Engineering gap year?

I am currently in year 12 studying the IB. Next year I'm looking to apply to General Engineering courses- maybe Oxford, Durham, Bristol, Exeter...
I'm considering doing a gap year in industry before starting my degree, however is this recommended? I know that employers like it, but how much experience do you really get if you haven't actually studied any engineering yet? Also, can you apply for deferred entry to just certain unis- for example the Bristol course includes a year in industry so I wouldn't do a gap year. I've also just done work experience with a company who have said that they would sponsor me to do a day release degree at a local uni whilst working for them, would this be a good option worth missing out on the uni life for?
Thanks for any help :]

Reply 1

Smack

Volunteer Team

Original post by Rubygk

It definitely is recommended to do a year in industry if you're considering taking a gap year.

How much actual engineering experience will you get? That depends on how willing and helpful the company are, and what exactly it is that they do. I could imagine you getting some hands on experience of some sort, if the company has a manufacturing plant, for example. Possible lots of drafting as well and some CAD. Maybe some HSE and quality too. But probably nothing extremely technical yet.

Reply 2

HugoDuchovny

Original post by Rubygk

If you apply to MEng degrees with Year in industry,
the year in industry has to be your 3rd Year.

So you study years 1,2 , work at industry in year 3, come back to study final year 4.

The term 'Year in industry' generally means you'll be doing real engineering work, involving certain concepts/theories/topics covered in your study years 1 and 2. Most companies also clearly stipulate in eligibility requirements "must be penultimate year/year 3 MEng student".

Working in industry for a year before starting your degree will not be considered as part of your degree.

Engineering at uni is fun, and I don't think it's worth missing out. Plus it can get pretty intensive and I think you'll struggle to maintain both a job and a full time degree.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 3

Folion

Original post by HugoDuchovny

I thought M.Eng with industry year went something like years 1, 2 and 3 in Uni, do a year placement then final year back at uni ie over a total of 5 years?

Isn't what you described B.Eng with industry year?

Reply 4

HugoDuchovny

Original post by Folion

I study at Manchester. Based my answer on the courses here.

The MEng with year in industry is 4 years here.

http://www.manchester.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/search2014/atoz/03849/chemical-engineering-with-industrial-experience-4-years-meng/course-details/

Reply 5

Folion

Original post by HugoDuchovny

Ah ok it obviously varies from place to place

eg

http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/mecheng/prospectiveug/courses/m_eng_ind

Reply 6

pheonix254

This isn't an easy one to answer - whilst work experience is definitely seen as a plus by employers, doing so without a background in the subject means you *may* get less out of it than someone in say their second or third year at university will.

Historically, Mathematical subjects, e.g. (Engineering and physics) don't regard a gap year as necessarily a good thing - your mathematical skills do degrade fairly rapidly if they're not used, and so people who have had a year out from A-Levels (or equivalent) may find it harder to keep up with the rapid rate at which you learn new maths in your 1st and 2nd years on most Engineering degrees.

That said, if you can find a company that will challenge you technically, then this will give you a very good head start into the degree - certainly in writing reports and understanding how concepts relate to the real world. However, in my company, we don't even take 1st years for summer internships except under very rare circumstances, due to the level they're at in general. I did a summer internship after my first year, and it was a far steeper learning curve than internships I did in subsequent years of my 4 year degree, and I didn't really get as much out of it due to my lack of general knowledge around the subject - of course you learn, and learn quickly, but the level of support needed may be more than an employer is willing to offer.

So it's down to you. I had classmates who had done industrial gap years prior to joining, and they reccommended it - they had some skills (and some money they'd earned - always useful as a student) already. However, post degree they were at the same level as the rest of us but a year older, and only marginally more employable than those of us who had spent a summer at a company.
The big plus is that it helps you realise whether or not the sector is one you wish to go into. An engineering degree is hard work, and if you've got some experience in it and know that it's what you fancy doing in life then it makes it miles easier to determine what to study at university.

Alternativley, do check out apprenticeships in engineering - they're a real alternative to a degree, and once completed you'll have far less debt to contend with (but you won't get the university life experience)

Kind Regards,

Stu Haynes, MEng