Imperial Vs. Southampton for Aeronautical Engineering

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I think im missing something here. looking at how many posts there are on working in the financial sector-is it that common ofr engineers to be doing that? coz im hoping to strictly work in the aero dept. if that it kept in mind, would your advice change, or should i still go with imperial

Many people do engineering because they are good at maths and physics and want to apply it. They then graduate and discover the difference in salaries being offered in finance and engineering. They then go and do the job which offers the most money and end up in a boring finance job. I would say for working in the aero sector the opportunities would be about the same at both places. It just comes down to where you want to live, whether you want to pay the difference and where you feel you'd prefer to live for 3/4 years.

Reply 41

chaosdestro0

Original post by Gary Barlow

no, no, no. Do pick a Uni on employer prospects, do you people not watch the news. It's harsh times in the job market and worth sacrificing the 'uni experience' whatever that means, if it lands you a job in the future.

Put yourself in an employers shoes. 2 applicants, one from Southampton and one from Imperial. Providing degree grade/experience is the same they're going to pick the Imperial candidate. Also if you changed your mind, an engineering degree from Imperial would put you in excellent position for big paying jobs in the city, e.g investment banking.

Use your noodle.

If you had a look at the employment rates for both Universities you would see the difference is tiny!
I hate the elitist culture here on TSR, some people would probably kill me for picking SOTON over UCL but I just did not want to live in London, especially when my parents are over the threshold.
Both are fantastic Universities, it's not like comparing Aston ( no offence to Aston University) and Cambridge.

Reply 42

tooosh

Original post by Gary Barlow

Really? What if the Southampton grad having had a social life, is generally a nicer person to talk to in the interview and gets the job based on that? TSR seems to love saying that, "if everything was the same except the uni" blah blah, but that never happens in the real world as no two applicants are exactly the same. This is engineering, not finance. Prestige is secondary.
But regarding finance, you are right with your second point.

Reply 43

unr

Original post by vedderfan94

You shouldn't pick a university based solely on job prospects. Southampton has an excellent department so the difference is probably negligible when compared to Imperial. There is no point sticking it out at a university you may dislike just for the job prospects.

im not hating on an of the universities, especially based on the job prospects. all im asking is that whether the extra money im putting into imperial is solely for the name ad prestige. if its like what u stated above, where the 2 universities are almost the same, i dont see the point putting 40k into imperial. however, if imperial is going to land me a better job, i might be willing to pay the 40k as it might be covered up by the better job.

this said, one thing i have to say is that if im gna try and place myself within the top 5-10% of graduates, will the employer really care where i come from? will it matter if i study at soton or imperial if im gna be at that percentile?

Reply 44

unr

Original post by tooosh

that is a point to consider on the other hand. if soton has a really good education that is comparable to imperial's and the environment is much better...it would be possible that soton applicant would get the job. however, if everything was to be the same (just assuming :tongue:

) then what would be your take? if im going to be in the 5-10% of graduates, will the employer really care where i come from? if yes then is the 40k justified, because if not them i myt not be willing to pay 40k. if imperial is going to help me out and prepare me for the outer world, and give me a better education, i would go for that.

Reply 45

unr

Original post by chaosdestro0

yeah that is one of my arguments. if both universities are equally good, and both will land me equally good jobs in the aero sector, i want to understand why i should go for imperial when it is more expensive.

Reply 46

unr

Original post by Gary Barlow

is it the name of the university and the prestige that would land the imperial candidate the place, or the education? or is the name and prestige there due to the extremely good education?

imperial

Original post by Like_A_G6

okay. wow. new look at things for me. no im hoping to stick to the aero sector. if both the unis rank equally on that scale, i myt save up on the money

Reply 49

unr

Original post by nju

imperial

any reasoning?

Reply 50

Dirac Delta Function

Have you applied for any other European unis? I hear Delft is supposed to be very good for aero.

Reply 51

unr

Original post by Dirac Delta Function

Have you applied for any other European unis? I hear Delft is supposed to be very good for aero.

no i havent. i did apply to georgiatech in usa and got in, but ive decided to go to UK finally.

Reply 52

tooosh

Original post by unr

Everything will never be the same, this is fact so I wouldn't normally consider that situation. However, if I was an aero employer, I wouldn't discriminate but if you were applying for another job where you just needed a degree, not an aero/engineering degree, then the Imperial person would probably get it.
The £40k is not at all justified in your circumstances. It's a hell of a lot of money and you would hope Imperial would be a hell of a lot better, but in your field it isn't.

Reply 53

Gary Barlow

Original post by unr

is it the name of the university and the prestige that would land the imperial candidate the place, or the education? or is the name and prestige there due to the extremely good education?

I think it stems from the high standards within the selection criteria that prestigious uni's operate. Usually those with the best academic record and best personal statements go on to study at them. If an applicant has already met those high standards then chances are they'll meet those set by the employer.

You can argue that a southampton graduate with tons of experience would be better than an imperial graduate with none. But they'll probably just give the job to the other imperial/cambridge graduate who does have experience.

Reply 54

ICanHasHenny

Just a question, as I'm looking at both unis as potential choices. I've tried to get into an open day at Imperial College on the 28th June, however their aeronautics tour is full as anything

Anyone whose been to any of their open days before, are they that fussed about bookings, or can you ask to go on a tour on the day?

Cheers =]

Reply 55

GuitarMilesy

Original post by Like_A_G6

It is worth baring in mind that year on year Red Bull Racing and Williams F1 and sometimes McLaren do like to employ from Southampton uni because the students that graduate from here (they've found) are ideal for them.

This is pretty much true for most of the top tier engineering universities though - the aforementioned companies send out their internship advertisements out to a wide range of places and don't seem to have a lot of institutional preference once things get to interview stage.

The people I know doing McLaren internships this year are from a really broad range of unis - Imperial, Bath, Oxford Brookes, Birmingham etc, without an obvious bias. I'd say being focused and working like an absolute mother will far outweigh which of the two universities you choose :-)

Reply 56

Jamjar

It seems to me that OP should not be allowed to study in the UK as it is his declared intention to steal the scarce jobs that should go to more deserving UK born citizens. We don't need you and we don't want you here. :mad:

UK jobs for UK citizens.

Reply 57

Like_A_G6

Original post by Jamjar

UK jobs for UK citizens.

What if the op becomes a brilliant engineer and brings the UK aviation industry further into the spotlight? The benefits to the economy would be massive.

What makes someone born in the UK more deserving of a job than someone from abroad? Jobs should go to the best candidate for the job, irrespective to where they come from. Your reasoning makes no more sense than segregation based on skin colour.