Careers in engineering after Uni?

mobius1

mobius1

mobius1

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I'm thinking of taking either an Aerospace or Automotive Engineering degree (with a year in industry) in Uni. But, in doing some research, I'm finding it hard to find out whether there are more jobs in the automotive industry or the aerospace side. I am more sided to Aerospace as of this moment but I really want to keep my options open before finalising my personal statement.

Does anybody know (at least roughly, maybe) the answer to this?

I also need to know whether writing my statement about both subjects would reduce my chances of getting onto either of the courses, as opposed to siding it to just one of these two.

Cheers for any help.
 
I'd probably side with automotive, but make sure you get a reputable uni otherwise you'll get no decent jobs after graduating. I say this as one mate did a degree in Aerospace - now is a software developer for a stocks/shares company, another with automotive now works with Jaguar.
 
You could take a mechanical engineering course that allows you to specialise in aerospace or automotive in the 2nd or 3rd years, rather than jump into either one straight away. I know Brunel University used to offer this option.
 
Bath also do the Mechanical engineering degree where the first two years are Mechanical and then you specialise into Auto/Aero/Straight mech.

Bear in mind that in the aero sector you'll find mechanical engineers and maybe even automotive, and vice versa in the other industries. A lot of the work has commonalities but it is the application that is different and, in some cases, this can be a valuable attribute as you'll approach problems in a different way.

For the most general degree take the Mechanical option, you could always choose some aero/auto specific modules in 3rd or 4th year.

I'd also recommed doing an MEng degree as it helps greatly with professional accreditation (Chartering) and the job prospects you'll have.
 
Go with Mechanical Engineering (Arguably the broadest engineering degree of all)

Aerospace & Automotive are just specialisations of Mechanical Engineering.

90% of Aerospace is Mechanical Engineering with some aeronautics topics.

I did Aerospace Engineering. However the name makes the degree very restrictive from employment perspectives. I never managed to get into aerospace industry.

a lot of so called Aerospace companies (SMEs) are actually on the manufactring side requiring CNC operatives and precison engineers/engineering. (Metal sheet cutting, rivoting job, etc)

So in that sense Aerospace degree isn't really needed for those jobs as it is more on the design side.

However in my experience Aerospace Degree is only worthwile if you want to do further research into aerospace design, CFD, Hypersonic, etc requiring lots of calculus maths.

You really need to look at aerospace market as a whole to see if there is any demand for Aerospace Engineering.

It will be easier for you to get a job with Mechanical Engineering.

I would say keep your options open and not just restrict to either automotive or aerospace.

I have since changed my field to accounting and loving it. Although I still have interest in making my own RC airplane model.:)
 
I have an Aero MEng, and now working in a large aerospace company.
I'd say it all depends where you want to work. In the UK there's probably more aero/defence work than auto.
Probably best to do MechEng then specialise later.
Definitely avoid Motorsport.

What areas of engineering interest you now? Don't be worried if you can't answer that, I only realised my strengths and interests in my final year.

Don't worry too much about your personal statement (or subsequent interviews), they'd probably be more interested if you display a broad interest. Also don't worry about changing discipline after first or second years of study if you do pick a specific course.

WingZero30 said:
a lot of so called Aerospace companies (SMEs) are actually on the manufactring side requiring CNC operatives and precison engineers/engineering. (Metal sheet cutting, rivoting job, etc)

So in that sense Aerospace degree isn't really needed for those jobs as it is more on the design side.

However in my experience Aerospace Degree is only worthwile if you want to do further research into aerospace design, CFD, Hypersonic, etc requiring lots of calculus maths.
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The SME's do require engineers for management, and while that may sound dull now you may find that you begin to enjoy it at uni. Remember that the SME's are precision engineering companies and as such are looking for experts and specifically graduates.

CFD isn't such a great area to get into in the UK, not really a lot of aircraft design going on here ;)
Systems engineering and avionics are more promising fields if this interests you.

I would definitely recommend systems, simulation or manufacturing engineering disciplines.
 
WingZero30 said:
Aerospace & Automotive are just specialisations of Mechanical Engineering.

90% of Aerospace is Mechanical Engineering with some aeronautics topics.
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So true.
At Loughborough Aero and Auto engineers share most modules in the first year. I think the 2nd year too but that is just a guess.

Regardless of the degree you go for, both have a shed load of jobs and you can do an auto job with an aero degree and vice versa - They really are almost the same (I am not either but have lived with a 1st year aero).

My only advice is to ensure you pick a decent University - There are more crap ones than good ones these days.

Whether you do mechanical, aero or auto, as long as it is a decent University and you get a reasonable grade, you will not have to face this 'bad job market' crap that people keep talking about.
 
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I am just about to start my final year on BEng Mech Eng at Manchester MET and already have an automotive engineering job lined up (largely down to doing a placement year which is defiantly the way to go to stand out from all the other graduates) so it's obviously not all about the Uni.

I, like some others have recommended, chose not to specialise my degree to give myself as many options as possible.
 
I just avoided this sort of question entirely by applying for general courses (2 civils as well). :p

Personal statement wise I don't really know, but imo as long as you sound vaguely competent and interested in engineering in general you should be ok. I think AS grades are far more important. (Obviously especially your maths, physics and further maths AS's).

edit: In my statement I focused very much on the 'general' side of things as opposed to civil specific, and still got offers for top civil eng courses.
And 'avoided' should read 'deferred'.
 
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The replacement of our nuclear submarine based deterrent is a huge engineering project over the coming years.
 
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Thanks for all the replies, got a lot of think abouting going on!

Regrettably, I didn't take Maths at A-Level and so I'm applying for some Unis that don't require a Maths A Level but I'm also applying for Liverpool Uni and Manchester Uni for the Foundation engineering courses.

I read up a little on the pure Mechanical Engineering courses and they seem very similar (at least the first two years!). So maybe if I get into places by doing a foundation year beforehand I'll have an extra year to decide on which course to specialise in. Although the pure mech eng seems logical being the broadest of the lot.

Oasin, Manchester Met is one of my choices down for Automotive Eng. Are/have you enjoying/enjoyed being there? And is the department well-equipped?
 
Osian said:
I am just about to start my final year on BEng Mech Eng at Manchester MET and already have an automotive engineering job lined up (largely down to doing a placement year which is defiantly the way to go to stand out from all the other graduates) so it's obviously not all about the Uni.

I, like some others have recommended, chose not to specialise my degree to give myself as many options as possible.
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That is because you clearly excelled on placement. There will always be the odd person who gets the job with the poor University but the vast majority are up **** creek without a paddle. The University you go to is just as important as the subject you do.
Getting a first class at Manchester Met just means you beat everyine else who got DEU at Alevel and really isn't fit for higher education.

OP: Do a foundation year at Loughborough if you want to do Mechanical Engineering. It is something like 5th in the rankings for it iirc, way ahead of Liverpool and Manchester (the proper one).
 
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I'm not sure how good an Engineering course would be if it doesn't require A-level maths :\.

You're better off doing a foundation year first at a decent university.
 
I do wonder how you'd get on without A -Level maths as there is a hell of a lot in there; especially if you get down to work with Fast Fourier transform, multiple matrices and various equations in fluid mechanics (needed for aero).

Like mglover said the uni is also very important, as the old polys are still considered second class and I'd take a 2/1 (or maybe a 2/2) from a proper over a 1 from a poly. Call me 'old school' but you'll find quite a lot in my line with the same attitude and it does bear out further down the line.
 
It would be nice to get onto a course other than engineering (so's no Maths requirements are there) but for the life of me, I can't think of any other course I'd be interested in doing!

In response to mglover - Loughborough open day booked, I've seen that Uni mentioned a lot whilst looking into the lists of top Unis etc so cheers for the extra heads up.

Does anyone know how well Manchester (proper one) gets ranked at all?
 
I'd definitely recommend the foundation over a course without maths requirement. You'll also be a step ahead of the new people as the maths in engineering is usually a bit different to A-Level maths.

I'm surprised there are engineering courses without maths though, I felt short on it from only doing A-Level maths and not Further Maths so to have none at all would be a challenge!
 
Yeah I remember quite a lot of maths from the first 2 years of Aero Eng was stuff I was at least familiar with from doing A-level Maths and an AS Further where I did 2 Mechanics modules and 1 Pure. Without the A-level you would seriously struggle grasping a lot of topics.
 
Plenty of jobs in both. Pay special attention to Design for Environment and sustainability because these are the current and future hot topics respectively.

As others have said; if you want to do engineering make sure your maths is very strong :)
 
Thought I'd give my opinion, since it was pretty much the same position I was in 3 years ago. I have interests in both automotive and aerospace, but mostly in the latter. I've just finished my 3rd year doing Aerospace Engineering, and am about to go and do my 4th year for an MEng. Having said that, I am also about to finish my summer placement in an automotive company, and have enjoyed it a lot.

In reality, once you go into industry, most of the specific theory you learnt on your course is not needed (dependent on the department and job you take on). What matters more is your general engineering understanding, and ability to be proactive and work well in a team.

I've found that when applying for jobs, aerospace gives me slightly more options. Your more likely to get into an automotive job with aerospace, than an aerospace job with automotive, but like I said, any engineering degree would be good enough.

In regards to the lack of maths A-Level, I would certainly try and find a foundation course at a good Uni, than settle for a lesser one that will accept you. Remember that there is a lot of maths content, so it can get tricky if you struggle with maths, but don't let it put you off. It can all be learnt with enough work and determination.

Any questions, just ask and I'll try and help.
 
If you want to get rich and don't mind how you do it, building services would be a good one.

I say if you don't mind how you do it, once you get to consultant level the majority of your income will be people 'buying' their way into your specifications.

No joke.
 
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