6 and called it good. Now we are asked to certify our designs for 8.0 richter earthquakes.