How to become a mechanical engineer in Australia
Mechanical Engineers plan, design, organise and oversee the assembly, erection, operation and maintenance of mechanical and process plant and installations.
Pay and growth are for the wider industrial, mechanical and production engineers group, which is as fine as the data goes. The all-jobs median is $1,852 a week. Jobs in the industrial, mechanical and production engineers group are projected to grow 23.1% between May 2025 and May 2035, faster than the 13.3% projected for all jobs. Projections are indicative, not forecasts, and JSA says they don't yet reflect generative AI.
What the job involves
- Designs mechanical equipment, machines, components, products for manufacture, and plant and systems for construction.
- Develops specifications for manufacture, and determines materials, equipment, piping, material flows, capacities and layout of plant and systems.
- Organises and manages project labour and the delivery of materials and equipment.
- Establishes standards and policies for installation, modification, quality control, testing, inspection and maintenance according to engineering principles and safety regulations.
- Inspects plant to ensure optimum performance is maintained.
- Directs the maintenance of plant buildings and equipment, and co-ordinating the requirements for new designs, surveys and maintenance schedules.
How to get there
What it usually takes. A bachelor degree or higher. This is the skill level Jobs and Skills Australia gives the industrial, mechanical and production engineers group, and some roles differ.
What people in the job have. Highest qualification held: 80% a degree or higher, 7% a diploma, 7% a Certificate III or IV.
Many jobs also need registration, a licence or a specific accredited course. Check the professional body or regulator before you choose.
Courses that can lead here
Estimate your ATAR and this page shows the gap to each course. Your marks stay on your device.
Victoria12 matches
VTAC lowest selection ranks, December 2025 offer round.
Engineering-Mechanical (Honours) · RMIT, City80.05 Engineering (Honours) (Mechanical Engineering major) · Deakin, Melbourne Burwood72.65Diplomas and other ways in
Engineering Technology (Mechanical Major) (Associate Degree)/Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) (Honours) · RMIT, City44.50Showing 10 of 12 matches. Search every course.
NSW and ACT18 matches
UAC lowest selection ranks, December Round 2, 2025-26 admissions.
Bachelor of Engineering Honours (Mechanical Engineering) · Sydney90.00 Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) Mechanical and Mechatronic · UTS84.40 Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) Mechanical · UTS84.00 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) with a specialisation in Mechanical Engineering · Macquarie80.20 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Mechanical) · Wollongong80.20 Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Honours) · Newcastle77.60 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Mechanical Engineering) · Western Sydney74.60 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Mechanical Engineering) · Southern Cross72.15Diplomas and other ways in
Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) Mechanical and Mechatronic Diploma in Industry Practice · UTS84.55 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) Mechanical Diploma in Industry Practice · UTS86.55Showing 10 of 18 matches. Search every course.
Queensland5 matches
QTAC course pages, ATAR/Selection Rank profile for semester 1, 2026.
Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Mechanical Engineering) · Southern Cross, Gold Coast73.00Showing 2 of 5 matches. Search every course.
Western Australia2 matches
TISC Course Search: lowest ATAR offered for 2026 entry and guaranteed offer ATARs.
Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) Honours · ECU, Joondalup62.65 Bachelor of Technology (Mechanical) · ECU, Joondalup60.10Matched on course names, 37 across four admissions centres. A lowest selection rank includes adjustment points and moves every year. Check prerequisites and whether the course is accredited for this job.
Graduate outcomes, national
Undergraduates surveyed about four to six months after finishing, in 2025, across all providers. Full-time work is among those available for it. All graduates: 75.4% and $77,000. These are national figures for the study area, not for this course or uni, and a first-year salary says little about later pay. Source: QILT Graduate Outcomes Survey 2025.
Does it fit your interests?
Strongest interest areas for this kind of work: Realistic, Investigative, Conventional.
From O*NET ratings for "Mechanical Engineers", the closest US occupation in JSA's correspondence (a good match). US ratings are a guide to Australian jobs, not a measurement of them.
Careers with similar interests
Civil engineer$2,217 Structural engineer$2,217 Chemical engineer$2,849 Electrical engineer$2,553 Civil engineering technician$1,730Done this job, or studied for it?
Tell Year 12s the one thing you wish you'd known. First name only, and we read every story before it goes up.
Share your storyJob data: © Commonwealth of Australia, Jobs and Skills Australia occupation profiles, February 2026 and Employment Projections, May 2025 to May 2035 (Victoria University), CC BY 4.0. Jobs and Skills Australia, ANZSCO 2013 Version 1.2 to O*NET-SOC 2019 Taxonomy correspondence.
Graduate outcomes: QILT Graduate Outcomes Survey 2025, National Report Tables (Social Research Centre, for the Australian Government).
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Curve ATAR has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.