06 Dec 2021

 

If all you’ve ever learned about engineering just came from textbooks and episodes of How It’s Made, you might walk away thinking that engineering is pretty dry stuff. Thankfully there are some amazing creators out there showing us all the amazing, helpful and sometimes just fun things that you can use engineering to create. BTW - if you’re looking for a rundown of how you could get involved in engineering, plus some great tips on degree choices, specialisations and starting salaries, make sure you check out our Academy Engineering Your Future over here!

Mark Rober

At the end of the day, engineering is about designing solutions to all of our problems. There are some pretty important things out there that top-notch teams are working on right now, but I reckon there’s some space out there for the little issues to get solved as well. Mark Rober is an engineer who has worked on both sides of this equation, spending 9 years with NASA working on the Curiosity rover, and 4 years at Apple working in their R&D team. These days you can catch him building custom glitter bombs that have been used to catch package thieves and scammers, squirrel obstacle courses and water purifiers.

Simone Giertz

Simone Giertz brands herself “the queen of shitty robots”, and while she does definitely make some hilarious robots that aren’t exactly up to spec, but even when things don’t go to plan, she always gives you something to think about. She isn’t just about making semi-useless devices either - she’s done some super sick stuff like turning a Tesla into a pick-up truck, working with Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame, and creating a hybrid flower-pot / ceiling lamp.

Tom Scott

Tom Scott is an absolute OG YouTuber. He dabbles in all sorts of topics from whether the numbers on toaster dials actually mean minutes, or explaining why Denmark is .11 seconds behind the rest of the world, but he really shines when he’s talking about engineering. He’s an absolute nut when it comes to infrastructure projects, and he always manages to get amazing access to the engineers responsible for some of the most cutting-edge, bizarre and unique feats of engineering out there today.

Adam Savage

Any kid who’s at least a little into science and tech growing up probably watched Mythbusters. They’re a prime example not only of how you can build some weird and wacky stuff using engineering, but also how you can actually make a career working as an engineer for Hollywood doing things like practical effects - which is how Jamie and Adam met in the first place! Now that Mythbusters has wrapped up (RIP), Adam has gone from TV to YouTube, where he shows off his practical effects skills for amazing cosplays and models, plus his One Day Builds series where he sets himself the challenge of coming up with something new, fun and fully operational in just a day.

Sufficiently Advanced

Last but not least, we have Allen Pan. On his channel named ‘Sufficiently Advanced’, he creates devices and superpowers from popular media into a reality using engineering. He’s made Spider-Man web shooters, lightsabers and the ice sword from Adventure Time. If you’ve ever wondered if Thor’s hammer could jump start a car or if a treadmill could be turned into a PS4 controller (so you exercise), you’ll have a lot of fun binging his YouTube vids!

If this all sounds unreal, our academy Engineering Your Future has to be on your radar. We partnered with Engineers Australia to take a deep dive into the world of engineering. This academy covers topics like how engineering is everywhere, how it’s changed and will continue to change the world, what types of engineering paths there are, what qualifications you’ll need and what a day in the life of an engineer looks like (to just name a few). Take the next step in engineering here!