So I've heard there isn't a big job market for Mechatronic engineers (not too sure if this is true, somebody correct me if I'm wrong). I've been a big fan of science fiction since I was a kid, Isaac Asimov, Dr Who, all the good stuff. I'm quite inclined to the maths and sciences (doing the Asian combo) and I have a genuine interest in the field of robotics; in fact, I often find myself watching TED talks and youtube videos of advancements in the field and the future of Artificial Intelligence.
Yadda yadda, anyway I know people tell you to pursue what you're interested in but honestly I still need to make a living if I am to go into the field. Thoughts?
Its not necessarily a job market issue with Mechatronics imo. Its more so an issue of having a mix of the circuitry basics in electrical and the force basics in mechanical which leave you with a mix of skills which don't go into depth as sometimes provided in certain jobs. Mechatronics tends to miss out on the specialisation options in electrical (such as power systems, microelectronics, photonics, etc) and the materials side of mechanical.
The job market is still ok, though the range of jobs is a bit more limited due to the nature of the degree. For example, a mechatronics engineer could land a job as a control systems manager or an automated systems designer, etc. A field such as electrical can lead you into jobs which require more specialisation such as power systems manager, circuit design (which can be used in conjunction with the automated systems), etc or mechanical into machine design, motor/generator design, fluid mechanics, etc.
Robotics is a genuine field in mechatronics that is unique and the skillset is quite compatible for it.
Keep your options open though. Back last January I was contemplating on not doing chemical and started changing my mind into 5 other engineering programs. In the end I was happy with my decision because I made a very INFORMED decision.
So what I suggest you do is research the content of the courses which you would consider in engineering, research the type of jobs that engineer gets when graduating and consider which types of jobs you can imagine yourself working in after graduating from uni.
If you are considering UNSW as an option, then the UNSW handbook is a good resource on finding out about the course and what study you do:
http://www.handbook.unsw.edu.au/2014/index.html
There were quite a few changes to the program for 2014 second year.
Also, use open day for (and at) your preferred uni as this day will really be your best chance to target out onto a few 3 or 4 programs.
Basically my open day was 8-9 hours of lectures for different engineering schools and stalls and asking all sorts of questions and in the end I singled out onto a few programs and put them in order of preference for myself. In the end the top preference I made that day eventually became my final choice 4 months later.
The best thing for you to do now is decide on whether you want to do engineering or another discipline such as science, commerce, arts, etc.
Then try to pick onto 10 top disciplines in preference and ask questions about them at information sessions to single out on a few. After that you just need to decide (which is hard) based on all the information you have on each discipline. If you make an informed decision, you will be happy with it.
