Engineers are taking anywhere between three and six months to find a job. This detailed breakdown of the industry reveals the make-up of the sector – in detail.
According to the 2021 Census, Australia has more than 545,000 qualified engineers, with around 433,000 actively working in the field. With such a large pool of engineers, competition can be tough. Still, the consistent demand across key industries suggests there are plenty of opportunities for those looking to secure a role in the sector.
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In this report, we dive deeper into the latest stats, data, and trends on how many engineers are in Australia and how this impacts your ability to find a new engineering job.
Top engineering statistics
- over 60 per cent of Australia’s qualified engineers were born overseas.
- the number of qualified engineers active in the workforce has grown by over 93,000 people in the five years to the 2021 census
- over 70 per cent of this population growth is attributable to engineers born overseas.
- the proportion of women in engineering has increased to 16 per cent of the qualified labour force (up from 13.6 per cent in 2016)
- there are now over 69,000 qualified female engineers in the Australian labour force, of which 74 per cent were born overseas
- over 243,000 qualified engineers are working in engineering occupations, or around 56 per cent of the engineering qualified labour force.
How many engineers work in the building, construction, civil and infrastructure sectors?
According to the latest available data, there are 93,487 total full-time engineers employed across the building, construction, civil and infrastructure sectors in Australia.
Where are Australia’s engineers working based on state and occupation?
Australia’s engineering workforce is concentrated across the key states, with New South Wales (27,870), Victoria (25,361), and Queensland (17,163) leading in total numbers.
Western Australia comes next with 14,349 engineers, while South Australia has 5672. Smaller states like the ACT, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory have fewer engineers, with 1361, 1129, and 579, respectively.
When it comes to occupations, industrial, mechanical, and production engineers make up the largest chunk, particularly in Victoria and New South Wales.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown of the number of engineers by occupation across each state:
How long does it take to find a job?
It’s not a quick process either — 25 per cent of job seekers spend between 3 to 6 months finding a new job. On average, it takes 162 applications to land one role.
Around 60 per cent of Australians feel that looking for a new job is a huge task, and for good reason. Over a quarter (26 per cent) of job seekers currently searching for a new job have been looking for three to six months.
How long do recruiters spend reading resumes?
Recruiters only spend 6 to 8 seconds scanning resumes. This means your achievements need to be front and centre.
What impact do ATS scanners have on job applications?
With 4 in 5 Australian employers using ATS software to automatically filter resumes, only 1 in 4 get through to a human.
In the engineering sector, the stakes are similar, with intense competition, ATS filtering, and many applications required to secure that interview. Let’s delve deeper into what it takes to land an engineering job.
How many applications does it take for an engineer to land a job?
Assumptions
To figure out how many applications an engineer needs to submit, let’s start with some key variables:
- Average applications per job: 267, based on industry-wide data.
- Selection rate: 2 per cent of applicants are typically chosen for an interview.
- ATS filtering: Only 25 per cent of resumes make it through the ATS.
However, competition can vary based on the number of available jobs for each specialisation. Based on data from general recruitment trends, 2 per cent of applicants are selected for interviews. For every 267 applications, only about 5.34 candidates are likely to get an interview.
Supply vs. demand
Next, we look at how many job ads are out there and how many engineers are competing for them. Here’s a snapshot of engineering job ads:
- civil engineer: 3,302 job ads
- electrical engineer: 3,760 job ads
- mechanical engineer: 4,329 job ads
Engineers face stiff competition, and with demand varying by specialty, competition per job ad changes accordingly.
Estimating the competition
Assuming 267 applications per job, a civil engineer role could receive around 881,634 applications across all ads. With ATS filters in place, only about 67 resumes make it through to recruiters per job ad.
Interviews and offers
Once resumes pass the ATS, just 2 per cent of applicants are invited for an interview. From these 67 applicants, 2 per cent will be invited to interview. This results in 1.34 applicants per job ad making it to the interview stage, meaning the competition is quite steep. For a typical job ad, that’s around 1 to 2 interviews.
Job interviews: the stats you need to know
The Selection Process
According to LinkedIn, 41 per cent of employers won’t even consider a candidate who lacks an online presence.
Interviews last around 28 minutes and involve at least one staff member.
Skip the cover letter? Risk of instant rejection, as 2 in 5 recruiters won’t move forward without it.
What’s more? 8 out of 10 resumes are rejected due to lack of relevant experience, and 45 per cent of recruiters think most resumes are poorly formatted.
How does this impact your ability to find an engineering job in Australia’s built environment?
Despite the market’s ups and downs, engineering jobs in Australia are still in high demand.
Job vacancies in engineering roles remain 16.8 per cent higher than pre-COVID levels, especially in sectors like construction and infrastructure, where the need for skilled professionals hasn’t slowed much despite challenges like post-pandemic migration, supply chain disruptions, and a quieter public sector.
How many people are actively seeking work in Australia?
As of February 2024, Australia’s workforce comprised 21.6 million people aged 15 and over, with 14 million employed and 1.9 million seeking work.
Out of the potential workers, 1.6 million were without job attachment, highlighting a slight increase from 1.4 million in the previous year.
Notably, over three quarters of these potential workers were available to start within four weeks, suggesting a robust supply of talent ready to fill vacancies.
How many applications are needed?
On average, to secure an offer, an engineer needs to apply to multiple job ads.
The number of applications required to land a job can vary significantly based on the specialty, job market demand, and level of competition.
Here’s a summary of the estimated range of applications required for different engineering roles:
| Engineering Role | Estimated Applications Needed |
| chemical engineer | 40–70 |
| civil engineer | 30–50 |
| electrical engineer | 25–40 |
| mechanical engineer | 25–45 |
| engineer (general) | 20–40 |
| project engineer | 25–50 |
| structural engineer | 35–60 |
| systems engineer | 30–50 |
Depending on the specialty, engineers may need to submit anywhere from 25 to 70 applications to land a job, with ATS filtering and high competition making the job search more challenging.
How many companies does an engineer need to interview with per job offer?
We know that engineers, on average, need around 10 total interviews to secure one job offer.
Given that each company typically requires three interviews, engineers need to interview with approximately 3 to 4 companies to receive a job offer.
How many applications does an engineer need to get an interview with one company?
According to a survey conducted by The Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), UK graduates submit an average of 37 job applications before successfully landing their first job.
A report by Jobvite indicates that, on average, job seekers apply for 24 jobs before receiving an offer.
Renowned job search platform Glassdoor reported that the average number of job applications per hire in the United States is around 20.
Taking these statistics into consideration, let’s break down how many job applications an engineer needs to submit to secure interviews with 3 to 4 companies, considering that each company requires multiple interview rounds.
| Job Title | NSW (Applications Needed) | VIC (Applications Needed) | QLD (Applications Needed) | WA (Applications Needed) | SA (Applications Needed) | ACT (Applications Needed) |
| civil engineer | 30–50 | 35–55 | 30–45 | 35–50 | 40–60 | 50–80 |
| mechanical engineer | 25–45 | 25–40 | 30–45 | 30–50 | 35–55 | 40–60 |
| electrical engineer | 25–40 | 20–35 | 25–40 | 25–40 | 30–45 | 35–50 |
| engineering manager | 30–50 | 25–45 | 35–55 | 30–50 | 40–60 | 50–70 |
| project engineer | 25–50 | 25–40 | 30–50 | 30–50 | 35–55 | 40–60 |
| environmental scientists | 40–70 | 45–75 | 45–70 | 50–75 | 55–80 | 55–80 |
| contract, program, and project administrators | 30–45 | 35–50 | 35–55 | 40–60 | 40–60 | 40–60 |
| construction managers | 30–50 | 30–50 | 35–55 | 35–55 | 40–60 | 40–60 |
In most states, engineers need to submit between 20 to 80 applications to secure interviews with enough companies to ultimately land a job. The variations reflect differing levels of competition and demand for engineering roles across states.
