Engineers Australia Skills Assessment

Hi everyone,

I’m a soon-to-be Mechatronic Engineering graduate from a university in NSW, and I’m trying to understand the PR pathway. I know I need to get a skills assessment before submitting an EOI, but I’m finding the different terms and steps a bit confusing, especially around occupations and job experience requirements.

At the moment, I don’t have an engineering job lined up yet, so I was wondering:

1. Can I still apply for a skills assessment without work experience?
2. During the skills assessment, do I choose the occupation myself, or does Engineers Australia map me to one based on my degree? (For example, Mechatronics Engineer vs Mechanical Engineer vs Engineering Professional NEC.)
3. If I get assessed successfully, does that immediately allow me to proceed with the EOI, even if I haven’t started working yet?

I’ve tried reading through the Engineers Australia and Home Affairs sites, but it feels like there are many moving parts, and I’m hoping someone who has gone through this recently can clarify how the steps flow from skills assessment → EOI → nomination → visa application.

Any guidance or personal experience would be really appreciated. Thank you!