Forget the bonanza, they're in it for love

Brisbane student Emile Victor says he and his mates are well aware of the resources boom and the opportunities it presents.

EIGHTEEN-year-old Brisbane student Emile Victor says he and his mates are well aware of the resources boom and the opportunities it presents for exciting career prospects.

Victor's interest in engineering - he will be starting a double degree in the subject this year - is part of a surge in the resource boom states of Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia. Though an overall drop in university applications is being attributed to young people seeking unskilled jobs in the booming resources sector, a significant group of school leavers is shunning the sort of pay packets previously associated with senior executives for the longer term benefits of a university education.

Victor plans to specialise in software engineering and aerospace engineering. "There is a distinct possibility that the resources boom will enhance my employment prospects. But I am going into engineering because I love planes and aeronautics," he said.

Ethan Rizos is another 18-year-old who sees engineering as his future. He achieved a UAI of 96.7, comfortably clearing the 95 he needed for his chosen course.

Yesterday he enrolled in a bachelor of mechanical (biomedical) engineering and a bachelor of arts at the University of Sydney, which should take five years.

"I chose engineering because I'm interested in human motion and movement: I wanted something hands-on that involved using my head, too," MrRizos said.

Among the practical applications of his engineering degree, which he selected from a universities handbook, is the design of prosthetic limbs and other body parts.

"So if someone has lost a jaw, (you would) design and construct a replacement," he said.