University and Employment Prospects
Discussion
It feels as if I do nothing but post up threads about University on here, I'll try and make this my last.
I'm at John Moores University in Liverpool doing a BEng in Mechanical Engineering, and I'm toying with the idea of putting in a transfer to the University of Liverpool.
They said they would need a 65% Average to consider me for admission into second year with the University of Liverpool for the same course I'm doing.
This year I went to first year at John Moores instead of doing a foundation year at the University of Liverpool (partly because I didn't get the grades..).
Now I was thinking that even if I didnt get the 65% to get into second year, would they still possibly consider me for first year. Basically I'd be repeating this year, only at a different university (the one I wanted to go to).
This would mean another year, but I'd be graduating from a better university. Although I'm not sure how potential employers would see such a decision? I'd be around 24/25 by the time I graduate.
Do employers want young graduates, or does it matter? Is the path taken to graduate of interest to them, for example taking a year out, repeating a year, changing course, etc?
Any help, input, comments etc are all appreciated..
I'm at John Moores University in Liverpool doing a BEng in Mechanical Engineering, and I'm toying with the idea of putting in a transfer to the University of Liverpool.
They said they would need a 65% Average to consider me for admission into second year with the University of Liverpool for the same course I'm doing.
This year I went to first year at John Moores instead of doing a foundation year at the University of Liverpool (partly because I didn't get the grades..).
Now I was thinking that even if I didnt get the 65% to get into second year, would they still possibly consider me for first year. Basically I'd be repeating this year, only at a different university (the one I wanted to go to).
This would mean another year, but I'd be graduating from a better university. Although I'm not sure how potential employers would see such a decision? I'd be around 24/25 by the time I graduate.
Do employers want young graduates, or does it matter? Is the path taken to graduate of interest to them, for example taking a year out, repeating a year, changing course, etc?
Any help, input, comments etc are all appreciated..
Edited by Conor D on Tuesday 23 November 14:39
I want to do Mechanical Engineering, and I'm wondering if there is any benefit in completing the first year at Liverpool John Moores, using that qualification and then transfering to the University of Liverpool to start the same degree again.
Or just stick with it and graduate from John Moores university in 3 years.
Or just stick with it and graduate from John Moores university in 3 years.
Have a look at the "enticing" bits of the departmental web pages - does one have a substantially better employment rate than the other?
As a graduate of the University of Hull, I'm allowed to say things like if its not Oxbridge, or Imperial, it doesn't really matter as long as you get the letters after your name. Very few employers will give a toss where it came from, as long as you can do what you purport to be able to.
In your position, I'd be very wary of going back and repeating a year, with all those costs, for very little gain. The transfer onto the second year sounds reasonable, so don't waste energy - get it into the goal of reaching the 65%. I'd also work hard on the soft skills - they impress HR
As a graduate of the University of Hull, I'm allowed to say things like if its not Oxbridge, or Imperial, it doesn't really matter as long as you get the letters after your name. Very few employers will give a toss where it came from, as long as you can do what you purport to be able to.
In your position, I'd be very wary of going back and repeating a year, with all those costs, for very little gain. The transfer onto the second year sounds reasonable, so don't waste energy - get it into the goal of reaching the 65%. I'd also work hard on the soft skills - they impress HR
It might be worth finding out what connections to the industry each Universitys departments have and weigh up which could be better for you through that? For instance, I know my University isn't particularly big, or prestigious, but we've got decent connections to the media industry, despite its location.
randlemarcus said:
Very few employers will give a toss where it came from, as long as you can do what you purport to be able to.
This.While Oxford and Cambridge have a higher rep, an employer isn't going to give a crap about which city you did your degree in, more so how well you actually did in it.. Not worth wasting a year of your life to change the city you graduated from? Except for maybe the fact you get to do freshers all over again...
Riknos said:
randlemarcus said:
Very few employers will give a toss where it came from, as long as you can do what you purport to be able to.
This.While Oxford and Cambridge have a higher rep, an employer isn't going to give a crap about which city you did your degree in, more so how well you actually did in it.. Not worth wasting a year of your life to change the city you graduated from? Except for maybe the fact you get to do freshers all over again...
Keep in mind you might get a higher final grade from the university you're less keen to stay at.
Unless perhaps you're particularly set on working in Liverpool for your entire career, I really don't think the average employer is likely to accept/reject you because you went to one Liverpool university or another. And even in Liverpool a half decent employer will only care about the knowledge you have and whether you can apply it.
IMO.
Unless perhaps you're particularly set on working in Liverpool for your entire career, I really don't think the average employer is likely to accept/reject you because you went to one Liverpool university or another. And even in Liverpool a half decent employer will only care about the knowledge you have and whether you can apply it.
IMO.
BJG1 said:
Riknos said:
randlemarcus said:
Very few employers will give a toss where it came from, as long as you can do what you purport to be able to.
This.While Oxford and Cambridge have a higher rep, an employer isn't going to give a crap about which city you did your degree in, more so how well you actually did in it.. Not worth wasting a year of your life to change the city you graduated from? Except for maybe the fact you get to do freshers all over again...
To be honest though theres times that I'm not too impressed with LJMu, sometimes they dont seem to know what they're doing themselves. I've had a lecturer stand up at the start of the class and leave, he didn't come back.. We're now being taught by another lecturer. Generally questions are never given a straight answer, instead told to speak to someone else who isn't too sure either.
Maybe it's the same everywhere, but even when I had to call up with The University of Liverpool they were able to answer any of my questions or if not they could put me through to the person who could give me the answers. I had to call up LJMu, and the person on the phone didn't know what to say to me..
The benefit of going to a "better" university is that you are most likely to get hired into the best engineering companies. Most big companies only go to a few of the top universities career fairs and most fill their vacancies by this route. So if you are looking to work for Shell, BP etc then go to the best university you can. The other way to do it is to apply for an MSc at one of those institutions and you can also benefit from their careers service and links - its what I did - from an old polytechnic to the University of Bath and onto a top engineering company.
Conor D said:
el stovey said:
I must be missing something, are most people saying it doesn't matter where you get your degree from?
Seems to be, whats your take on the whole thing?If you just want a degree to be a graduate then it's probably not as important.
I'm sure there are people on here directly involved in these things who would know though.
el stovey said:
I'm not an 'employer' but I expect it depends on what you go into. If your degree is very vocational and directly related to your employment, then I think it would be worth your while getting into the 'best' university possible.
If you just want a degree to be a graduate then it's probably not as important.
I would've thought it would be the other way around. If you're looking to do something theoretical... maths maybe, then Oxbridge would be ideal. If you want to hit nails with a hammer (slanderous over simplification for which I apologise in advance) then does it really matter if you're not up on the latest research?If you just want a degree to be a graduate then it's probably not as important.
TuxRacer said:
el stovey said:
I'm not an 'employer' but I expect it depends on what you go into. If your degree is very vocational and directly related to your employment, then I think it would be worth your while getting into the 'best' university possible.
If you just want a degree to be a graduate then it's probably not as important.
I would've thought it would be the other way around. If you're looking to do something theoretical... maths maybe, then Oxbridge would be ideal. If you want to hit nails with a hammer (slanderous over simplification for which I apologise in advance) then does it really matter if you're not up on the latest research?If you just want a degree to be a graduate then it's probably not as important.
No, I mean if he's doing engineering and wants to become an engineer then it's more important to go to the best university and study engineering he can. If he's doing engineering and thinks he might become a journalist then it doesn't matter as much.Possibly.
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