Mechanical Engineers

I did an appreticeship from 18-22 then went into a mechanical engineering role and was sent on an HNC. Was on 24k and would have gone upto 27.5k at the end of my HNC. But it was a ME job so I left. I never finished my HNC, did the first year, but landed a job as a test support engineer on 27k now and really like it. Ok, I dont do all the super conplex maths and that, but I dont want to. I earn a decent wage and my experiance I picked up got me the job. Im 27 years old now.
Oh and in April I will hopefully get a pay review and a rise :)
 
Mechanical Engineers are the hardcore engineering yes?

I have a friend that does it and its pretty demanding... But the potential for a great career and a very good wage are very real, providing you dont give up.

Im going into Beng in Building Services Engineering...

Im concerned about the maths, but other than im pretty excited. I suppose its quite different from straight up mechanical engineering

Engineers are needed in this country, high demand for them
 
Yes.

I always wanted to be part of big projects like obviously structures etc... Mechanical engineers arent based around construction though, although its obvious they can go into that area.
 
georges said:
I've had that when I've said I'm starting a degree in mech eng. "Why do you need a degree in that? Can't you just do an apprenticeship or something?"

:eek:


I think this degree is going to be pretty challenging for me! (MEng at Bath)
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Good luck with that, I'm at Bath doing Chemcial Engineering. I've got a few friends who do Mech Eng and it's hard work at times!

I'm currently on a placement at an oil refinery and it's a really rewarding and stimulating job most of the time.

As an engineer if you really want to make mega bucks you need to work your way into management (which is usually a fairly natural career progression in most engineering related jobs/companies).

Engineers are in short demand so will always get a half decent salary but the oil industry seems to pay the best. Mechanical and Chemical Engineering grads at the oil refinery I work on start on £30k, and that's without the golden handshake, relocation allowance etc. They also get a pay review every 6 months whilst on the graduate scheme.
 
Il post a proper reply when Im more coherent (24 hours up, got back from gran canaria, futura airline problems :(). O and don't take the mick out of my spelling, this is an internet forum, and real engineers don't waste time with spelling, spellchecker and a proof read sorts that out ;)

Work on the underground as a graduate from Notts Uni with an MEng in Mechanical Design, Materials, and Manufacture. Much better course than Mech ENG (well for me anyway), the ech course was too much maths, whereas my degree gave a great rounding in materials science, a pretty good maths knowledge, and most importantly, the manufacturing and the surfacr treatments/coatings etc.

Mech Eng boys are just good at CAD and FEA ;):p:p
 
The good thing with my course is that the first two years are common for all engineering disciplines, and I'm able to swap to a different course for the final two if I prefer something over mechanical.
 
I'm about to start my 4th year of my MEng in Mechanical Engineering at Sheffield.

Loving the course its a nice challenge but as long as you put in the time and effort its a walk in the park.

I've not actually done any proper maths since half way through 2nd year now and all the modules i've chosen revolve around energy, thermo-dynamics and fluid mechanics.

The best thing about doing an Engineering degree is you can do nearly anything you like afterwards.

An interesting stat i saw the other day was that out of all the CEO's in the country with degrees the only more common degree than engineering was accounting
 
Nzyme said:
I'm about to start my 4th year of my MEng in Mechanical Engineering at Sheffield.

Loving the course its a nice challenge but as long as you put in the time and effort its a walk in the park.

I've not actually done any proper maths since half way through 2nd year now and all the modules i've chosen revolve around energy, thermo-dynamics and fluid mechanics.

The best thing about doing an Engineering degree is you can do nearly anything you like afterwards.

An interesting stat i saw the other day was that out of all the CEO's in the country with degrees the only more common degree than engineering was accounting
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Off topic but.. how do you find Sheffield? I'm starting electrical engineering there next week.
 
im doing aeronautical myself, but whatever you do get yourself on a placement year while at university, and if you can, do an MEng.

remember you can still do quite a lot with a mechanical engineering degree, if you dont like how engineering companies work its pretty easy to get into finance. apparently they like the way the mind of an 'engineer' works and are willing to fund you training when you get into a financial company.
 
Yeah if you can manage to pull off a 2.1 in any engineering degree, the banking and financial world will love you (your more sought after than business/economics graduates). But if you dont get a 2.1, you're wasted your time in the finance sector, because its so competitive.

In my experience, the people who get 2.1s are generally speaking very driven by the subject, and get sponsorships and internships early on. I did civil engineering at Nottingham university, which isnt even one of the insanely hard course (ie imperial), and I quit half way through my second year.
The course itself wasnt as intellectually demanding as say mathematics, but its more intense. 25 hours a week plus constant CW, isnt something to take lightly. if you dont put in 35+ hours a week you wont get above 55%. The first semester on the first year too everyone by surprise. We were given ridiculous amounts of time consuming practical work (CAD, matlab, drawing), and in my hall everyone else was just relaxing enjoying their first year.

Im sure there will be some one here who are naturally academics and disagree with me, but for the majority of people on my course, it was a slog. Especially when friends are doing 10 hours a week, plus a bit of 'reading'.. pah

I transferred to economics bsc and have never looked back. Much easier.
 
themanbearpig said:
Engineers work far too hard for what they get a return. Pretty low pay considering the hellish degree and chartered exams. Might as well just go into the financial or banking sector, unless you really want to be an engineer. But lets face it, in this county an engineer isnt perceived as the most prestigous job you can get. But in germany....
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I dont know where you get all that crap from. Im a qualified Electronic/Control Engineer and the money that can be had is not low in any way.
 
I have a degree in automotive engineering, basically the same as mech eng. Got fed up of people asking if I was learning to fix cars.

I now do zero engineering, more chemistry and development projects for an oil company. Advise you aim to get on an oil company grad scheme.
 
Simon said:
I have a degree in automotive engineering, basically the same as mech eng. Got fed up of people asking if I was learning to fix cars.

I now do zero engineering, more chemistry and development projects for an oil company. Advise you aim to get on an oil company grad scheme.
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I got similar questions all the way through my qualifications for Electronic and Control Engineering. People kept asking if i was an electrician.
 
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