University the only way? (Engineering)

[Scythian]

Thought I'd ask about what OcUK's thoughts are about university as a whole. (This is somewhat carrying on a previous thread I made a short while ago about getting into university.)

Over the past few years the careers I've wanted to pursue have changed quite frequently and it's getting to the point where I need to actually decide one one particular area and focus on it rather than spreading my efforts too broad.

(Just for a bit of background, it included wanting to become a chef, carpenter, games developer, architect, police officer, software developer (and other IT related paths), and more recently quite a few different engineering paths (Civil, electrical, general, software and mechanical).

Of course I have to make a decision eventually, and I realise I won't be able to pursue all of those options (and any future options which may rise) and it seems to be focusing more towards mechanical engineering.

Reason for choosing a Mechanical Engineering route as I think I'd prefer doing work which is more hands-on over studying Computer Science which seems purely office based (correct me if I'm wrong!). Though i'm definately not against the idea of studying computer science (or anything similar). Guess another reason for choosing Mechanical Engineering is that some of the concepts and maths skills along with what I'd picked up during my current studies I'm presuming would give me a small 'base' to start at, if I did ever want to return into software development (at the expense of further studies in that area).

A couple of weeks ago I was dead set on going to Bristol (to study Engineering Design MEng w/ year in industry), but I'm not sure how ideal this route actually is. The degree itself seemed more aimed at those who wanted to go into management position, that and having a 37k 'debt' for the course alone which would be made even higher if I included student loans for the five year degree. Makes me wonder what alternatives there are actually out there

i.e. is getting into a large company and trying to work your way up viable? or advanced apprenticeships? Are engineering degrees severely effected by lack of a placement year or completing it to a Masters level?

Any insights or thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Scythian]

It's not cheap, but it's shirley the fastest way of getting from nowhere to being an engineer? Also, I wouldn't be put off by the new £9k/year fees... the loan system's pretty nice/isn't a burden worth putting people off proper courses, imo.

It isn't so much being in debt that I'm not too fond of, it's more a case of

"Okay, so it's been five years, i've finished my degree and I now have a job along with a large amount of 'debt'"
or
"Okay so it's been six years, I've just finished my degree, already have a good job lined up without any debt"

If that makes sense?

 

[Scythian]

interested in this thread. i massively regret not doing engineering at university and im now 27. Was wondering if there is any way to get into it at this late stage (its all i really want to do). I already have been to university and tbh didnt do a good degree so now obviously cant do another as you cant get two rounds of loan!

If the fees were £1000 still i could finance it myself

Have a look at the open university, may have something of help.


I'm not sure how I'd imagine being hands would pan out precisely, guess it depend what industry what I went into and role. Though the closest I could assume would be either creating something from specs, fitting something, tweaking, testing etc

Though I didnt think it to be purely hands on work either, more of a good mix between the two - doing work behind a screen along with work outside of it. Though I assumed it would be more beneficial to know the theory before actually carrying out the work. Hence going to university to learn a large amount of it, then learning how to actually apply it in a placement year or such.