Hello - Uni or apprenticeship

Power companies, rail companies, defence, car industry, oil, aerospace are all places to consider. I think it can really help if you have some related hobby to talk about in any interview - bikes, cars, robotics, model engineering, trains - if you can say 'i love messing about with my bike or I volunteer at X every holiday' - it can make you stand out, it's not just about exam results

Hi Christine,

I just need to make sure I pick the right area of engineering I'd enjoy. It's so vast

It certainly is, but the good thing about STEM careers is there is opportunity to move sideaways and then upwards if, after a few years, you find you are more interested in a slightly different branch.

Hands-on experience is good, both for your CV and your own capabilities. Maybe you already have your own home workshop, or have 2D/3D CAD/CAM sofware and a 3D printer at home. Both will stand you in good stead.

I think the main thing is to get your 'foot in the door' with a large'ish company (more likely to have different branches of engineering in-house), get a feel for the engineering world and then plan your career. Be prepared to make changes to the 'plan' as your knowledge, career ambitions and financials needs grow.

All the best,

Ches

Hmm. I've helped my neighbour out with his model railway and learned a bit about controllers and Arduino boards. That's about it. I doubt they'd want to hear about my likes with fashion or my fashion portfolio I've kept as a hobby.

I don't mind doing a bit of volunteer work at an engineering firm over the summer even if it's just to get a taster. I won't try taking the car apart 😳😂 I'd break it or cause a car crash.

Hi, don't under estimate what a company may think a of your choice of hobbies, they would probably be more interested if you can show that you have interests rather than just sitting watching.

Regards Nick.

I would only advise Uni if you have high grades or are the sort of person who likes learning things. Sounds like an odd thing to say, but at Uni you are not so much taught but have the information presented and then you have to learn it yourself.

A company to add to your list is BAE Systems.

Another route to consider is joining one of the forces. They have many opportunities for training, from basic level engineering to postgraduate training. Decide what your interests are and have a talk with Army/Navy/Airforce recruitment. The way they helped my son was very impressive.

Hi Christine

We have had 2 apprentices in our electronics workshop in the last 10 years both of which have found the expirience very rewarding. ( We are support workshops, electronic and mechanical, operating in a Molecular Biology research Lab developing instrumentation for the science).

Being funded directly from government we are able to be very supportive of our apprentices and also able to pay them above the statutory minimum.

The first lad was due to take himself off to university but then decided it was not really for him and wanted something with a lot more practical content to his learning. He did the 3 year apprenticeship and then went on to do a degree. Finally left to learn about the gem market as his family was involved in that line, took a fill in job doing carpentry on building sites and as he was earning hand over fist doing that has continued in that line.

The second apprentice who we still have has just completed her 3 years with excellent marks at day release college and has applied for an HND course. Her abilities at work have blossomed and she is running her own projects with some help from the rest of us. She came to us straight form school after GCSE's.

We were not concerned about candidates having much knowledge but some evidence of a real interest in making things/how stuff works is quite important along with curiosity, self starting, involvement in things outside home helps.

Starting at 16 has ment that she is not really any further behind an A level/ University route with the advantage of earning at the same time. Time spent around adults in a work environment has a maturing effect which doesn't really happen at school and to a lesser extent at Uni.

The above I quote as test cases and university routes are better suited to some people. You really have to imagine yourself in each setting and decide where you will be happiest.

The very best wishes with your career whatever you choose to do. Remember you are allowed to make mistakes at the start without too much fallout so think hard, choose what you feel is right, give it your best shot and if it really doesnt work for you you can always switch.

regards Martin

Do ask questions if you want

Edited By Martin Kyte on 26/05/2022 17:47:49

Hi Christine,

Producing a fashion portfolio requires design skills, otherwise the clothing couldn't be made, nor fit, nor hang properly etc. Likewise with your neighbours railway they both say 'I can think'. The car crash gag says you can't.

Being nervous is expected and to be honest if you were not then you didn't really want the job and you wouldn't be offered it.

The main thing is to really want that particular end job otherwise it doesn't work out.

ps Linkedin may help

Edited By Dave Halford on 26/05/2022 17:59:31

I think I'd be interested in something like a government backed training scheme, especially if it's earn whilst you learn.

I didn't think about the design and creative bit with my fashion portfolio. Everyone says my ideas are creative and I suppose engineering needs a bit of creativity or maybe I'm wrong?

Not many girls go into STEM and I think it's due to pressure from other girls, not guys who don't want women in engineering jobs. I'm grateful for all this information, I'm so pleased I joined here 🙂

Hi, sometimes in engineering a lot a creativity is needed, especially when a plant breaks down and it needs patching up to get a customers order out on time, but creativity can also improve things in all types of engineering.

Regards Nick.

I cannot speak from personal experience but any sort of engineering degree course is going to be hard work. My sister went to university and her friends studying engineering had much more work to do. An engineering degree is often attractive to other industries so even if your interests move away from engineering it is always a valuable asset. Maths at a good level will make life easier and will be essential for many courses. My son studied maths and economics at university and had a very tough first year as he had only done pure maths A level and the course was pitched at having done pure and applied maths at A level, he came close to switching courses but worked hard and succeeded. It is very hard to plan your future but a clear idea of what you would like to finish up doing will help to select the course to suit your ambition. Adrian Newey has a degree in aeronautical engineering but is one of the most gifted and successful Formula 1 designers so skills are often transferable to related industries.

Mike

Where I worked we had students work with us for a year out in a sandwich course. We usually had a few people for the single place in our department. As we were a support department without a specialisation we chose between them by getting them to talk about their interests after the interview was seemingly over. People who liked tinkering with vehicles or playing with Meccano or Lego interested us so, as earlier posts have said, your interests are important to prospective employers. We didn't want someone who was only looking for a career that paid well.

Designing of any sort is also a good sign, especially if involves thinking 3 dimensionally. I always told people who asked what qualifications you needed for my job that a good imagination was the best starting point. Imagining how things can be made, imagining how things can go wrong, imagining how things can be fixed, imagining how things can be improved... I can think of plenty of other things along this line.

Being good at mathematics is essential for an engineering degree even though once you have an engineering degree you will probably only use a small part of what you learned doing the degree. Computers and CAD can now be employed to do all the donkey work, a degree just shows that you can do the work if necessary.

The best advice I think I can give anyone though is to do something that interests them. If you are not interested then the work just seems a lot harder and off-putting. Once you have qualifications then the choice of future work is not necessarily confined to a single path.

Martin C

I think a training program or apprenticeship would be the right approach with maybe a sponsored degree in the future. So much to think about. The thought of aeronautics engineering sounds good.

Is anyone online now for a messenger chat? I won't take up too much time. Can't get to sleep anyway so I'll be awake for an hour or so.

Christine x