Engineers make things work and they design, create and innovate to improve lives Want to know more? Read on for the low-down on all your engineering career options…
Overview of engineering
Engineering is everywhere and there are lots of engineering career options to choose from. Engineering plays a big part in almost every industry you can think of. Engineers tackle some of the world’s most pressing problems – from dealing with cyber security and maintaining clean water and energy supplies to finding sustainable ways to grow food, build houses and travel.
Engineers present solutions to immediate and long-term problems. Engineers are involved with designing diagnostic equipment used in hospitals, building sustainable accommodation and inventing gadgets to make our lives easier – from robotic lawnmowers to emotional computers. They develop life-saving medical equipment and minimise the damage from earthquakes, they develop computer games and help chart-topping musicians to record songs.
You find engineers in many different places, including offices, laboratories, industrial sites, design studios, hospitals, disaster sites, outdoors, in the air and at sea. Some roles involve creative, hands-on practical work and others are more about problem solving. The one thing they all have in common is that they use maths and science (especially physics) to improve the world around us. The pace of technological development is such that in five or ten years’ time engineers will be working in jobs that don’t exist today – that’s an exciting thought!
Engineering employment prospects
People with engineering skills are in high demand in the UK and employers, who need to fill tens of thousands of vacancies each year, offer very good salaries to engineers and engineering technicians.
People with engineering and technology degrees earn around 20% more per year than the average salary for all graduates. Technicians, who often work with engineers to solve practical engineering problems, also earn well above the national average wage (approximately £6,000 more each year).
Entry requirements and qualifications for engineers
You can take a vocational, apprenticeship or academic route into engineering – or a combination of these. Engineers qualify via both university and apprenticeship routes and engineering technicians are usually trained though a vocational or apprenticeship route.
Engineering degrees
Engineering degrees normally require you to have studied maths and physics (or chemistry, depending on the branch of engineering) at A-level or the equivalent. Other useful subjects include design and technology and computer science. NVQs, Advanced Apprenticeships and other equivalent qualifications may also be accepted.
As you’d expect, the requirements will vary from course to course so double check the UCAS website or call the university admissions department directly. If you haven’t studied the right subjects or gained the grades you need, you could consider an engineering degree that offers the option of a foundation year to boost your maths or physics knowledge.
Choose your field of engineering
Though universities offer degrees in general engineering, many degree courses are in specific engineering disciplines such as civil, electrical, chemical, or mechanical engineering, to provide the specialist knowledge relevant for that field. Undergraduate courses, which normally last for three years, lead to a BSc or BEng (Bachelor of Engineering) and some include a year in industry or time working abroad. An MSc or MEng (Master of Engineering) tends to last for four or five years and involves in-depth study and a research project.
Engineering apprenticeships
If you’d rather get into engineering through a practical, work-based route, you have a number of options. Apprenticeships combine on-the-job training with study for vocational qualifications, or often a degree. You might also be interested to know that engineering employers tend to pay apprentices quite a bit more than the national minimum apprentice wage.
Vocational routes into engineering
So what are the vocational qualifications? They include BTEC Diplomas, City & Guilds, EAL NVQs and SVQs, HNCs, HNDs and can be taken full-time (at school/FE college/UTC) or part-time during an apprenticeship. Vocational qualifications (also known as Tech Levels) link your learning to real life problems and are well regarded by employers and the engineering profession. They cover a wide range of subjects. You might fancy a Diploma in aeronautic engineering, environmental sustainability or software development. Or an NVQ/SVQ in materials processing or marine engineering, or if you go for an HNC/HND your choices could include civil, electronic/electrical and mechanical engineering.
If you’re looking for a job with real earning potential, career progression and scope for travelling and moving across different industries and sectors, engineering really could be for you and if it is there’s bound to be a route in to suit you too.