How important is University rep for Engineering?

As long as it's accredited by the relevant boards then it doesn't really matter .

Hey, how's UCL?

It's good thanks!
Lots of work
I should be studying now but procrastination strikes again

Mind if I PM you?

As long as it's accredited by the relevant boards then it doesn't really matter .

How much do you think reputation matters? I have looked at the guardian and times' guides but the only difference I can see is jobs within 6 months, which isn't really good to base opinions on, as 6 months is nothing compared to working for 25+ years!

Well I guess things like that could be said about many degrees, but would say a Southampton Grad have more weight in an interview than a school not even in the top 40?

It's completely irrelevant. Engineering is about what you've done and how well you did it. After your first job your university won't even be on your CV, let alone after 25 years!

I wouldn't say it is completely irrelevant, but I agree with your general point. Uni reputation in the eng industry is less important than it is for other careers, to the point that it is almost not worth thinking about.

As a graduate you may not have a very detailed CV so an average degree from a good uni will appear more respectable than an average degree from a poor university (some could argue that the poorer uni has lower standards for its exams, coursework, and grading) - since the CV is going to be bare. However a really good engineering degree (a 1st with strong dissertation) is always respected no matter what uni it is from.

I've encountered some strange bias though in the industry. Some managers actually prefer lesser rated unis as they tend to attract more down to earth students as opposed to highly academic boffins (e.g. grads from Imperial, Oxbridge) who can't apply theory to the real world. A gross generalisation of course, but you might encounter this attitude amongst some professionals. And then there is the counter-argument from massive engineering recruiters that prefer grads from top unis - I think they think like this because they are desperate for ways to whittle down all the applications for jobs.

But overall, reputation is really not worth thinking about. Work hard, get a 1st. That'll impress your future employer. And as Smack said: after your first job it doesn't matter anyway.

Good post I'd add that the larger companies you mentioned are generally the ones who get the top projects and like you said they usually have a preference for some unis, eg. Arup has a crap load of cambridge and imperial grads

Yup, but I think a lot of students and grads over-focus on the big engineering corporations and the associated structured grad training schemes (which no doubt are very competitive so reputation of uni is more important here).

There are so many other avenues into the industry as I found out - my first engineering job after uni was given to me by the company I started temping for (in their warehouse). They didn't really care about my university, but they were happy to see I had a strong degree and that I was a reliable person for them as a temp. Funnily enough, soon after I was recruited into a proper grad training scheme by an international company and even they didn't bat an eyelid that my degree was from a redbrick uni.

Sure, the large engineering companies get the glamorous projects but as an engineering employee (unless you become a project manager) you will probably only work on a very small part of this project, so it wouldn't be much different from working on a smaller scale project for a smaller company.

There are exceptions of course but my point is - reputation of uni is really, really unimportant.

I think it does help kick start your career a lot though.

Yes, perhaps simpy physically being at a certain university puts you in touch with better contacts and companies. But then again, raw talent and proven experience* piss all over univeristy reputation in terms of helping you find work.

*I mean stuff like personal engineering projects, having hands on experience (e.g. vehicle mechanics, building things), doing freelance work whilst you study...all of which I've seen students do before they graduated, before they even had placements too.