Economics or Mechanical Engineering

I am in Y12 and looking to apply to uni soon, just I am caught up in what to apply for. I am currently really interested in economics, but also mechanical engineering, but can't decide which area to apply for. I need to chose one in order to write up my personal statement.
I am studying physics, maths and chemistry, which covers entry requirements for most courses in these two subjects I believe?

In terms of work experience, I have completed one week at a firm as a quantity surveyor, and I have an upcoming placement for a week in summer as an engineer at McLaren.

Which degree is best in terms of employability and pay.
Is it hard to get into banking/finance/investment with an engineering degree?

Thanks for any help in advance

Reply 1

Chris2892

16

Original post by lfjshelly

I am in Y12 and looking to apply to uni soon, just I am caught up in what to apply for. I am currently really interested in economics, but also mechanical engineering, but can't decide which area to apply for. I need to chose one in order to write up my personal statement.
I am studying physics, maths and chemistry, which covers entry requirements for most courses in these two subjects I believe?

In terms of work experience, I have completed one week at a firm as a quantity surveyor, and I have an upcoming placement for a week in summer as an engineer at McLaren.

Which degree is best in terms of employability and pay.
Is it hard to get into banking/finance/investment with an engineering degree?

Thanks for any help in advance

Just about every graduate job is entry level, where the best graduate schemes are competitive salary, but an entry level salary. You’ll stay on that salary for the rest of your life, in respect to cost of living increases, if you dislike your job and subsequently don’t perform well.

Pick a career path that you specifically find fulfilling and worth getting out of bed for over the next ~40 years of your working life.

(edited 9 months ago)

Reply 2

mnot

Universities Forum Helper

20

Original post by lfjshelly

I am in Y12 and looking to apply to uni soon, just I am caught up in what to apply for. I am currently really interested in economics, but also mechanical engineering, but can't decide which area to apply for. I need to chose one in order to write up my personal statement.
I am studying physics, maths and chemistry, which covers entry requirements for most courses in these two subjects I believe?

In terms of work experience, I have completed one week at a firm as a quantity surveyor, and I have an upcoming placement for a week in summer as an engineer at McLaren.

Which degree is best in terms of employability and pay.
Is it hard to get into banking/finance/investment with an engineering degree?

Thanks for any help in advance

Getting employed is very applicant dependent, a lot of students don’t invest time to understand recruitment & submit subpar applications and then wonder why it takes them a year to get a graduate level job offer, others make a good effort & investment and have opportunities & some students spend 3 years ensuring they have a strong background and are highly desirable and soak up offers.

it doesn’t really matter where you apply for a job, it’s more about understanding the requirements and what is expected then building a strong application. With economics there is always some people desperate to work in IB/PE/VC/HF if you pursue high finance you have to be very gritty & diligent and these are extremely competitive jobs & successful applicants often spend 3 years at university with their focus on landing an offer.

if we avoid the high finance industry id say job prospects & salary is probably better in engineering, and the jobs are more ring fenced as you need an engineering degree to apply. Whereas with finance jobs this is not the case (although if your an engineering student who goes to a bank for an interview they will expect you to understand financial services & technical knowledge, just wanting to make money will lead to a very fast rejection).

Reply 3

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

15

Original post by lfjshelly

I am in Y12 and looking to apply to uni soon, just I am caught up in what to apply for. I am currently really interested in economics, but also mechanical engineering, but can't decide which area to apply for. I need to chose one in order to write up my personal statement.
I am studying physics, maths and chemistry, which covers entry requirements for most courses in these two subjects I believe?

In terms of work experience, I have completed one week at a firm as a quantity surveyor, and I have an upcoming placement for a week in summer as an engineer at McLaren.

Which degree is best in terms of employability and pay.
Is it hard to get into banking/finance/investment with an engineering degree?

Thanks for any help in advance

Hi !
Just thought I'd pop in to answer some of your questions .I'm a second year Chemical Engineering student at Lancaster University.My advice would be to pick a course that you can see yourself working at in the long run .I know its easier said than done but looking at how you've got internships and placements in both ,I 'd say that would really help in the decision making as well .List out the pros and cons about it or what you like about econs and mechanical engineering and then see whats better suited .Its great that you're thinking of employability and pay ,but that shouldnt be the main decision factor as you will have to go through the course in uni ,if you really like what you're studying ,the rest follows such as it will be your own initiative and effort that will help make you a better candidate that will stand out .Hope this helps !

Yamini
LU FST Student Ambassador

Reply 4

lalexm

16

Original post by lfjshelly

I am in Y12 and looking to apply to uni soon, just I am caught up in what to apply for. I am currently really interested in economics, but also mechanical engineering, but can't decide which area to apply for. I need to chose one in order to write up my personal statement.
I am studying physics, maths and chemistry, which covers entry requirements for most courses in these two subjects I believe?

In terms of work experience, I have completed one week at a firm as a quantity surveyor, and I have an upcoming placement for a week in summer as an engineer at McLaren.

Which degree is best in terms of employability and pay.
Is it hard to get into banking/finance/investment with an engineering degree?

Thanks for any help in advance

Do the degree that you think you will enjoy more, and don't worry too much at this stage about what career you will end up in.

This might sound like odd advice, but most people end up in careers that are not related to their degrees, and the vast majority graduate jobs don't require specific degree subjects, so do the degree that you think you will prefer, which I'm guessing from your A-level choices and work experience will be engineering.

Reply 5

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

15

Original post by lfjshelly

I am in Y12 and looking to apply to uni soon, just I am caught up in what to apply for. I am currently really interested in economics, but also mechanical engineering, but can't decide which area to apply for. I need to chose one in order to write up my personal statement.
I am studying physics, maths and chemistry, which covers entry requirements for most courses in these two subjects I believe?

In terms of work experience, I have completed one week at a firm as a quantity surveyor, and I have an upcoming placement for a week in summer as an engineer at McLaren.

Which degree is best in terms of employability and pay.
Is it hard to get into banking/finance/investment with an engineering degree?

Thanks for any help in advance

Hi there,

I thought I could mention Natural Sciences as an option as I was also struggling to choose a single degree at sixth form and it ended up being perfect for me. I graduated with a Natural Sciences BSc last year and am studying a Mechanical Engineering MSc currently.

Natural Sciences degrees tend to vary by university, so it's definitely worth having a look around to see what course is right for you. At Lancaster, the degree is very flexible, you can choose 3 pathways out of a possible 21. The subjects range from chemistry, mechanical engineering, physics, maths, computer science, earth sciences, and more, so there are many different possible combinations! The complete list of different pathways is in the brochure which can be found here - https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/natural-sciences/ . You can also choose to study one of your pathways outside of the sciences. Economics is a popular choice for this, so it would be possible to study it alongside the mechanical engineering.

I have loved the degree, and have continued studying a Mechanical Engineering Masters since that ended up being my favourite subject of my Natural Sciences undergraduate (I also took Mathematics and Physical Geography). It gave me a lot more time to hone down onto the subject that I was passionate about and I tailored my course to that area throughout the degree. If you realised that the economics or engineering actually wasn't for you after first year, you could drop it going into second year and pick up modules in the other subject. There is also the option to drop into the single honours course if you have taken the core modules in your first year.

In terms of job prospects, it depends on the subjects that you choose as to what you go into, but 97% of Natural Sciences students from Lancaster are either in work or further study within 6 months of graduating. I have a graduate scheme lined up in the nuclear fusion industry. I found that being able to talk about the time management and skills gained from studying more than one subject in my degree helped me in the interview as it showed that I could apply myself to different types of work.

I'm not sure how easy it would be to move into finance with a pure mechanical engineering degree, however you would have key maths skills that would help. With a Natural Sciences degree, you could study Mechanical Engineering+Maths+Economics which would definitely give you a good mix of finance/engineering skills. Overall, I would say follow what you are passionate about as this will lead to you enjoying the course, doing better in your degree, and ultimately finding it easier to secure a job since you can show your passion for the industry.

Best of luck with your choices. I absolutely loved the degree and if you have any questions, just let me know!

- Bethan (Lancaster University Student Ambassador)

Reply 6

17sheltonl

2

thanks for all of your replies, much appreciated.

will take a look into a natural science course!

Economics or Mechanical Engineering

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