Wondering Whether to Do Mechanical Engineering
Discussion
Hi, I have been at college for a year now doing Carpentry and joinery. But if I dont find an apprenticeship I cant do the level three course. Employment is really hard to find at the moment and I have been unsuccessful for a year now in finding employment. So next year I was thinking of doing Mechanical Engineering, Would this be a good course to do?
If you enjoy hands on practical work then Mechanical Engineering is unlikely to be for you. As said above it is maths and more maths with a lot of theoretical stuff thrown in such as materials properties. Also look carefully I would have thought a better option would be Civil or M&E Civil stuff, take a good look at what sort of work you want to end up doing, hours in an office, working on site or in a workshop physically making and mending things.
I've never really wanted to do an office based job, but this year I have also been learning 2d computer aided design and next year i might carry that on in night class. At my local college there are 2 paths either mechanical or fabrication. I have also looked at civil and that does look quite good.
Are we talking mechanical design engineer here, or fitter or fabricator. The term engineer gets bandied around so much it can be hard to tell.
I can only tell you about being a mechanical engineer because i am one, i obviously work with fitters and fabricators but couldnt comment on their jobs.
90% of my time is spent in the office. There i'll be on 3d CAD on the computer, Stress analysis on the computer, doing hands calcs or admin type stuff such as requisitions
5% i'm in the workshop checking up on stuff, being told i'm rubbish that sort of thing
5% on site commissioning machines, there i actually get to do a bit of hands on
In a nutshell its satisfying getting to design things, bit like art but more usefull and cerebal. It can be a bit rubbish spending so much time in an office sat at a computer. monies not bad and depending where your based jobs can be quite easy to come by.
I can only tell you about being a mechanical engineer because i am one, i obviously work with fitters and fabricators but couldnt comment on their jobs.
90% of my time is spent in the office. There i'll be on 3d CAD on the computer, Stress analysis on the computer, doing hands calcs or admin type stuff such as requisitions
5% i'm in the workshop checking up on stuff, being told i'm rubbish that sort of thing
5% on site commissioning machines, there i actually get to do a bit of hands on
In a nutshell its satisfying getting to design things, bit like art but more usefull and cerebal. It can be a bit rubbish spending so much time in an office sat at a computer. monies not bad and depending where your based jobs can be quite easy to come by.
I did Mechanical Engineering at Uni and now........I'm a mechanical engineer! I did work for a very large water company and was just a faceless employee but I did enjoy bits of the work.
The problem is not usually the work, it's more the working atmosphere (plenty of old men wearing sandals waiting to retire) and the fact it will normally take a very long time before you can feel like you're a 'proper' engineer. Most of this is because there are a lot of things you won't understand unless you have experience. But having said that, you will soon learn that there are good and bad engineers. I still remember that one of the old CAD guys produced a CAD drawing by scaling a drawing I had made mostly in MS Paint and then filled in bits with either pencil or by sticking bits of paper over it. I had added dimensions but he ignored these and measured the dimensions with a ruler from my collage! This was for a £100 million project...
The pay when you are a faceless minion is not bad though (on average), and there is relative job security if you're good at what you do. The best thing I like about it now is that I go into lots of industrial sites and see how things are made. When I was a kid I used to take things apart to see how they worked, so it's the ideal job really.
The problem is not usually the work, it's more the working atmosphere (plenty of old men wearing sandals waiting to retire) and the fact it will normally take a very long time before you can feel like you're a 'proper' engineer. Most of this is because there are a lot of things you won't understand unless you have experience. But having said that, you will soon learn that there are good and bad engineers. I still remember that one of the old CAD guys produced a CAD drawing by scaling a drawing I had made mostly in MS Paint and then filled in bits with either pencil or by sticking bits of paper over it. I had added dimensions but he ignored these and measured the dimensions with a ruler from my collage! This was for a £100 million project...
The pay when you are a faceless minion is not bad though (on average), and there is relative job security if you're good at what you do. The best thing I like about it now is that I go into lots of industrial sites and see how things are made. When I was a kid I used to take things apart to see how they worked, so it's the ideal job really.
musclecarmad said:
NoelWatson said:
All of my friends that did Engineering at Uni are now doing something different - it just doesn't pay well in this country
agree with noelNoelWatson said:
matt12023 said:
Depends you definition of well really,
Something that makes it worthwhile doing a difficult degree when you could be doing something a lot easier and spending more time doing student things. However, I was chatting to a freind of mine who lives with someone (they are soon to be grads) who has done this degree (albeit at a good uni, and he is a smart chap), he has a few offers on the table from various banks, not sure exactly what field, but its investment banks rather than Nationwide and Abbey National. So this would indicate that the maths and other aspects of the course could be useful for all manner of careers?
However I feel your pain in regards to employment after doing a hands on course, for my sins I attended the woeful Basingstoke tech college when I was 18 to do an electrical installation course, despite being by far the brightest spark (
) there along with another chap (both on paper and in conversation) me nor him could find anyone to take us on for love nor money, and boy we tried. I searched far and wide, it was very diffucult and really got no result. I was dropped from the southern electric proccess at the last minute for seemingly no reason, that was the final straw for me. And all the other kids in my classs (having come from a fairly manual labour background) had family in the trades and all got jobs that way. So from what I saw it was a case of who you know, rather than what.I now work in sales, and the other chap works for AWE, so its worked out ok, but it was very hard and I wasted a year of my life.
NoelWatson said:
All of my friends that did Engineering at Uni are now doing something different - it just doesn't pay well in this country
As with many jobs, if your happy to just ride along in an easyish job all your life then, yes, engineering isn't the best paying profession. But, as with all other things in life, if you've got a bit of ambition and drive then you can easily earn yourself very decent money. My only qualifications are in engineering, yet I am mid 20s and I am able to live to a very good standard, easily comparable to a Doctor/Solicitor etc.... If engineering is what you want to do and, most importantly, you enjoy it then go for it.
NightDriver said:
NoelWatson said:
All of my friends that did Engineering at Uni are now doing something different - it just doesn't pay well in this country
As with many jobs, if your happy to just ride along in an easyish job all your life then, yes, engineering isn't the best paying profession. But, as with all other things in life, if you've got a bit of ambition and drive then you can easily earn yourself very decent money. My only qualifications are in engineering, yet I am mid 20s and I am able to live to a very good standard, easily comparable to a Doctor/Solicitor etc.... If engineering is what you want to do and, most importantly, you enjoy it then go for it.
What you say is correct, though
NightDriver said:
But, as with all other things in life, if you've got a bit of ambition and drive then you can easily earn yourself very decent money.
I guess it depends on what you class as decent. I remember when I was at Rolls making around 18k, very senior people that had been there for years were making 40ish. I realised then that Engineering wasn't the way forward. Maybe pay has improved since I left, or maybe Rolls pay was crap.My point is this, anyone that can do an Engineering (grad) job has a good chance of getting a job in another industry where they can earn multiples of what they were previously.
Hi sorry for the late reply. I have been researching the engineering industry and it does look good if you can get a job working for rolls royce or maybe a big car firm like toyota. I am also thinking about the Navy or the RAF. Or maybe if I carry on 3d cad next year im really not sure.
Tomm1992 said:
Hi sorry for the late reply. I have been researching the engineering industry and it does look good if you can get a job working for rolls royce or maybe a big car firm like toyota. I am also thinking about the Navy or the RAF. Or maybe if I carry on 3d cad next year im really not sure.
He didn't name drop Rolls for that reason The point he was making is, working for arugably the most prestige car brand there is paid peanuts, and he earns far more than he ever could at Rolls using his skills in another sector. Depends what drives you, I guess.
zollburgers said:
The problem is not usually the work, it's more the working atmosphere (plenty of old men wearing sandals waiting to retire) and the fact it will normally take a very long time before you can feel like you're a 'proper' engineer. Most of this is because there are a lot of things you won't understand unless you have experience. But having said that, you will soon learn that there are good and bad engineers. I still remember that one of the old CAD guys produced a CAD drawing by scaling a drawing I had made mostly in MS Paint and then filled in bits with either pencil or by sticking bits of paper over it. I had added dimensions but he ignored these and measured the dimensions with a ruler from my collage! This was for a £100 million project...
I'd like to add that not all places are like this. The design department where I work consists almost exclusively of people in their 20s and 30s and our drawing release procedure is almost irritatingly scrupulous.As usual these threads tend to be a whinge about how engineers aren't paid enough but all this does is make us look like miserable b
ds. If the OP wants to get into Mechanical Engineering because they think they'd enjoy it then I'd highly recommend it. There are a near infinite number of subtly different roles to someone with decent qualifications and despite what we constantly hear, there's still plenty of manufacturing going on in the UK.okgo said:
I'm glad you added the Exige to your profile ten minutes ago, to add weight to the above
What you say is correct, though
I only picked it up today What you say is correct, though
, bit of a winter time bargain as it goes! Although it was an 'interesting' drive back with it, not much grip around at this time of year!NoelWatson said:
I guess it depends on what you class as decent. I remember when I was at Rolls making around 18k, very senior people that had been there for years were making 40ish. I realised then that Engineering wasn't the way forward. Maybe pay has improved since I left, or maybe Rolls pay was crap.
My point is this, anyone that can do an Engineering (grad) job has a good chance of getting a job in another industry where they can earn multiples of what they were previously.
Stuck in a big company like Rolls then the salaries will always be lower than you could get on your own, or consulting etc. Big companies simply see engineers as a resource overhead, an overhead which you want to minimise the cost of. If you stay working for a big company like that all your life then I doubt you'll ever reach the bigger salaries, but staying in the same company all your life isn't particularly ambitious.. If you've got a bit of ambition and don't mind a bit of risk taking then there's massive potential in the UK for engineers to exploit niche areas and make very good money. All the engineers I've met who moan about poor salaries etc are typically the ones who work for large companies and are happy just plodding along working 9-5 leaving on the dot and just 'getting on'. My point is this, anyone that can do an Engineering (grad) job has a good chance of getting a job in another industry where they can earn multiples of what they were previously.
IMO, if good engineers were to put the same effort into there current careers as would be required to switch careers, then they would probably find far greater rewards.
You dont always have to go to uni, I didnt go, I did a OPITO offshore apprenticeship that involved two years at college doing (1st year) NC Multi Dis Engineering and the (2nd) HNC mechanical Engineering. Then another two years offshore as a apprentice mechanical tech, once your time is out you would be on good money easy 50k - 60k plus, and you work 2 on 3 off. Also you got paid to go to college to, not much but it paid the drink!
Your fixing stuff like Pumps / Motors / Turbines / Diesel Engines/ valves loads of different stuff.
This would give you the hands on side of things then you could work towards an onshore engineers job and probably have the edge over the guys who went through Uni, plus you wouldnt be in debt when you came out your time like most of the students that finish uni and you would be more than likely get a job at the end of it.
Your fixing stuff like Pumps / Motors / Turbines / Diesel Engines/ valves loads of different stuff.
This would give you the hands on side of things then you could work towards an onshore engineers job and probably have the edge over the guys who went through Uni, plus you wouldnt be in debt when you came out your time like most of the students that finish uni and you would be more than likely get a job at the end of it.
Edited by CHAPS100 on Tuesday 29th December 19:17
Edited by CHAPS100 on Tuesday 29th December 19:17
cymtriks said:
NoelWatson said:
My point is this, anyone that can do an Engineering (grad) job has a good chance of getting a job in another industry where they can earn multiples of what they were previously.
Ok, I'll bite.What jobs and how much more for a practising engineer making a job change.
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