Engineering Degrees UK + Chartered Engineers

[creampuff]

Right, I did my engineering degree in Australia, where all engineering degrees, no exceptions, are 4 years long. You get a pass degree or an honours degree depending on your grade, both still take 4 years. There are some para-engineering degrees which are not called BEng which are 3 years long in Oz, but you are going to end up stuck in a technician job if you do one of these. (I'm been living in the UK for some time, btw).

I've also got a masters degree, again from Australia. In Oz, a masters degree is relatively uncommon.

Am I correct in thinking that a British engineering degree is only 3 years and if you do the 4th year, then it becomes a masters degree?

If that is the case, is there any other intermediate step in between the 4th year which is called a Master of Engineering and a PhD?

Also chartered engineers - everyone (outside of oil and gas where they don't care) seems bothered about chartered engineers. Chartered this, chartered that. Why is there such an emphasis on being chartered in the UK? Are there a lot of crap degrees which the chartership process weeds out? Can you become chartered with a 3-year engineering degree? How long after graduation could you become chartered?

[creampuff]

C0ffin D0dger said:

Doing a PhD is fundamentally different to a B or M.Eng.

In this country it may be - in most of the rest of the world an MEng is usually a research degree with no or very little coursework and which you can exit at MEng stage or continue to PhD stage.

Hence my surprise when I found out that an English (Scotland appears different) MEng just seems to be equivalent to 4th year of a BEng elsewhere.

[creampuff]

bucksmanuk said:

creampuff said:

Also chartered engineers - everyone (outside of oil and gas where they don't care)

I was told last year 2 of the O&G majors won’t consider you for senior positions without chartership. But yes it is becoming more of a requirement than it was 10 years ago. It TENDS to be a legal thing nowadays, as people have to be far more aware of the legislation that affects their work.
An ex work colleague is currently in India for an O&G major, and he has been told, no chartership- no good promotions. It’s a small sample size I admit.
Yes I wouldn’t say it’s chartered this and chartered that per se, it’s more the effect of people saying they are mechanical engineers (that old chestnut), who haven’t done mechanical engineering degrees.

I've worked in O&G for a long time... even in senior positions (e.g. project managers, lead engineers, department managers), many of my colleagues do not even have a degree - they have HNDs. The ones under about 50 will usually have a BEng, but I don't know anybody who has a MEng (regardless of by coursework or by research). The delivery manager on my last big project was an ex-diver. I've been chartered since 1998, but nobody in oil/gas has ever asked about it (I've held engineering positions up to lead engineer level), although it is in my CV. I have assumed in oil/gas it is of little significance as there may be a requirement to provide evidence of having a degree, but never a requirement to provide evidence of being chartered. The only instances where it has been important are when I've provided expert witness services in commercial disputes.

As an FYI, I'm chartered with Engineers Australia (so my post nominals are MIEAust CPEng) - they have, in my discipline, equivalence with ICE and IStrucE. I've never looked into if being a member of ICE or IStrucE is a form filling exercise or if there are additional requirements.

My masters degree was totally separate to the BEng. Different university. No coursework, research only. I didn't want to continue to a PhD as I thought I'd be considered too boffin-like at it would make it harder to get a job rather than more employable.

Offshore oil and gas is down the toilet at the moment, so I'm looking at other industries and there it seems a "masters" degree, which imho is just 4th year of a bachelors degree and chartership seem to be important.

Edited by creampuff on Wednesday 26th August 15:36