Engineering Degree - Advice - BEng

[planecrazy.eu]

Hey

This is a random place to ask this, but i know a few MechEng and AeroEng people visit this part of the forum, so thought i'd try pick there brains...

I am just about to go into YR2 MechEng (BEng) at a University thats around the 70 mark on league table...

I have been offered a 1st year place, for the same course, but at a University that is more mid teens on the league table...

So i am wondering if its better to get a degree from a better uni and cost myself a year, or stick where i am as the degree issuer doesnt matter?

I am looking at leaving at 27 with MEng at the moment, if i took another year i would be 28...

At the age of 27/8 am i still going to be able to get on these graduate schemes?

Thanks for any help/advice or for any wakeup/realism calls...

Be harsh if need be =)

[Rigga]

Good question requiring a good answer, however, I'm going to try and answer anyway!

What you need is a good result from your studies - not a mediocre result from a good college!

Don't get sucked into college snobbery - I don't believe people in the industry will require that. If they do? personally I'd ignore them!

If you are happy with your present surroundings why change? It can only add hassle to your studies and may effect your results. (Human Factors stuff - I believe!)

On the other hand, if you find you do not fit in well with your present surroundings and feel you may benefit from a move, go and do it. But mind what you wish for - you might get it!

I suppose what I'm saying is - do it from your personal perspective - not because of League Tables!

Hope this helps
Rigga

[Jimmy Macintosh]

I wouldn't base anything on the uni league tables. Bizarrely enough most of the jobs I applied to, one of the interviewers always seemed to have gone to the same Uni.

After my first year no one even asked where I got my degree just what it was in and what grade, even later on they just asked whether I have a degree and haven't been asked my grade for the past 5 years. I'm running on 11 years in the industry now.

The college, unless it can openly give you contacts really doesn't come into it, not one of the interviewers even hinted that the similar background gave me any advantage.

I would stay where you are if you're happy there and can get a good grade.

There's a great small company based in Bristol that will give you a world of experience in the industry. Might be worth approaching them now to see if you can get holiday work etc. (Stirling Dynamics)

[planecrazy.eu]

Thanks for that...

I think my problem is I have been offered a place at a Uni i always wanted to go to, but didnt have the grades. And i am just trying to figure out if dropping a year back is worth it...

Will give it some serious consideration...

My issues are, i am not 100% happy at my present place of study, issues with staff and the whole structure, and then the fact one Uni said their first year is about the same as the 2nd year i have just took...

I have to start back at year 2 where i am, as i failed an exam, and because of payment issues at my uni, i cant do any resits untill i pay them (thanks Student Loans)...

I love the way the adverts and press make Uni seems so affordable, the truth is, its just not...Well when you have a child it isnt anyway

Will look into doing some summer work...

Its kinda late now in the summer, so guessing that i will have little or no sucess at getting in anywhere, but i will try...

I am in Birmingham, not Bristol (Need to update profile) so find some place around here...

I started at Bristol UWE Uni a few years ago (foundation year) and can say it beats the One i moved too...

As someone said, becareful what you wish for... I wished my way out of Bristol, now wish i could be back there...

Any ideas on the age thing?

Is 27/8 too old? and if so, would i be better dropping a year for MEng?

[Genghis the Engineer]

First thing first, most employers are much more interested in your personal attributes than the league table position of your university. Don't lose sleep over that, it's really not very important.

However, if you really want to change university for any of a whole range of perfectly good reasons, then broadly speaking, most RAeS accredited courses in Aero-Eng, or IMechE accredited courses in MechEng follow a pretty similar structure. So, if you have a good pass at level 1 of most RAeS accredited courses, then there's a good chance of admission if you apply for it, to level 2 of another such course. Ditto, between MechEng courses.

But, this means you have to have passed, normally at at-least a C average. That you'll need to deal with. Can you not re-take just that one bad exam next year then transfer to the third year? Or work for a year and just attend/re-take that one class (hint, if you failed once, don't try to re-take without re-taking the classes if you possibly can!).

A few less standard, but still accredited courses, may be more difficult - but you can't lose anything by asking the question. The person to ask will be the department/course/subject area admissions tutor at the university you want to move to.

So, there's a good chance, if you ask the right question in the right way, that you might avoid losing a year and still be able to switch universities.


With regard to age; 27 or 28 doesn't matter. You'll graduate with well over 30 years career potential as a graduate Engineer, the difference is no loss - it'll just take a bit longer to pay the debt off! That's in terms of long term employability - if you have a child to support now of-course, I can see that it may be much more critical, but you'll know the situation better than anybody here can possibly guess.



There is one further option that you can consider - finish with a BEng then go elsewhere to do an MSc either immediately, after a year or two, or even part time (unlike the BEng, which pretty much has to be done in one go, there are reasonable options for postgraduate part time study). In terms of time and financial cost it'll be quite similar, both will adequately equip you to become a Chartered Engineer, and the MSc option looks (slightly) better on your CV. With a good (certainly a 2:1 and probably a 2:2) BEng pretty much every UK university will be happy to accept you for a relevant MSc course.

Finally, your profile says that you are an aspiring airline pilot. If this is true, why on earth do you feel the need to spend another year getting a Masters level qualification? BEng will do far more than you need to go onto getting an ATPL.

G

[planecrazy.eu]

Thanks for that...

Cant get a C1 medical, so now things are starting to seem more important...

I have neglected the last year at Uni, trying to do too many things at once, like study for ATPL exams, and attend interviews and assesments days when i should have been in class...

But now, I have taken my C1 twice, and its not looking good, always just fail the eye test, but only just, which adds to the frustration...

Anyway, have taken it all on what you all, and above said... All seems good and obvious logic...

I only have one question for above...

Why would and MSc look better of an MEng?

My situation is i need to go back to year 2 as iv messed up, and not having the option of a pilot career, i need to decide if its Aerospace or Aircraft Engineering i want to go into, fix or design...

Nice to know 28 isnt too old, even though all the 21 yr olds will make me feel pretty old...

I am going to go email and ring around a few Unis now to solve my problem...

Thanks

[NutLoose]

For what its worth the US ATPL has a lower eye standard for passing... I know one person that went that route after failing to secure a Commercial UK medical and Licence.

He now flys US commercial aircraft........ But this is out of my comfort zone so ask in one of the Pilots forums on here, they will steer you in the right direction if what I have said is correct, but I am 99% sure it is.

[Genghis the Engineer]

My sympathies on the class 1 - whilst I'm primarily an Engineer, I'd hate to hit something like that which impacted upon my flying. Although, as has been said, it's worth looking at the FAA licence (although it's little use for working in the UK).


Anyhow... The difference between an MEng and an MSc...

On a superficial level, you have two degrees rather than one.

On a deeper level: the difference between a BEng and an MEng is only limited extra technical content, most of the extra content is teamworking and management. That is no bad thing, particularly for people who want to go into management and generally MEng students are pretty good.

However, what an MSc offers is the potential (if you pick the right course) to specialise in something that particularly relates to the field you want to work in - and to learn that from the best people in the world in much smaller classes than most undergraduate courses. Also most MSc courses include a lengthy individual dissertation, at a much higher level than the BEng dissertation, which provides a good case to showcase your ability to function as an independent professional Engineer -that's no bad thing, used well.

That said, they're both good options - what you need to work out is the option that suits your long term career hopes best. For example, if your real passion is flying (which I can certainly relate to) then a flight mechanics related MSc such as Cranfield's Flight Dynamics offers a much improved potential to move into flight testing, similarly there are some excellent aircraft design courses, and so on.

G

[whiskeyflyer]

did my BEng(aero) and 16 years after graduating now doing my MEng part time. Maybe waited a bit long to do my MEng (but tyre rating coarses, pilots license, life etc take up time) but personnally I am glad I worked in industry and then went back to do MEng because (1) I know which subjects are of use/interest to me (2) lecturers respect me... I am working not a newbie out of class (3) I am more mature, I hope, so less panic on exams etc (4) I am doing it out of interest and not worrying about grades as I have a job (5) better access to data/contacts for assignments

For progression ensure you have some business studies under your belt and statistics at Masters level very helful

good luck (should be downloading data for my next assignment, but in pprune :) instead of working)

[drustsonoferp]

As has been said, don't lose sleep over which university your degree comes from - so long as your course is accredited.

If, however, you are already frustrated with your current place after only a year there, don't underestimate how much more frustrated you could get in the next 2 or 3 years, and how much that could sap your will to work as hard as you should.

Having a year setback is quite expensive, but if you can match it with being more satisfied with your surroundings and achievements it could be worth it.