Is a year in placement for engineering really worth it?

I hold an offer from QMUL for BEng Mech Eng and i was thinking about switching it to BEng with 1 year industry but is it really worth it? I ask this because ik that experience is really important but you have to find the placement urself which might be a problem cuz what if u dont get employed? The job market is really bad atm and theres a lot of ppl struggling to get graduate jobs/internships/placements. I was thinking whats the point of paying a reduced tuition fee for not even getting to work. If I cant get a placement, can i just move onto the 3 year of course and get degree?

Reply 1

mnot

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Savesta

Yes a placement year is worth it.

Typically if you fail to receive an offer with an employer you just transition onto the ext year in your degree.

The main benefits of a placement year is:

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you learn what aspects of industry you enjoy & what you dislike (before applying for full time positions)

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You learn how to go through the professional recruitment processes, this is invaluable. You get one opportunity to launch a career, your first industry/employer/role will have significant impact on what other doors are open to you

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Helps give you case studies for future graduate interviews (this is again massively beneficial)

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Helps mature & build you, you’ll be toughened up & get projects with greater responsibility (and you’ll see the impact of things going well & badly) - generally makes people perform better in there final year

If you intend to be a professional engineer, it’s definitely worth pursuing. If you fail to get a placement: at least you learn about recruitment & have some lessons you can carry for graduate recruitment. You highlight the tough job market as a reason to avoid a placement, when this is more of a reason to do a placement (frankly for engineering I actually think the job market is in a better position then early 2020s).

Graduate jobs will always be competitive, especially for the opportunities people want, ultimately top employers choose the strongest candidates (which typically have internships before graduating).