Mirror Works: ENGINEER A TOP NEW CAREER; Guide Hammers Home How You Can Hit the Heights in a Great Profession HERE'S the Second Part of Our Four-Part, Information-Packed Series Giving You the Lowdown on Four Major Areas of Work: Catering, Engineering, Pub Management, and Office and Secretarial. Today LAURETTE ZIEMER Tells You All You Need to Know about the World of Engineering

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THEY are the people behind jumbo jets, brain scanners, skyscrapers, wind farms... even that pair of trainers you bought last week.

Engineers dream up, design and build almost everything we come into contact with in our daily lives.

And with 76,000 companies employing 1.7 million engineers, there are tens of thousands of job opportunities every year in a vast field of disciplines. Just listen to those in the know:

THE EXPERT'S VIEW (1)

EVERYWHERE you look there are engineers, says Dave Rodham, head of careers and education at the Engineering And Marine Training Authority. "It's no longer about heavy industries, dust and oil. We're talking robotics, mobile phones, computers... engineers are behind it all.

"Even in food production you won't see many cooks with little white coats on - it's all about machinery and tins."

The industry is crying out for people with the urge to create, design and construct.

"We need bright, practical people to take us into the future," says Dave. "Whether you're highly numeric or have great computer skills, there's something out there in engineering."

If you see …