Calling all Graduate Engineers...

[mr tommo]

So I'm in the process of having a total career change at the age of 26. I'm looking at Engineering (Mech or Civil still undecided). It will require a foundation year at Uni along with 3-4 years of a degree. So I'm looking like being 31-32 on graduation.

That's a little scary for me and I'm wondering if its fairly common or not to have older graduates in Engineering roles?

It would be really interesting for me to gather some info on the subject, so if any previous graduates/current student could answer the following questions I think it'd make for an interesting resource.

Age at Graduation :
Degree (include BSc/BEng/MEng/MSc) :
University :
First graduate job & Employer :
Current job :
How long were you looking for your first position :
Do you enjoy your role :
Have you come across many mature graduates (30+) :

 

[Nix]

Most people I know who did engineering are doing alright for themselves. It was one of those few markets which the recession didn't seem to hurt too much.

 

[Dis86]

Age at Graduation : 25
Degree (include BSc/BEng/MEng/MSc) : mechanical engineering BEng Hons
University : Northumbria
First graduate job & Employer : Pipe systems design engineer - GE oil & gas
Current job : Project engineer
How long were you looking for your first position : 2 months
Do you enjoy your role : Yup
Have you come across many mature graduates (30+) loads. Out of 40 people on my course 10 were over 30 by graduation.

Have to ask, is the foundation year really necessary? First year mech eng was incredibly easy and was tailored to students with very little maths or science background I found.

 

[mr tommo]

Most people I know who did engineering are doing alright for themselves. It was one of those few markets which the recession didn't seem to hurt too much.

That's one of the reasons I'm even tempted to go into full time education, there seems to be only good things mentioned about engineering degrees from any articles you read.

My only concern is the age of graduates, I'll be 30+ and don't want to go through all this to really struggle to get a job. Companies obviously say that there is no age restrictions as they are legally bound to say that, I'd just like to hear some first hand experiences

 

[JonJ678]

I'd have put the number of mature students somewhere between 5 & 10% on a mechanical engineering course. Wouldn't say it's especially common. (at Bath - official statistics are probably available somewhere)

The majority of a good engineering undergrad degree is applied mathematics. Mathematical competence is essentially what split people between the grade boundaries. Are you aware of this?

 

[mr tommo]

Age at Graduation : 25
Degree (include BSc/BEng/MEng/MSc) : mechanical engineering BEng Hons
University : Northumbria
First graduate job & Employer : Pipe systems design engineer - GE oil & gas
Current job : Project engineer
How long were you looking for your first position : 2 months
Do you enjoy your role : Yup
Have you come across many mature graduates (30+) loads. Out of 40 people on my course 10 were over 30 by graduation.

Have to ask, is the foundation year really necessary? First year mech eng was incredibly easy and was tailored to students with very little maths or science background I found.

Thanks for your response, that's really encouraging. With regards to foundation year its not necessary no.

I've basically got two options :
An Engineering degree (BEng) at Salford Uni and start on year 1
An Engineering Degree at University of Manchester and start at year 0

I've been out of education for 7 years now so it's quite daunting, however I do feel it would probably be worth doing the extra year, getting greater knowledge on the subject and studying at Manchester.

Did you work with many Petroleum Engineers? I like the idea of Oil & gas but speaking to a lot of people they recommended Mechanical as it can still get the same positions but without specialising in one sector too much.

 

[mr tommo]

I'd have put the number of mature students somewhere between 5 & 10% on a mechanical engineering course. Wouldn't say it's especially common. (at Bath - official statistics are probably available somewhere)

The majority of a good engineering undergrad degree is applied mathematics. Mathematical competence is essentially what split people between the grade boundaries. Are you aware of this?

Yes I'm aware of the heavy Maths in the subject. I've armed myself with AS & A level revision guides from Edexcel in preparation for starting next year. I didn't study Maths at A Level so that's another reason for my preference towards the foundation year.

 

[Dis86]

Thanks for your response, that's really encouraging. With regards to foundation year its not necessary no.

I've basically got two options :
An Engineering degree (BEng) at Salford Uni and start on year 1
An Engineering Degree at University of Manchester and start at year 0

I've been out of education for 7 years now so it's quite daunting, however I do feel it would probably be worth doing the extra year, getting greater knowledge on the subject and studying at Manchester.

Did you work with many Petroleum Engineers? I like the idea of Oil & gas but speaking to a lot of people they recommended Mechanical as it can still get the same positions but without specialising in one sector too much.

The vast majority of engineers I've worked with were either mechanical, electrical or chemical. The occasional marine engineer crops up and geologist too alongside the chemists and physicists. Quite a few people hammer out something specialist for their masters but otherwise they're generally one of the first two mentioned.
I've only ever encountered civil engineers working as structural engineers.

 

[JonJ678]

That's a good sign. It's nowhere near the level required by a mathematics degree, but it's a potentially a long way beyond A level maths. If you're prepared to work at it (& staring at maths problems is no fun) then it'll be fine. If the general plan is to be drunk for three years then trust to luck, engineering is a risky choice

 

[Dis86]

^^sagely advice above. Those who went for the typical student lifestyle were the ones that failed.

 

[Elixir]

Age at Graduation : 26 (currently still completing my MSc)
Degree (include BSc/BEng/MEng/MSc) : First degree MChem Chemistry (5 years with industrial placement), second degree MSc Petroleum Engineering (1 year)
University : University of Strathclyde (Chemistry), Heriot Watt University (Petroleum Engineering)
First graduate job & Employer : Petroleum Engineering Graduate with BG Group
How long were you looking for your first position : ~2 months while completing the MSc
Do you enjoy your role : N/A, haven't started yet, but definitely enjoying Pet Eng more than I enjoyed Chemistry
Have you come across many mature graduates (30+) : There are quite a few mature students on my current course.

I can echo what has been said above, the ones that fail usually fail due to lack of commitment/maturity.

 

[Pawnless Endgame]

Sorry - I'll have to stroke against the grain here. I think my issue is that I'm sensory impaired and not road legal. That cuts out some opportunities already. I know employers can't discriminate, but I'm sure the sensory impairment itself probably screened me out of a lot of applications too. Body language is an important part of job interviews, and once again, sensory impairment gets in the way. I'll always be in low paid jobs. Didn't get the break that the rest of the family had. (2 x teachers, 2 x headteachers, 1 x Barclay's branch manager, 1 x engineer, 1 x IT lecturer, 1 x One Big Sunday/Hogmonay manager/lead, 1 x nightclub owner, 1 x estate agent manager)

Age at Graduation : 23
Degree : BEng Electronic Engineering
University : Staffs Uni
First graduate job & Employer : 1st-line tech ~£14k
Current job : Office admin ~£13k
How long were you looking for your first position : 8 months
Do you enjoy your role : So and so
Have you come across many mature graduates (30+) : A handful attended most of my lectures

 

[mr tommo]

That's a good sign. It's nowhere near the level required by a mathematics degree, but it's a potentially a long way beyond A level maths. If you're prepared to work at it (& staring at maths problems is no fun) then it'll be fine. If the general plan is to be drunk for three years then trust to luck, engineering is a risky choice

No chance of the latter, I'm giving up a decent full time job, have a mortgage, a wife and we will probably struggle financially for 4-5 years.

Probably sounds stupid to most but I want to go to uni, gain a good degree, have a challenging job that allows me to use my knowledge in a sector I find fascinating, while providing me with a decent career with good progression and a good salary.

 

[alx]

Age at Graduation : 23
Degree (include BSc/BEng/MEng/MSc) : Chemical Engineering MEng with placement year
University : Bath
First graduate job & Employer : Metering & Allocation Engineer - Kelton
Current job : Production Performance Engineer
How long were you looking for your first position : ~6 months (but that was due to having a graduate role that I was offered rescinded, still started work the September after I graduated)
Do you enjoy your role : Yep
Have you come across many mature graduates (30+) : Not first hand, but I wouldn't say it's massively unusual.

With regard to oil & gas, mechanical engineering keeps things open as you can go into drilling, structural, stay in mechanical, do a petroleum engineering masters etc.

I'd say do chemical engineering but then I'm biased

 

[Geo-Gamer]

I remember reading somewhere that more than 70% of UK engineers have found no work in the UK and are finding jobs in the middle east?

My uncle is a civil engineer and is doing very well for himself at the moment but he is working in Omen working on a new airport. He always told me that engineers, especially civil engineers are underpaid compared to other professional professions hence why he left to go the middle east. But he now has a life to dream for where he is currently located

Can I ask what is your current profession?

 

[Elixir]

I remember reading somewhere that more than 70% of UK engineers have found no work in the UK and are finding jobs in the middle east?

He always told me that engineers are underpaid compared to other professional professions

I don't think either of those points are currently true about the UK graduate market, certainly not if you go to a decent university. Civil engineers are probably at the lower end of engineering salaries though.

 

[rogan]

Thanks for your response, that's really encouraging. With regards to foundation year its not necessary no.

I've basically got two options :
An Engineering degree (BEng) at Salford Uni and start on year 1
An Engineering Degree at University of Manchester and start at year 0

My housemate did the engineering course from Y0 and never seemed to complain about the foundation year, and he speaks very highly of the course

also salford? pshhhh!

 

[JonJ678]

I remember reading somewhere that more than 70% of UK engineers have found no work in the UK and are finding jobs in the middle east?

Uh. Doubtful. Everyone I'm still in contact with from my course is employed, either in engineering or in finance. I don't know anyone who struggled to find work. The odd one or two are being paid to do further degrees - I suppose it's debatable whether that counts as work.

 

[AshD93]

I've not graduated yet but I think it will help regardless:

Age at Graduation : NA - In my third year (ABCID)
Degree (include BSc/BEng/MEng/MSc) : MEng
University : L'boro
First graduate job & Employer : Placement in JCB
Current job : NA - Moving to placement soon
How long were you looking for your first position : Well put it this way, I had job offers by December and since accepting I've had about another 6 offers for interviews and so on (from places I never applied at, just saw my CV)
Do you enjoy your role : Well studies is boring now. So we'll see soon.
Have you come across many mature graduates (30+) : Haven't seen any.

 

[Dave]

Age at Graduation : 22/25
Degree (include BSc/BEng/MEng/MSc) : MEng Chemical Engineering / PhD Chemical Engineering
University : Sheffield / Cambridge
First graduate job & Employer : Reservoir Engineer (R&D) - BP
Current job : Reservoir Engineer (R&D) - BP
How long were you looking for your first position : Not long - applied in October and was accepted January.
Do you enjoy your role : Very much so. I work on development and deployment of technology so am involved in everything from small projects to huge, multi-billion pound ones.
Have you come across many mature graduates (30+) : A reasonable amount; here in London it's mostly R&D, so most people are older as they have PhDs. The bulk of upstream engineering is in Aberdeen, and I've met a few >30 y.o. starters from there.