Considering an Engineering degree full/part time or remote

[OpenToSuggestions]

Hello all.
The girlfriend has a manufacturing job which she finds very dull and whilst has engineer in the title, she gets little/no guidance and is very bored in her job i.e. not much engineering!
She is mid 20s and feels she will always have it held against her that she does not have the right qualification i.e. degree. She has been applying to other entry level engineering roles but no job offers have materialised (she has been interviewed for a couple of roles).

Now, I am fully aware that a significant proportion of degrees are useful only as toilet paper (I'm a Design Engineer myself).
She is interested in studying some form of mechanical/manufacturing engineering. She has no interest in studying something without a clear job at the end of it.

Due to where we are located, Derby would be the nearest place to study. She wants to pay for it up front, but is put off by the course costing ~£28k over 3y.
There are other Universities in the area with better reputations, but I have found where you study has little impact anymore.

Another option would be to study via the Open University as this would more easily allow working around the degree (possibly full time), but I am not sure how much credibility the OU gets in the workplace.

She's applied for a large company in the local area that does degree apprenticeships which pay you whilst you work/study, but wasn't successful unfortunately.

I'm looking for any pointers/guidance/thoughts on the above that could help her, as there are many people on here who will have useful experiences they can share .

 

[dowie]

Does she have any degree? Like is she's already got say a maths or physics degree perhaps an Engineering MSc could be feasible for some areas?

 

[SPG]

Drop me a PM I might be able to help also based in Derby (how is her CAD skills)

 

[D.P.]

but I have found where you study has little impact anymore.

i wouldn't be so sure, the opposite is largely True. What is true is the quality of education might not differ that much, but the reputation of the institute is still often critical . Very normal that some companies will automatically ditch any CV with a degree not from a Russell group university for example.


But my general advice would be to really make a case dor a degree, and to be sure of which degree. For example a degree on Maths might be much more valuable and open more doors. You can get a feel by looking at job postings but ideally you can call up tue companies to find out more information about the jobs posted

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

Would she be open to an apprenticeship?
That's what I did, foundation degree in mech eng, and opens doors to shift management, project engineering, chemical/process engineering etc and all the education is paid for.
Huge shortage of fitters and maintenance engineers, ~50k per annum is about the norm in the Midlands.

 

[Cadder]

What are her qualifications?
I hold HNC and HND in mechanical engineering but no degree. I have thought about doing a degree through the Open University. Although it doesn't rate very high I found, contrary to a post above, that the institute wasn't that important.
I also found that for my situation a degree might not actually benefit me. My HND and work experience has been sufficient so far.

 

[SPG]

All the degree does is open doors. After 3-5 years of solid work it's lost 90% of its value and by that time if you are serious you should be well on your way to being a chartered when people do take you a little more serious and by then your degree is worth nowt. So I wouldn't waste your money on on a degree but focus on getting chartered from a HNC/HND with x years of experience.

 

[-westy-]

Has she considered taking on some other qualifications, such as Solidworks Associate/Professional? In my experience that's been more useful for getting interviews/jobs over my degree itself - as it shows application.

 

[dowie]

All the degree does is open doors.

That can be pretty important if those doors don't otherwise open.

Has she considered taking on some other qualifications, such as Solidworks Associate/Professional? In my experience that's been more useful for getting interviews/jobs over my degree itself - as it shows application.

Presumably, that's your experience already having got a degree though? Those things might well be sought after and great add-ons for you but for the person without a degree getting those things doesn't necessarily help if the HR type filters out their CV up front for a lack of a degree.

Like the degree is no longer important to you but that's because you've already got it, I think people tend to forget that it can be super important for people without one and that people's experience with other stuff; placing value on additional qualifications, actual work experience is actually all stuff that has happened post-graduation.

 

[SPG]

No, it's important straight out uni with zero experience. I would take on HND/HNC with 2-3 years without question if it's what I was looking for. The same doors if not more are open.

 

[OpenToSuggestions]

Does she have any degree? Like is she's already got say a maths or physics degree perhaps an Engineering MSc could be feasible for some areas?

She doesn't have a degree.

Drop me a PM I might be able to help also based in Derby (how is her CAD skills)

I'll speak to her about it thanks .

Would she be open to an apprenticeship?
That's what I did, foundation degree in mech eng, and opens doors to shift management, project engineering, chemical/process engineering etc and all the education is paid for.
Huge shortage of fitters and maintenance engineers, ~50k per annum is about the norm in the Midlands.

She is, but I think she likes the idea of working 4 days per week alongside her OU degree.
I am a big fan of apprenticeships, as you can only train on the job if there is actually a job to train on .

What are her qualifications?
I hold HNC and HND in mechanical engineering but no degree. I have thought about doing a degree through the Open University. Although it doesn't rate very high I found, contrary to a post above, that the institute wasn't that important.
I also found that for my situation a degree might not actually benefit me. My HND and work experience has been sufficient so far.

She has Alevels in unrelated subjects but didn't really try at them so the grades are pretty poor.
The main feedback I have had amongst colleagues is whilst the OU is not highly regarded, it does come with strong credit for studying alongside working so ticks the dedication/commitment/time management boxes.

 

[OpenToSuggestions]

That can be pretty important if those doors don't otherwise open.

This is the reasoning she wants to do it.
She wants to be in a manufacturing/quality engineering role, and feels the OU is the best way to obtain the engineering principles whilst working a shorter week as a quality engineer alongside it.

 

[Cadder]

@OpenToSuggestions she could look into adult apprenticeships with local engineering companies. Day release to college/uni to do HNC, HND and then whichever degree she fancies. The other 4 days of the week working for the company as an apprentice or trainee.
My approach would be to contact anyone I know in the industry working for another engineering company and asking if they're looking for someone. Then I'd be contacting engineering training establishments, we have a few in the North East, I'd imagine there are some near you - see what they have available. Just talking to as many people as possible seems to have worked the best for me.

Networking events might be a good idea too.

 

[SPG]

We have had a few people pass through doing day release in adult education, ranging from 25-35 in terms of age. My beef is then dont pay them enough after they qualified and after a year they bugger off for more money.