The midlands

Stratford upon avon or Kennilworth for West Midlands.

Still quite close to JLR... large firms in Rugby, as well.
 
miikeeyy92 said:
So I'm currently at uni in Loughborough, and in 2 years time when I finally graduate, I'm going to be looking for a job in the midlands, as thats where 99% of the engineering jobs are.

My girlfriend who is currently working in London is reluctantly going to move up and pick up a financial role that will get her chartership.

My question is: Best places to live in the midlands?
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Midlands 99% of engineering? Not quite... also the rates in the midlands are pretty bad, people there will work for nothing.

There are engineering hubs dotted all over the UK:
+Warrington (All major nuclear services and big consultancies)
+Bristol (All major nuclear services and big consultancies + Aero)
+Reading area (AWE, GCHQ)
+Cumbria (All major nuclear services and big consultancies)
+South Yorkshire (some big consultancies, some SMEs, some research areas)
+London (All major consultancies)
+Glasgow (All major consultancies)

Derby has a lot of engineering companies, but none of them seem to pay particularly well and from personal experience the work is generally dull handle-turning type stuff.

EDIT: Obviously not ALL work in Derby is dull, but some areas you would expect to be exciting can in fact be quite boring and painful... Aero, submarines etc.
 
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AndyT said:
Midlands 99% of engineering? Not quite... also the rates in the midlands are pretty bad, people there will work for nothing.

There are engineering hubs dotted all over the UK:
+Warrington (All major nuclear services and big consultancies)
+Bristol (All major nuclear services and big consultancies + Aero)
+Reading area (AWE, GCHQ)
+Cumbria (All major nuclear services and big consultancies)
+South Yorkshire (some big consultancies, some SMEs, some research areas)
+London (All major consultancies)
+Glasgow (All major consultancies)

Derby has a lot of engineering companies, but none of them seem to pay particularly well and from personal experience the work is generally dull handle-turning type stuff.

EDIT: Obviously not ALL work in Derby is dull, but some areas you would expect to be exciting can in fact be quite boring and painful... Aero, submarines etc.
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I've had a look at what's available in London and although there's probably thousands of jobs for Engineering, they all tend to be building services related! Seems to be quite hard for me, a mechanical engineer (nuclear/subs) to be able to break into...
 
Wait until you find where your job will be and then base your choice of living location based on the following caveats

1) Between the hours of 07:00 and 10:00 the main Midland thoroughfares grind to a complete standstill.
2) Between the hours of 10:00 and 15:00 the main thoroughfares just about move but really don't plan on getting anywhere in a reasonable amount of time.
3) Between the hours of 15:00 and 19:00 see point 1.
4) All other times expect most thoroughfares to be shut as some numpty sticks another hole in the ground and shoves up temporary traffic lights that fail to work.
5) Ensure vehicle is a 4 wheel drive as when you actually get to move most road surfaces are akin to an off-road experience.

When you find where you are going to work my advise would be to see if they will let you place a caravan in the car park to live in or let you work from home, anything else get one of those classy bead seat covers to stop your arse going to sleep because you are going to spend a long time sat on it staring at taillights and number plates.
 
Like what most people have said, 99% of engineering jobs are not in the midlands.
Not unless you want to focus on working at rail depots or specific vehicle manufacturers.
 
Impossible to say where is best as there are too many unanswered questions. What's important in a house or area might a good start. Near to what? Countryside, town, city? Commuting requirements? Budget?
 
TheMightyTen said:
Wait until you find where your job will be and then base your choice of living location based on the following caveats

1) Between the hours of 07:00 and 10:00 the main Midland thoroughfares grind to a complete standstill.
2) Between the hours of 10:00 and 15:00 the main thoroughfares just about move but really don't plan on getting anywhere in a reasonable amount of time.
3) Between the hours of 15:00 and 19:00 see point 1.
4) All other times expect most thoroughfares to be shut as some numpty sticks another hole in the ground and shoves up temporary traffic lights that fail to work.
5) Ensure vehicle is a 4 wheel drive as when you actually get to move most road surfaces are akin to an off-road experience.

When you find where you are going to work my advise would be to see if they will let you place a caravan in the car park to live in or let you work from home, anything else get one of those classy bead seat covers to stop your arse going to sleep because you are going to spend a long time sat on it staring at taillights and number plates.
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That's just Birmingham :p

Birmingham area including M6 / M5 / M42 does get pretty bad but I have to travel all over the Midlands every day and it's alright.

Midlands is huge though so you need to specify a bit more. There are some beautiful areas around Leicestershire / Nottinghamshire although I'm not a huge fan of Leicester itself.
 
D3K said:
Like what most people have said, 99% of engineering jobs are not in the midlands.
Not unless you want to focus on working at rail depots or specific vehicle manufacturers.
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That is complete tosh and also very misleading the midlands is the hub of engineering in the UK.

I would aim for Derby, cheap to live and buy and salary`s are above average. Take your pick from large (read fairly safe) Automotive, rail, Nuclear, aerospace manufactures then more interesting SME work in Electronics, motorcycles, carbon fibre and close to Nottingham for a little more financial work for the mrs in Ikano, capital one, expieran etc but it is nightmare commute hence I moved from Nottingham to Derby :)


Stay away from Birmingham/Coventry etc due to the horrific traffic problems and poor public transport links expensive due to the silly amount of people.
 
SPG said:
That is complete tosh and also very misleading the midlands is the hub of engineering in the UK.
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I think you need to quantify this statement. 'The Midlands' is quite a large area to be called a hub.

To be sure, the Midlands does have a lot of engineering companies, but it depends on the area of engineering and in some sectors the jobs are elsewhere as highlighted by others.
 
Can't believe people are suggesting areas like Solihull. Staffs or Shropshire much better option, especially if close to the M54.
 
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