Engineering Science - Respected?

KR2004

I'm starting a degree in Mechanical Engineering at Bristol this September, I was rejected by Oxford (where I applied to do Engineering Science).
Now, I've pretty much managed to control the Oxford-reject bitterness, although perhaps I would have quite enjoyed it if they'd sank in the boat race.
However, I've started to wonder if being rejected by Oxford may turn out better in the long run. I'm one of the thousands of people who go into engineering hoping to one day work in Formula One or some other kind of motorsport (I know that there are A LOT of other people who do engineering with the same career in mind and very few achieve it, but it's worth a try!)

My question is, how well would a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Bristol set me up for the kind of career I am interested in compared to Engineering Science at Oxford? Is Engineering Science well respected?
Or would I have just been doing an inferior course just so that I could say "I went to Oxford"?

In the poll, when I say "better" I mean for a career in motorsport, aerospace industry, automotive industry, etc. (An actual engineering career - not getting an engineering degree and then going off to be an accountant)

Reply 1

shiny

No harm either way.

Reply 2

[_Z_]

What exactly is engineering science... i only heard of it this year and have been trying to find out bout it....... what do u do after a BSc in engineering science??

Reply 3

shiny

[QUOTE='[_Z_]']What exactly is engineering science... i only heard of it this year and have been trying to find out bout it....... what do u do after a BSc in engineering science??
Eng Sci (as done at Oxford) means two years spent doing a mix of mechanical, civil and electrical and information engineering. Specialisation then occurs in the third and fourth years. It means you get a better insight into the different types of engineering before you choose for definite what you want to specialise in.

Reply 4

[_Z_]

so what is the advantage of doing eng.sci over other engineering?

Reply 5

Squishy

[QUOTE='[_Z_]']so what is the advantage of doing eng.sci over other engineering?

You get more breadth of subjects.

Reply 6

shiny

[QUOTE='[_Z_]']so what is the advantage of doing eng.sci over other engineering?
I found at uni that I completely suck at electronics but luckily I got to change. Not necessarily possible if you've committed yourself to a Electronic Eng only course. Plus, the multi-disciplinary training can have advantages, knowledge of structural mechanics has some important applications in some areas of microelectronics for example.

Reply 7

[_Z_]

what bout after uve done ur bachelors in eng.sci....... what can u do after that??.....i guess there are plenty of options....just curious....

Reply 8

[_Z_]

im going to start my first yr at uni.... doin comp eng...... so bit nervous.... and want to know if i am making the right choice... have a year to change to another type of engineering.. since first yr is a common yr......

Reply 9

shiny

[QUOTE='[_Z_]']what bout after uve done ur bachelors in eng.sci....... what can u do after that??.....i guess there are plenty of options....just curious....

im going to start my first yr at uni.... doin comp eng...... so bit nervous.... and want to know if i am making the right choice... have a year to change to another type of engineering.. since first yr is a common yr......

You have to specialise in something eventually so when you graduate from Eng Sci you are still either a electronic or mechanical or whatever graduate. It's just that unlike some others you get to choose a bit later :smile:

I don't think anyone can tell you whether you've made the right choice. However, if you have a common first year that could be a great asset if you do decide to change :smile: