Anyone CEng?

Bear · 7 Jan 2015 at 12:11

alx said:
It's more a career milestone really. If you're a half decent engineer with proper experience it's pretty much a formality. The effort and time of writing up your experience, filling out the forms, getting it checked etc is often what delays people from getting chartered sooner than they do.

Thats pretty much summed it up for me. I just cant be bothered to do all the competancy cross referencing etc. I started it years ago but got cheesed off with it.

Now that Im a contractor it hasnt really been a problem not being a CEng and saves me money on the yearly subs

slambo69 · 7 Jan 2015 at 12:33

Sarah469 said:
just beginning to start mine, need to decide on ICE or IStructE or both.. (working as a structural engineer with a civil engineering degree)

Im a structural engineer with a civil degree. I have 3.5 years experience and have been set on doing the IstuctE exam + interview since I started my career. That was until later in 2014 the IstructE decided to remove the offshore question from the exam.

I do little to no onshore structures so passing the exam by designing a bridge, carpark etc. would be very hard for me. Thats why I will probably go for ICE now.

The IstructE has a reputation for being difficult, but if it was easy - it wouldnt be worth having!

Good luck to OP, I'm sure you will be fine

alx · 7 Jan 2015 at 12:35

Sarah469 said:
Yeah I have heard this as well, something like only 20% of people taking the test actually pass?

Doesn't sound surprising. I think most people end up becoming a chartered member of the ICE and then do IStructE later on.

Bear said:
Thats pretty much summed it up for me. I just cant be bothered to do all the competancy cross referencing etc. I started it years ago but got cheesed off with it.

Now that Im a contractor it hasnt really been a problem not being a CEng and saves me money on the yearly subs

Yeah it is a bit of a slog at times, especially trying to remember stuff you did 4/5 years ago. If you're an engineer and planning to get chartered, for the love of god keep dairy/reference/record of what you did it helps a lot, especially when it comes to the finer details!
I've changed roles a fair few times over first 4-5 years of my career, so want to get chartered to "solidify" my experience for want of a better description.

Sarah469 · 7 Jan 2015 at 12:50

slambo69 said:
Im a structural engineer with a civil degree. I have 3.5 years experience and have been set on doing the IstuctE exam + interview since I started my career. That was until later in 2014 the IstructE decided to remove the offshore question from the exam.

I do little to no onshore structures so passing the exam by designing a bridge, carpark etc. would be very hard for me. Thats why I will probably go for ICE now.

The IstructE has a reputation for being difficult, but if it was easy - it wouldnt be worth having!

Good luck to OP, I'm sure you will be fine

I just hope I can get enough of the relevant experience to become chartered with the ICE working as a structural engineer, haven't properly looked at all the requirements yet though

AndyT · 7 Jan 2015 at 13:26

I am CEng MIMechE.

A few years ago, CEng with the IET (formerly IEEE) and the IMEchE was an accreditation which you could be proud of. Now it is pretty much a joke and more of a formality. The standard required of chartered engineers these days is laughable. Direct entry, instead of requiring the submission of a well thought out career review essay, now requires the candidate to fill in some noddy boxes on a form. It seems to have been dumbed down for todays spoon-fed grads. They will take literally anyone who is not a dribbling mess. There is also a bizarre requirement for Masters level education; as though that final year of university makes any difference at all in the real world. BEng qualified people with several years of relevant industry experience actually doing real engineering/design seem to find it more difficult to gain CEng than a spreadsheet monkey grad+4years who couldn't draw a bending moment diagram if his life depended on it.

Engineering is a career in which experience is key. After four years out of uni, you still know nothing in the grand scheme of things.

The IMechE and the IET basically just want your annual subscription money.

Chartership with the IStructE, on the other hand, is a real challenge and an accreditation one can be proud of. I hope to become MIStructE in the next few years, but this requires loads of work to prepare for the 7hr exam, whether I will get around to it is another thing. The further on you get in your career the less technical work you tend to do.

rubberduck · 7 Jan 2015 at 13:30

Really should get round to getting chartered status with ICHEME... Is a bit if a paid for qualification though as its in their interest for people to 'ugrade' their membership to chartered as it means more money for them... As long as you meet the requirements the interview should be a bit of a formality to make sure you aren't a complete clown.

delta0 · 7 Jan 2015 at 14:00

IOM3 require an essay too and the interview is quite thorough. IStructE sounds quite tough. IMechE is easier than others, apparently that is going to change though according to a senior IMechE guy at work.

alx · 7 Jan 2015 at 14:00

AndyT said:
I am CEng MIMechE.

A few years ago, CEng with the IET (formerly IEEE) and the IMEchE was an accreditation which you could be proud of. Now it is pretty much a joke and more of a formality. The standard required of chartered engineers these days is laughable. Direct entry, instead of requiring the submission of a well thought out career review essay, now requires the candidate to fill in some noddy boxes on a form. It seems to have been dumbed down for todays spoon-fed grads. They will take literally anyone who is not a dribbling mess. There is also a bizarre requirement for Masters level education; as though that final year of university makes any difference at all in the real world. BEng qualified people with several years of relevant industry experience actually doing real engineering/design seem to find it more difficult to gain CEng than a spreadsheet monkey grad+4years who couldn't draw a bending moment diagram if his life depended on it.

Engineering is a career in which experience is key. After four years out of uni, you still know nothing in the grand scheme of things.

The IMechE and the IET basically just want your annual subscription money.

Chartership with the IStructE, on the other hand, is a real challenge and an accreditation one can be proud of. I hope to become MIStructE in the next few years, but this requires loads of work to prepare for the 7hr exam, whether I will get around to it is another thing. The further on you get in your career the less technical work you tend to do.

I agree to an extent, it's basically a glorified exercise of jumping through hoops. But then what is chartership meant to show? It's not there to show you're an exceptional engineer, more to show that you have reached a certain/minimum level of competency in various areas, which you do by displaying your experience. It also requires a bit of effort to do hence not everybody who could theoretically be a chartered engineer is one.

Perosnally I don't really think they've dumbed it down due to the quality of the candiates, more that they just want more subscription money. It's easy way to get more cash as (obviously) chartered members pay greater subscription fees. If they wanted to make chartered status more exclusive they easily could, but they choose not to.

alx · 7 Jan 2015 at 15:12

AshD93 said:
Will be watching this thread with interest as I will be starting mine once I've graduated.

Funnily enough, everyone at work seems to think I should not bother. Mainly because the pay increase that most stipulate never occurs.

Whats the general experience of this? I've heard a average earning figure of £63k for CEng Engineers but I'm skeptical.

(And yes I'm money driven)

Found this link earlier, thought it would be useful. Lists graduate starting salaries for various engineering firms for 2015, as well as average chartered engineer salary, 10th and 90th percentile salaries etc.

https://targetjobs.co.uk/career-sec...-round-up-from-graduate-to-chartered-engineer

big_white_dog84 · 7 Jan 2015 at 19:32

A lot more people CEng than I had anticipated!

I have been told the whole process takes around 20 weeks from start to finish so I'm guessing I will only make the May board mentioned in one of the posts above if I'm successful.

I want it so I can stand out in the company I work for where less than 5% of the engineers have CEng. The management have watered down the status of the engineer, and have now set up an 'engineering apprenticeship' where they turn school leavers into engineers after 4 years - on the same salary as MEng / MSc graduates with two years in the company. I'm really looking forward to getting CEng on my business card and email signature

(although they also have a policy of having no letters after the name in these places because so many in the company have noting at all).

Elixir · 7 Jan 2015 at 19:45

My degree is in Petroleum Engineering and has only recently been accredited by the EI (Energy Institute). Not sure that getting chartered will make any difference considering it's quite a niche profession anyway, but I'll reassess in a few years when it's actually a possibility.

delta0 · 9 Jan 2015 at 07:47

grumpysculler said:
There are multiple correlations at work.

Bear in mind that the average age of a CEng is quite high. And older people generally earn more as they are more senior.

It is unlikely to have a direct impact on your salary, but it is a title that sets you apart from those that don't have it. Perhaps more useful on your CV than in your annual pay review.

It makes no difference to my salary at all (but then our HR are *******s and in cahoots with the union to depress salaries).

This.

I also think it helps with the status of the profession - a central heating fitter might call themselves and Engineer but they aren't Chartered Engineer. Using the title helps raise awareness of professional engineering, not just KwikFit engineers.

The average CEng salary is more an average of an average. I read the report that goes behind this and you find there are a lot of factors involved. One of the most outstanding ones (bar years of experience and sector) was qualifications. The average salary for an engineer with undergraduate degree (BSc, BEng, MEng) was notably below the average whereas those with a postgraduate degree were notably above.

alx · 9 Jan 2015 at 09:18

delta0 said:
The average CEng salary is more an average of an average. I read the report that goes behind this and you find there are a lot of factors involved. One of the most outstanding ones (bar years of experience and sector) was qualifications. The average salary for an engineer with undergraduate degree (BSc, BEng, MEng) was notably below the average whereas those with a postgraduate degree were notably above.

I'm assuming the postgraduate qualifications were a 1 year Masters/MSc rather than a PhD?

delta0 · 9 Jan 2015 at 09:34

alx said:
I'm assuming the postgraduate qualifications were a 1 year Masters/MSc rather than a PhD?

Yes both of those were regarded as postgraduate qualifications. I don't think it makes a distinction between the two but I have seen reports elsewhere that have focused purely on doctorates that show large differences. I will see if I can find a link to the report.

House · 9 Jan 2015 at 10:06

I've never done mine and I let all my IChemE membership lapse a number of years ago.
I should sign up for something more project management based these days but I just haven't felt the need.

I can tell you how it works at my company though.
Once you complete it they pay you a one time bonus I believe its still 10% of your salary capped at £5k.

If you complete something like an MBA then you get a payrise and a bonus, They have been pushing from my to do the MBA for sometime but I just don't have the time to do that, my work and have a life. Before I was married maybe but no chance now.

dl8860 · 9 Jan 2015 at 10:56

slambo69 said:
Im a structural engineer with a civil degree. I have 3.5 years experience and have been set on doing the IstuctE exam + interview since I started my career. That was until later in 2014 the IstructE decided to remove the offshore question from the exam.

I do little to no onshore structures so passing the exam by designing a bridge, carpark etc. would be very hard for me. Thats why I will probably go for ICE now.

The IstructE has a reputation for being difficult, but if it was easy - it wouldnt be worth having!

Good luck to OP, I'm sure you will be fine

I work as a structural engineer with a civil degree for offshore structures too, interesting! Was a bit strange when IStructE removed the offshore question but I was only ever going to consider that once I got my CEng with ICE sorted, which I am currently working towards.

Can I ask where you work and what sort of stuff you do?

delta0 · 9 Jan 2015 at 10:58

This is a recent report from the engineering council. http://www.engc.org.uk/media/149881/2013 survey of registered engineers and technicians.pdf
It shows all the different factors, undergraduate can meet the average CEng salary and postgraduate does exceed it notably.

alx · 9 Jan 2015 at 11:26

delta0 said:
Yes both of those were regarded as postgraduate qualifications. I don't think it makes a distinction between the two but I have seen reports elsewhere that have focused purely on doctorates that show large differences. I will see if I can find a link to the report.

Guess people with doctorates tend to work in quite specific areas. From my (limited) experience in the oil & gas industry you don't tend to find that many engineers with PhDs. Maybe the statistics give a sligthly "skewed" view because there's realtively few engineers with PhDs but they tend to work in more niche areas and have specific skills which net them more money?? Just speculating/thinking aloud really.

delta0 said:
This is a recent report from the engineering council. http://www.engc.org.uk/media/149881/2013 survey of registered engineers and technicians.pdf
It shows all the different factors, undergraduate can meet the average CEng salary and postgraduate does exceed it notably.

Cheers, will have a read

.

delta0 · 9 Jan 2015 at 11:45

alx said:
Guess people with doctorates tend to work in quite specific areas. From my (limited) experience in the oil & gas industry you don't tend to find that many engineers with PhDs. Maybe the statistics give a sligthly "skewed" view because there's realtively few engineers with PhDs but they tend to work in more niche areas and have specific skills which net them more money?? Just speculating/thinking aloud really.

Cheers, will have a read .

True. I think the specialism is perhaps the niche that gives you that extra pay.

DB_SamX · 9 Jan 2015 at 13:03

Did my CEng MICE last year and passed in December; even got a commendation for my written exercise, which was surprising given I didn't practice it. Very hard work but totally worth it. Considering going for MIStructE this year.

Benefits are listed here: http://www.engc.org.uk/benefits.aspx

For me, I got promoted and a pay rise right after passing. I work as a structural engineer on Buildings.

IET is rather easy, followed by ICE and IStructE which in my opinion are close, but latter harder. IStructE exam focuses a lot on the technical side. ICE wants you to be a lot more well rounded, so I had to learn about contracts, finance, management, etc.

In summary, it is all about the institution deciding whether you are qualified enough to make sound decisions, given you have to take into account health and safety of people, the environment, millions of pounds, etc, etc.