how hard is it to get engineering job

If I go to a Russel group Uni and get a 2:1 in mecahincal engineering or any type of engineering, how hard will it be to find an engineering job within 6 months? I don't care about getting a job in finance or any of those 'transferable skills' because I only want to do an engineering degree for an engineering job. Can someone please clarify the job market for engineering?
Thanks

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Reply 1

jray204

Original post by Student King

Depends on the job and company, but for a general engineering job it should be fairly easy provided you know where to look.

Reply 2

swelshie

It's pretty rough at entry level and early career (<5 years experience). There is no demand for graduate engineers in the UK and there are consistently triple figures of qualified applicants applying to each entry level position.

Those "lucky" enough to be in the 35% or so of engineering grads who go on to secure a graduate role in engineering are treated to an average starting salary of £25k. From there you may also see your salary stagnate if the company you are with chooses not to increase your salary in line with inflation (because what are you gonna do- go apply alongside the hundreds of people queuing up to get that market rate job?). You need to be prepared to uproot your life every 2-3 years to see your salary increase a few % above inflation, which is really unheard of in other professions imo making engineering a really poor choice in the UK sadly.

It's possible to start in the £27-£29k bracket for grad scheme roles, and perhaps see that salary keep pace with the market rate from there, but these are only a small subset of outcomes for today's grads.

I'm thinking a lot of engineering grads will regret the choice and feel misled about their prospects.

Reply 3

Other_Owl

From responses here, your better off doing an apprenticeship. The application are open now. So you better start applying ASAP.

Reply 4

trapking

Original post by Student King

Save yourself the pain and dont get into engineering. Its a dead career and the jobs are dead too, literally.

Reply 5

aadil10

I completed my MEng Civil Engineering in July, had a 2:1 from a Russel Group Uni and plenty of extra curricular etc. It took me 9-10 months of applications to land a grad role, albeit one at a top company. Like others have said, there is a huge demand for experienced engineers in the UK, but very little demand for engineering graduates. You'll be competing with 20-30 others who have the same qualifications, for maybe 1 or 2 roles in the company. It's incredibly difficult and during my year of applying it felt like a massive regret. Yet on the flip side, as soon as I landed my role it was by far the best decision I ever made. If you're dead set on a role in engineering then go for it, I think most grads land a role eventually, it just may take longer than you expect.

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 6

Student King

Thanks for the useful replies

Reply 7

Muttley79

Original post by Student King

RG is totally unimportant for Engineering - it's far more important to have a year in industry as part of the course. The newer unis often make you more employable as an Engineer.

Reply 8

Muttley79

Original post by Student King

Thanks for the useful replies

The other responses have proved my point - most of my ex-students have got Engineering roles within six months of graduating. They had experirence and had studied an up-to-date degree.

Reply 9

h.h.

Original post by aadil10

Hi, I've seen a few of your post regarding being and engineer graduate and was wondering if you could give me some advice.
I'm currently in year 13 and going to uni next year I've applied to 4 universities for civil engineering and 1 for computer science. I currently hold two offers one for civil engineering and 1 for computer science both from the university of Birmingham still waiting to hear from other unis (Bristol, ucl and Warwick). Seeing some of the posts regarding how hard it is to get a job with an engineering degree or how some salaries are not the best (which makes me a bit scared for the future) should I go into computer science instead ?
The only thing which makes a bit scared going into computer science is that I dont have previous coding experience. But the only requirement for computer science is maths.

(I only applied to computer science just in case I changed my mind)

Many thanks

Reply 10

MikeCl_Gla

Getting a job in the engineering sector is tougher than you think. This is because the industrial age is long gone (my opinion). You have to complete a number of internships/ apprenticeships before winning a good job.

Reply 11

aadil10

Original post by h.h.

Honestly that is the million dollar question for anyone thinking of doing engineering. Is it worth it when you could go into finance and earn better money with less stress, or computer science where you're probably guaranteed a job from the skills you'll develop. In my opinion it really is a matter of doing what you enjoy/think you will enjoy. I absolutely loved studying civ eng and know that doing computer science would have been a big struggle for me. From experience, people who didn't enjoy engineering pretty much figured it out within a few months of studying their degree and switched to something else. It's hard to imagine how the job market will be in 4-5 years time, as when I was applying to uni the one thing I kept hearing was "there's a huge shortage of engineers in the UK" yet after graduating I realised that there's in fact an excess of engineering grads here.

Ultimately though, no matter which option you choose, you're going to develop a very useful skillset and analytical mindset that would make you a strong candidate for a range of jobs. Don't try to predict and plan out your whole career now, it's impossible.

Reply 12

Muttley79

Original post by trapking

Save yourself the pain and dont get into engineering. Its a dead career and the jobs are dead too, literally.

What utter rubbish - many of my ex-students are thoroughy enjoy their roles in different braches of Engineering.

Reply 13

Original3000

Original post by trapking

Save yourself the pain and dont get into engineering. Its a dead career and the jobs are dead too, literally.

What made you expect in this field?

Is not a dead career its rather opposite

I will say work on getting experience and apprenticeship and you will land a job eventually.

Reply 14

trapking

Original post by Muttley79

What utter rubbish - many of my ex-students are thoroughy enjoy their roles in different braches of Engineering.

Its not but okay. Never seen a career so dry and boring.

Reply 15

trapking

Original post by Original3000

What made you expect in this field?

Is not a dead career its rather opposite

I will say work on getting experience and apprenticeship and you will land a job eventually.

Im an engineer (thats leaving the field soon).

Reply 16

Muttley79

Original post by trapking

Its not but okay. Never seen a career so dry and boring.

You are in the wrong company then

Reply 17

h.h.

Original post by trapking

Im an engineer (thats leaving the field soon).

would you say cs or finance are a better field in your opinion?

Reply 18

trapking

Original post by h.h.

would you say cs or finance are a better field in your opinion?

Stuff like software engineering/IT is the future although I cant say they are better as i havent worked in those fields personally (I can only speak for engineering).

Plenty of my friends have realised engineering aint it as a career, you have to be a certain type of personality to put up with it. Its dry and boring and really I cant wait till i leave in all honesty.

Reply 19

h.h.

Original post by trapking

In what field are you going next?

And could you give me some advice if possible

I'm currently in year 13 and going to uni next year I've applied to 4 universities for civil engineering and 1 for computer science. I currently hold two offers one for civil engineering and 1 for computer science both from the university of Birmingham still waiting to hear from other unis (Bristol, ucl and Warwick). Seeing some of the posts regarding how hard it is to get a job with an engineering degree or how some salaries are not the best (which makes me a bit scared for the future) should I go into computer science instead ?
The only thing which makes a bit scared going into computer science is that I dont have previous coding experience. But the only requirement for computer science is maths.

(I only applied to computer science just in case I changed my mind)

Many thanks