The Student Room Group

Where to begin? - I want to pursue Engineering (with a Psychology degree!)

Hi all,

Quick bit of background:
- I'm 24 years old
- I have a Psychology BSc (2:1) from a Russell Group uni, graduated in 2014
- A Levels - Biology (B), Geography (A), Psychology (B)
- Currently working in marketing for a very large company

I've had an interest in Engineering and mechanics from a very young age, often spending my spare time working on cars, fixing up bikes etc - I always wish I'd done Engineering in the first place. The reason I'm now looking into it more seriously now isn't because of the money (I have a bright future in my current company), but because I am becoming tired of the 9-5 desk work, and it's still early enough for me to pursue a hands-on career that thoroughly interests me. I don't want to look back in 30 years time wishing I'd given Engineering a shot.

So where now?

I currently have NO savings or money to put toward fees (car payments/rent isn't cheap!), and my A-levels aren't suitable for most Engineering degrees.

At this moment, it looks like I have only a couple of options open to me:
- Do my Maths & Physics A-Levels in the evenings, though I don't know where, how, or cost. I would then apply for a traditional MEng (4 year course) and do that part-time while I work alongside
- Do a foundation year, followed by a MEng
- Go straight into a part-time BEng degree course, doing my MEng further down the line.
- Do an apprenticeship
- RAF Apprenticeship (will I pass the medical??)

Right now I don't really know where to go from here, what qualifications I should be looking at doing, what funding is out there, what has the best prospects, full/part time, if my current BSc will count and so on.

I guess I'm looking for some advice or direction of where to go from here, and maybe past experience from someone who has done something similar.

Thanks in advance guys
You won't get direct access to a Engineering degree and since it is you second degree you will need to self fund 100%. No tuition fee loan and no maintenance loan, so its well over £10k upfront every year that you need to find.

Foundation year at most uni's is gonna be £9k as well so prehaps A levels are cheaper financially. But it will be a huge struggle for funding. If you want to join the RAF then that is possible or perhaps AET in the navy, but understand that you won't have get an Engineering degree out of it at most you will get enough credits for a foundation degree and after that you are on your own. Also bear in mind that all officer Engineering positions will be closed to you, so while most of your peers with degrees will be officers, you won't and it can lead to a frustrating life. Also the normal Armed forces funding won't be available once you have done your time since you already have a degree and you will only be eligible for enhance learning credits, which is about £1k/year, upto £3k in total.

If you want to do this I suggest you apply today since waiting times can be long, 1 or 2 year is not an exaggeration and you are under no commitment at all and the recruitment is drawn out enough to develop your fitness. Do you resereach into the roles and what qualifications you will get out of.
Open University might be worth looking at. The fees are less, you can fit it around work and you don't need prior qualifications.
Reply 3
Cheers for the replies both.

I've found a part-time engineering degree that I can do with my current qualifications here: https://www.shu.ac.uk/?sc_itemid=EF863A0A-CF7F-43DC-8B61-FB6F93724ADC

Do you think the above could be a good starting point?

The above might be worth considering, plus I found out that with engineering I will actually be eligible for a 24+ loan. It'd probably be worth doing my maths A-Level though. Is there any way to do this within a year part-time?

Also looking into the RAF, I agree with your points above and will put that on the back burner for now. cheers for the advice.

I've thought about Open University, but have a couple of reservations.
- Will the degree be considered as highly as a brick-and-mortar uni?
- Accreditation?
- Won't be as specialised
- No access to facilities
-Won't feel as 'committed'

Another possibility is training as a technician, perhaps automotive, with a view to become more specialised as I go.

Any help/guidance would be appreciated at this stage.
For students starting September 2015 or later there have been some changes to the ELQ rules meaning that you can get a tuition fee loan for part-time engineering, technology or computer science degrees even if you already have a degree.

Unfortunately you would not be eligible for a maintenance loan so you would need to cover your own living costs.

If you contact the university they will be able to tell you if the course you have linked to is eligible under the new rules (and of course if they will accept you with your current qualifications). Good luck :smile:
Reply 5
Original post by lauren1981
For students starting September 2015 or later there have been some changes to the ELQ rules meaning that you can get a tuition fee loan for part-time engineering, technology or computer science degrees even if you already have a degree.

Unfortunately you would not be eligible for a maintenance loan so you would need to cover your own living costs.

If you contact the university they will be able to tell you if the course you have linked to is eligible under the new rules (and of course if they will accept you with your current qualifications). Good luck :smile:

Sorry to hijack the thread but is there any more info on the new EQL rules that you can point me to because I am in a similar position as the thread starter. Thanks.
Original post by Andy13
Sorry to hijack the thread but is there any more info on the new EQL rules that you can point me to because I am in a similar position as the thread starter. Thanks.


http://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/media/1212/student_support_information_note_15_16_pt_elq_exceptions_january_2015_final.pdf

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