University rankings

Sameerah_05

Does it matter if I went to a university ranked lower than 100 for engineering.
Would it affect my job prospects

Reply 1

DataVenia

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by Sameerah_05

Does it matter if I went to a university ranked lower than 100 for engineering.
Would it affect my job prospects

One would hope so, otherwise why are so many students fighting tooth-and-nail to get into top-tier universities?

Engineering is a very broad term. Chemical engineering? Software Engineering? Mechanical Engineering? Or are we talking about General Engineering?

I can see that you've posted in the University of Manchester and University of Central Lancashire forums before. Manchester is rated highly for engineering, and UCLan is probably ranked around the 100-mark - so let's compare the graduate outcomes for students from these institutions. I'll use Mechanical Engineering BEng (Hons) for the comparison.

Six months after graduating, 67% of Manchester graduates are "employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial", with 52% being engineering professionals. By contrast, six months after graduating, 85% of UCLan graduates are "employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial", with 58% being engineering professionals. Hmmm, that's odd.

What about income? 1 year, 3 years and 5 years after graduating, those graduating from Manchester are earning on average, £27k, £33k and £38k respectively. The same numbers for those graduating from UCLan are £25k, £32k and £34k.

So, it really doesn't have the sort of impact you might expect. The source of the data above is The Uni Guide, here and here.

Reply 2

hotpud

Original post by Sameerah_05

Does it matter if I went to a university ranked lower than 100 for engineering.
Would it affect my job prospects

Matters not a hot as long as you have the skills to do the job you are applying for.

Reply 3

hotpud

Original post by DataVenia

One would hope so, otherwise why are so many students fighting tooth-and-nail to get into top-tier universities?

Many students have been hoodwinked effectively by a clever marketing campaign.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/sep/10/is-the-russell-group-still-relevant

Reply 4

DataVenia

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by hotpud

Many students have been hoodwinked effectively by a clever marketing campaign.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/sep/10/is-the-russell-group-still-relevant

The OP didn't mention the Russell Group; they referred simply to "rankings". I've never seen a ranking where membership of the Russell Group was one of the metrics used. Have you?

Reply 5

hotpud

Original post by DataVenia

The OP didn't mention the Russell Group; they referred simply to "rankings". I've never seen a ranking where membership of the Russell Group was one of the metrics used. Have you?

My comment remains the same. It doesn't matter if you go to the top 10 or bottom 10 universities, if you have the skills and can demonstrate them, you have a job.