Engineering
A comprehensive guide to studying Engineering at university.
- Very varied course, practical aspects and labs as well as lectures
- Builds your problem solving and logical thinking skills
- Great career prospects, a really employable degree, and sets you up to go straight into work without more training.
- Difficult, content is hard to understand
- Workload is high, and easy to fall behind
- Bad gender balance, for women in engineering, misogyny sadly still exists among peers and sometimes staff, and it's hard to meet other girls. Also stereotypical, but lots of engineering students can’t hold a conversation, so the department can get dull.
Misconceptions:
Engineering is likely a subject that you won’t have studied until degree level, and so many people are not sure what to expect, and lots of people's minds go straight to building sites, hard hats and high vis. While it is an inherently practical subject, the majority of the work is classroom theory, which involves a great deal of tricky maths and calculus!
Engineering problems, interestingly, don't just have a single answer, like maths and physics at A Level. It requires a lot of problem solving, trial and error, it’s not about following a method, more about applying what you learn in different ways depending on the context.
How it compares to A Level/IB:
Suddenly, what you’re learning is so applicable. You can actually sit in a lecture and do the exact calculations that the designers of the golden gate bridge did. You can pick up a machine, and actually know how it works. You can design something and build it from scratch and it’ll work.
This is so much more satisfying than A Level physics, where lessons were about Newton’s laws from the 1600s and practicals were just rolling balls down hills. In engineering, the stuff you are learning literally gives you the power to design and build something real.
Most interesting/enjoyable topics you’ll study & why:
Engineering is a very diverse subject. Electronic is completely different to mechanical, which is completely different to civil. The diversity and crossover between subjects is great.
A hugely enjoyable part of engineering is the practical aspect and application. Nothing quite beats the satisfaction of designing and building something from scratch, and it works. Whether that's physical, like a structure or circuit board, or digital like a program or simulation, it feels great every time.
Least interesting/enjoyable topics you’ll study & why:
Unfortunately to be able to complete big projects, you need a basis. Materials for example, while it’s clearly important for an engineer, is basically a memory game, and learning about how things crack is not exactly the most gripping thing you’ll study.
Where do students studying your degree usually end up career-wise?
The obvious answer here is that engineering students become engineers, but also a large proportion end up in IT, banking, finance, or research.
What misconceptions are there around the career prospects of your degree?
Often people avoid engineering because they think you HAVE to become an engineer, this is totally untrue. It gives you very transferable skills, plus, being such a hard subject, all kinds of employers really value an engineering degree as they realise the work and determination it takes to get one
Are there other ways into these careers?
Taking maths or physics can lead you into engineering, but may require a bridging course. Alternatively, apprenticeships are a fantastic way into engineering, learning on the job, getting paid to do it, and getting hands on straight away is a great way to get into the industry!
What concrete, employable skills will you graduate with?
Problem solving and logical thinking Time management. Having so many contact hours and deadlines makes you very good at this... Practical, hands on skills A real understanding of the world and the industry, not just theory, but really practical information