Hi all, I’m a 21 year old student from Perth WA and I’m making my first post on here to ask the Electronic Engineers of Australia a question (TLDR at the end). Until recently I was certain that between the shift to renewable energy sources/storage, electrification of transport and growing power quality challenges (such as data centres), there would be no shortage of the kind of work I’m looking for. But after looking for power electronics brands that design their products in Perth, I’m having second thoughts.
For some context (skip if you don’t want the John Dory) I’m “employed” as an intern for a building engineering consultancy here in Perth but since getting back from Christmas break I’ve had pretty limited contact with them wherein they’ve repeatedly told me that “there’s not enough work at the moment but there will be soon”. I haven’t officially been fired but I get the message so the past few months I’ve been looking for other internships in my desired field. I really like hands on work and I get that there’s always gonna be a portion of any engineering job involving CAD, documentation and general communication but if I’m gonna be sticking with it long term there’s gotta be something else to break it up. I’ve worked plenty of what people consider sh*t jobs (retail, ag labour, hospo) and plenty of jobs that were great at first, my problem is I get bored and once something’s boring I hate it. Don’t get me wrong I can tolerate a job I hate, usually for a year or so until a better opportunity comes up and lets me ride out the job equivalent of a “honeymoon phase” again. My “current” job made this clear to me since before having it I wouldn’t dream of complaining about a job that involves sitting on my ass all day in an air conditioned office building but the lack of movement or any variety lowkey drives me nuts. Part of the reason I’ve become so drawn to electronics is the breadth of the field and how fast it’s evolving (no one could possibly get bored of that right?).
Idk if I’m being too picky but it’s important to me that whatever job I’m working long term has a practical element (ie a test bench) and that it doesn’t involve making things that off people (so defence is out). Power electronics seemed like the logical choice for WA’s industry but after searching at length for manufacturers that design in Perth I had almost no luck. The one exception is Magellan Power whom I have already pestered constantly over the past couple months about their internships and grad program but haven’t gotten anything more than a confirmation that they exist and may be vacant for the right person (presumably not me). I ended up resorting to searching for power electronics products on the Australian Made website and then checking where in Australia the company is based. Here’s the list of companies I found that I would happily work for if I could:
Magellan Power (Power electronics designed in Perth)
Schneider electric (Power Protection designed in Adelaide)
Quality Energy (Power Electronics designed in Australia but not WA)
RedEarth Australia (Battery storage designed in Queensland)
Sky energy Australia (Battery storage designed in Victoria)
Selectronic Australia (Inverters designed in Victoria)
MIL Systems (Renewables designed in Victoria)
Temtec controls (Power electronics designed in Victoria)
Hendon Semiconductors (Power electronics designed in Adelaide)
Redarc (Inverters and BMS Designed in South Australia)
Power Plus energy (Battery storage designed in Victoria)
Thycon power industries (Power electronics designed in Victoria)
Energy Renaissance (Industrial battery storage designed in NSW)
EVT Energy (Solar EV chargers designed in Victoria)
Wom-Bat Australia (lithium cells with integrated BMS designed in Queensland)
Evolution Australia (EV Chargers designed in Victoria)
EVOS Australia (EV Chargers designed in Queensland)
Daikin Australia (Aircons designed in NSW)
Corrosion electronics (Corrosion protection designed in NSW)
I really can’t stress enough how happy I’d be to work at any one of these places, I get that beggars can’t be choosers but the whole reason I’ve spent the last 2 years studying electrical/electronic engineering is to pursue power electronics. Although I already have the required hours experience to graduate, they’re in a completely different sector and I can’t see myself being a strong applicant for an electronics engineering position in another state (where I don’t know anybody) as a grad with no relevant experience. Sorry this is so long and thanks in advance for any advice, the bottom line is: Am I cooked?
TLDR: I’m two years into an electrical/electronic engineering degree in Perth WA with the goal being a career in the R&D, design and testing of power electronics. Am I cooked?
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