University the only way? (Engineering)

Scythian

Scythian

Scythian

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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. :)
 
What about Product Design Engineering? Has a decent balance of maths, science, engineering, business and 'hands on' stuff. Just pick a decent university which has close ties to industry. I'll plug Strathclyde here.
 
Two of my mates are creaming six figure salaries and working all over the world as engineers (oil). They never went to Uni. They just got ND's, though this is a few years ago now so might be harder now.
 
ever thought of an apprenticeship in engineering, most companies will put you through a degree if you're good enough, plus you get all the qualifications a normal degree engineer doesn't plus the major factor of having experience in industry.
 
I do a degree in mechanical engineering at Glasgow uni (An accredited course), now in fourth year of five (MEng). It is not hands on if you think you're going to come in most days of uni and build something/weld something (some CAD work, and FEA work on computers if you like that though). Enjoy your maths.

The "hands on" courses tend not to be accredited (from what I've heard from caley uni..) as you're not learning engineering skills... Remember engineers tend to DESIGN things, and not build them (thats a builder ;D). (obviously it would be useful to do these skills alongside for experience etc.)
 
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Moses said:
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.
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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 said:
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? :)
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Remember you can often get summer internships (pain in the arse to get though...) and tbh if you graduate with a 2:1 you'll be fine.

(depends how much the year in industry pays, and if they find a spot for you I'd go for it tbh)

Come back to me when I graduate at the end of June 2014 and I might be singing a different story tho! :p
 
Firstly, I really wouldnt worry about uni debt.

I read mechanical engineering to BEng, and joined a multinational engineering firm in an 'operations' role after graduating, thinking it would be a nice blend of engineering and hands-on work. To be honest I did not really use any engineering knowledge, and didn't really enjoy the hands on stuff (what little there was at graduate level), so I moved roles completely.

My advice to you, if you don't want to be stuck in an office all day and want hands on engineering work, is to do an apprenticeship with a big firm. Also look at 'engineering' roles within the armed forces.
 
Some project/production/manufacturing engineer roles offer hands on as well as office based. In fact, where I work both project and production roles can be very hands on depending on what part of the company they are based in and around.
 
How hands on do you want? Most engineering roles aren't very hands on and are more design/calc/troubleshooting/optimisation based (although it obviously depends on the exact type of role).

What exactly do you mean by hands on btw? Would help us lead you in the right direction.
 
Sounds more like you want to be an engineering technician rather than an engineer, in which case a degree might not be the right route for you - most mech eng degrees will be incredibly maths / design focussed, not hands on.

As others have said, a bit more explanation on what you envisage as hands on would probably help.
 
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
 
One of the engineers at work once told me if you don't spend 90% of your time infront of a computer you're not an engineer these days :p
 
A degree/masters in engineering will pull you away from hands on work, not bring you more of it.

Not that I'd know not being gainfully employed as an engineer right now :(
 
Can go the apprentice route. We've just taken three more on in our office. They're getting the more hands on stuff done at the minute but given 4-5 years will be able to go down their final route of choice.
 
al4x said:
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
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In a similar situation and Ive ended up at the OU doing Engineering, not ideal but its down the right road...
Dis86 said:
Can go the apprentice route. We've just taken three more on in our office. They're getting the more hands on stuff done at the minute but given 4-5 years will be able to go down their final route of choice.
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Silly question but are apprenticeships still (or ever) been age related? I presume you have to be under 25 to qualify...

ps3ud0 :cool:
 
ps3ud0 said:
In a similar situation and Ive ended up at the OU doing Engineering, not ideal but its down the right road...

Silly question but are apprenticeships still (or ever) been age related? I presume you have to be under 25 to qualify...

ps3ud0 :cool:
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I guess you looked into a fair few options? Is it very expensive? and how many years will your quali take?
 
al4x said:
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
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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.
 
al4x said:
I guess you looked into a fair few options? Is it very expensive? and how many years will your quali take?
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Tbh I just couldnt afford not to maintain working full time while studying so that decided quite a lot of the options, technically it can take upto 6years to do a degree (working to a BEng but you can pick up the MEng afterwards) but its pretty flexible so you could do it in 4years...

Im afraid the OU has aligned with the current university fees so you are now looking at £9,000 per (academic/FT?) year - best to give them a call and have a proper chat. Found them to be very helpful and knowledgeable...

ps3ud0 :cool:
 
One thing to keep at the back of your mind if you're serious about career in engineering and would eventually be seeking chartership with an institution, is to do a degree that's accredited by the engineering council (preferably to Masters level) - it makes life so so much easier.

The OU for example, you need to pick specific modules to attain accreditation that the IMechE (again for example) will accept as meeting the requirements for chartership.

It's something that's possible without, just considerably more hassle. It's something I like to mention as no one ever really informed me properly, and I was lucky in that my degree was accredited but I only pursued a BEng as I wasn't really aware how much not having the masters level qualification would hold me back in pursuing chartership. I'm now having to do an MSc around work, which is a massive pain frankly, as work is busy enough on it's own :p
 
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