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Bristol (mech eng) or Bath (IMEE)

Hello, I've got offers to study MENG mechanical engineering at Bristol and MENG Integrated mechanical and electrical engineering with placement year at Bath and I am struggling to choose between these two so pls help me decide.
I prefer the course at Bath as it I learn both disciplines of engineering and lots of coding too, but I wouldn't mind pure mechanical either.
I want to know which one will be better after graduation. I hear that mechanical engineering is saturated and electrical engineering isn't as much in the UK, so I am more inclined towards bath.
However, the course at Bristol is one of the best for mech eng in the country whereas Bath's IMEE is like an alternative offer people get after being rejected by pure mechanical engineering. Bristol also ranks much higher in international league tables compared to Bath.
I have no preference between the cities and just want to know about the job opportunities after graduating and which one will pay higher salaries.
Also, would a placement year at Bath be more beneficial than no placement year at Bristol?

edit: Also would like to hear about differences in the engineering facilities between the two universities
(edited 11 months ago)
Original post by squishy belly
Hello, I've got offers to study MENG mechanical engineering at Bristol and MENG Integrated mechanical and electrical engineering with placement year at Bath and I am struggling to choose between these two so pls help me decide.
I prefer the course at Bath as it I learn both disciplines of engineering and lots of coding too, but I wouldn't mind pure mechanical either.
I want to know which one will be better after graduation. I hear that mechanical engineering is saturated and electrical engineering isn't as much in the UK, so I am more inclined towards bath.
However, the course at Bristol is one of the best for mech eng in the country whereas Bath's IMEE is like an alternative offer people get after being rejected by pure mechanical engineering. Bristol also ranks much higher in international league tables compared to Bath.
I have no preference between the cities and just want to know about the job opportunities after graduating and which one will pay higher salaries.
Also, would a placement year at Bath be more beneficial than no placement year at Bristol?
edit: Also would like to hear about differences in the engineering facilities between the two universities

Both have excellent exit prospects, you can normally very easily switch between placement year or straight through once at university anyway. But yes a placement year is very helpful (for a few reasons) and something I recommend.

Id go with what you prefer to study straight mechanical or mechanical & electrical.

Learning a programming language which you can use for analytical modeling (such as python or matlab) will be very very useful. In a engineering career you are unlikely to do much software programming however modeling engineering problems is very worthwhile.

Im not sure mechanical engineering is saturated, it has some of the broadest and largest job prospects of almost any degree, including in highly skilled areas. This doesn’t detract from graduate entry jobs are very competitive. There is a huge number of graduates all applying for the all the large well known employers - however the vast majority fail to make a competitive application. However there are actually a huge number of opportunities the key is using your time at university to develop skills & experiences that build you into a strong candidate for roles you are interested in.

Reply 2

Would going to Bristol be better for working abroad since its ranked higher and more well known outside UK (RG and redbrick)? Or is it better to go Bath since I prefer their course + placement year. I feel like placement year would allow me to get better experiences but the uni isn't as well-known outside the UK.
Original post by squishy belly
Would going to Bristol be better for working abroad since its ranked higher and more well known outside UK (RG and redbrick)? Or is it better to go Bath since I prefer their course + placement year. I feel like placement year would allow me to get better experiences but the uni isn't as well-known outside the UK.
Whilst I would agree internationally more people know of Bristol (particularly due to their long list of Nobel laureates), this doesn’t change:

Bath is still very very reputable, and well respected

It misses what employers really care about: which is the individual, being a very capable person with strong technical abilities as well as excellent “business skills” such as communication, project management etc. (ensuring you have a track record & evidence will be far more important).

A placement year where you have a tangible impact will be of far more benefit to your graduate employability

Id also note im fairly confident Bristol would allow you to move onto a placement year (and you could confirm by emailing them), there is generally flexibility here between going straight through & going for a placement year

The bigger questions id ask is do i want to do mechanical & electrical or straight mechanical and where would I prefer to live

(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 4

If you'd rather go to Bath for the reasons you've outlined, then go to Bath.

Electrical engineering does have a more favourable ratio of jobs to graduates than mechanical these days. However, it's worth noting that integrated mechanical and electrical isn't the same as pure electrical, and as such might not afford the same range of job opportunities on the electrical side after graduation. From my understanding, which is limited, but based on the similar degree that my uni did, such degrees are mainly mechanical but with some extra electrical content in place of some of the more advanced mechanical topics.

A placement year helps quite a bit when it comes to securing a job after graduation. Not only does it add a lot to your CV, but the company the placement is with may also wish to give you a job offer too. However, placements aren't - and can't - be guaranteed.

Reply 5

Whilst I would agree internationally more people know of Bristol (particularly due to their long list of Nobel laureates), this doesn’t change:

Bath is still very very reputable, and well respected

It misses what employers really care about: which is the individual, being a very capable person with strong technical abilities as well as excellent “business skills” such as communication, project management etc. (ensuring you have a track record & evidence will be far more important).

A placement year where you have a tangible impact will be of far more benefit to your graduate employability

Id also note im fairly confident Bristol would allow you to move onto a placement year (and you could confirm by emailing them), there is generally flexibility here between going straight through & going for a placement year

The bigger questions id ask is do i want to do mechanical & electrical or straight mechanical and where would I prefer to live


Thank you for the reply. I just heard that Bath's placement scheme is better than Bristol's, and it's easier to secure a placement year at Bath.
I would prefer doing mechanical and electrical as I am interested in robotics, drones etc but I hear it doesn't go in depth to either mechanical or electrical. Would this be disadvantageous after graduation to find jobs from either sectors (mechanical or electrical)? I am also thinking of switching to electrical at uni if possible if this is the case.

Reply 6

Original post by Smack
If you'd rather go to Bath for the reasons you've outlined, then go to Bath.
Electrical engineering does have a more favourable ratio of jobs to graduates than mechanical these days. However, it's worth noting that integrated mechanical and electrical isn't the same as pure electrical, and as such might not afford the same range of job opportunities on the electrical side after graduation. From my understanding, which is limited, but based on the similar degree that my uni did, such degrees are mainly mechanical but with some extra electrical content in place of some of the more advanced mechanical topics.
A placement year helps quite a bit when it comes to securing a job after graduation. Not only does it add a lot to your CV, but the company the placement is with may also wish to give you a job offer too. However, placements aren't - and can't - be guaranteed.

Thank you for the reply. Bath's mechanical and electrical engineering seems to be from the electrical engineering department and when I looked at the course it seems that I can specialise in either in Year 3 and 4.
Original post by squishy belly
Thank you for the reply. I just heard that Bath's placement scheme is better than Bristol's, and it's easier to secure a placement year at Bath.
I would prefer doing mechanical and electrical as I am interested in robotics, drones etc but I hear it doesn't go in depth to either mechanical or electrical. Would this be disadvantageous after graduation to find jobs from either sectors (mechanical or electrical)? I am also thinking of switching to electrical at uni if possible if this is the case.

I don’t think any employers would interpret a reputation difference between Bristol & Bath, Bath might more pro actively encourage placements and make more recruitment advisers available (but i have no idea). Most of securing a placement is dependent on you and putting in effort to engage with employers & recruiting.

I don’t think an employer would mind if you studied mechanical or mechanical and electrical, what they will care about is your capabilities, passion for the field your applying for & knowledge. Which you can and should prepare for regardless.

Reply 8

Original post by squishy belly
Thank you for the reply. Bath's mechanical and electrical engineering seems to be from the electrical engineering department and when I looked at the course it seems that I can specialise in either in Year 3 and 4.

OK, if you can specialise in either at the end then that'll likely hold the same weight as other degrees that focus on one discipline.

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