This discussion is now closed.
Check out other Related discussions
- EPQ potential idea but need lots of help please lol thanks :)
- Which movies can make you cry or at least teary-eyed?
- Shouldn't Euthanasia be made freely available to all sick old people now? because
- Medical doctors working in the uk
- Which universities are targeted by employers?
- Sausage Dogs: yay or nay?
- Should I try cybersecurity or stick with pharmacy?
- Why do so many girls in Yr10 all of a sudden have red hair (literal)
- Euthanasia EPQ questionnaire
- Recommend a dog breed
- Quick question about research studies
- Should XL bully dogs be banned?
- Mental and physical health deteriorated completely, anywhere that can fix me?
- Qualifications Degree and Subject?
- Engineering
- British Youtubers are DYING/DEAD/DECEASED! 💀
- Electrical Engineering vs Computer engineering
- Should I pursue pharmacy and if so is it worth it in the uk?
- Space Engineering Discussion
- Why is engineering so badly paid in the UK
Are UK engineers a dying breed?
Scroll to see replies
ttx
Wages aren't low in India and China because the engineers need less money to live, they're low because the engineers aren't as good. Capitalism doesn't pay people by need, but rather by the scarcity of their talent.
But the market wage is determined by demand and supply, and the supply of labour is determined by the cost of living.
Apagg
Incorrect, there is imperfect mobility of labour
In the long run it will decrease, especially for good quality India/China engineers. Look at for example the H1B visa system in the USA. It will prolly be good for Britain as a whole, but we english engineers will suffer
Apagg
Incorrect, there is imperfect mobility of labour
You've obviously not been in the market for engineers recently. If you go to a grad recruitment fair at any of the top engineering unis in the world (across Europe/North America/Asia) you'll find exactly the same firms recruiting and paying the same wage.
At the top end of the market mobility isn't even a question. It's not like being a shop keeper where you have to be in a particular location to do your job, most engineering companies have dozens of R&D bases spread across the world anyway.
It's only at the bottom end of the market that you're having jobs exported for cost reasons.
ttx
You've obviously not been in the market for engineers recently. If you go to a grad recruitment fair at any of the top engineering unis in the world (across Europe/North America/Asia) you'll find exactly the same firms recruiting and paying the same wage.
At the top end of the market mobility isn't even a question. It's not like being a shop keeper where you have to be in a particular location to do your job, most engineering companies have dozens of R&D bases spread across the world anyway.
It's only at the bottom end of the market that you're having jobs exported for cost reasons.
At the top end of the market mobility isn't even a question. It's not like being a shop keeper where you have to be in a particular location to do your job, most engineering companies have dozens of R&D bases spread across the world anyway.
It's only at the bottom end of the market that you're having jobs exported for cost reasons.
You're saying there's never a location based premium?
And if there is the mobility you describe, UK engineers will lose out because they will want a higher wage relative to their Chinese and Indian counterparts.
I don't plan to stay in the UK once I graduate.
Barry Chuckle
I don't plan to stay in the UK once I graduate.
LoL, there are really many countries where you can go to work, you see? Unless you are proficient in the local language you are kind of doomed, it is engineering after all. US is not the best option for engineers, too. What do you have in mind if its not a secret
alexyfoot
LoL, there are really many countries where you can go to work, you see? Unless you are proficient in the local language you are kind of doomed, it is engineering after all. US is not the best option for engineers, too. What do you have in mind if its not a secret
What's wrong with the US for engineering jobs? (Civil Engineering specifically). All I know is, there is a critical shortage of civil engineers in the US.
They have some problems with accreditation for foreign universities students for engineering specifically. Tgere are also different rules for the different states which adds complexity to the evaluation of your degree. For example - just 3% of the engineers in the Aerospace and Railway industries are from foreign universities if I remember correctly. All these has an effect on Visa applications too. It is bad to start there. I think if once you start you might have a very successful career but it isnt easy to start in the US engineering market. And yes they have some shortage of engineers but that is valid for UK too as far as my knowledge goes 
alexyfoot
They have some problems with accreditation for foreign universities students for engineering specifically. Tgere are also different rules for the different states which adds complexity to the evaluation of your degree. For example - just 3% of the engineers in the Aerospace and Railway industries are from foreign universities if I remember correctly. All these has an effect on Visa applications too. It is bad to start there. I think if once you start you might have a very successful career but it isnt easy to start in the US engineering market. And yes they have some shortage of engineers but that is valid for UK too as far as my knowledge goes
They have a critical shortage of civil engineers.
perpluxed
They have a critical shortage of civil engineers.
As far as I am concerned, this thread is about engineers in general. Civils are like 1/5 of the total number of engineers if not even less so dont italic-size your words, ok? I will accept your comment although you didnt give any written evidence. Still, even if they have shortage, that doesnt automatically mean you can easily get a job there ... unfortunately, because the pay in US is good ;/
anyway...dying breed is not an appropriate estimation of the situation with UK engineers
eulerwaswrong
youd be surpised how many do that exact combination.
A-level Maths, FM, chem and phys are undoubtedly the best combination, good job for choosing those.
And me? IB higher level physics and standard level maths, along with 4 humanities and language subjects.
Although, looking through the K.A. stroud 6th edition 'engineering maths' book that I just received... year 1 engineering maths doesn't look particularly hard at all.
aegilia reghander
A-level Maths, FM, chem and phys are undoubtedly the best combination, good job for choosing those.
And me? IB higher level physics and standard level maths, along with 4 humanities and language subjects.
Although, looking through the K.A. stroud 6th edition 'engineering maths' book that I just received... year 1 engineering maths doesn't look particularly hard at all.
And me? IB higher level physics and standard level maths, along with 4 humanities and language subjects.
Although, looking through the K.A. stroud 6th edition 'engineering maths' book that I just received... year 1 engineering maths doesn't look particularly hard at all.
I found on my course it's not so much that the maths itself is difficult, but it's covered pretty rapidly (I think A level Maths and Further Maths were covered in one term, with no lectures - granted, most people had covered most of the material before) and it's not always spelled out for you. I've used a couple of different textbooks and the two Stroud books were really good for me - other texts will state something and expect it to be obvious where it came from. I'm not a natural mathematician by any stretch of the imagination so I really struggled when that happened. The important thing is to stay on top of maths - almost any other subject you can scrape through the exam then not worry about it too much, but maths is in every exam pretty much. I failed a year because I couldn't apply maths in an exam, even though I could understand the subject!
dynamic1
You need Maths, Physics, and often Chemistry and Further Maths to study Engineering, with less people studying them at A-Level and more studying Media, Psychology etc they are a dying breed.
not read the whole thread so not sure whats been said, but I am studying engineerin and i dont have any of these a-levels, instead i took an apprenticeship and got into uni based of work based experiance. More companies are struggling to find "hands on" engineers and are so taking on apprentice schemes; so in this sense it is still alive. This is other industries though such as airport services and aeronautical, Rail companies, Public sector (NHS for example) pharmaceuticals etc etc
However, as it has been said manufacture is generally goin abroad now, and I will be redundant by 2012 and dubious about decent engineering jobs in the area I live, am looking at emigrating.
The UK Government is a backward Joke. Where it looks to exploit you, and not Employ you
It's not just for Engineering, it's for any course.
Even Doctors are leaving the UK due to the lame opportunities and considering the virtual implosion of the NHS, if their not leaving the UK, their going Private.
The recession obviously has not helped, and the bureaucracy in this country is ridiculous.
You best of going somewhere in the Middle East where they get things done, and they won't treat you like some expendable tool like they do in the UK
It's not just for Engineering, it's for any course.
Even Doctors are leaving the UK due to the lame opportunities and considering the virtual implosion of the NHS, if their not leaving the UK, their going Private.
The recession obviously has not helped, and the bureaucracy in this country is ridiculous.
You best of going somewhere in the Middle East where they get things done, and they won't treat you like some expendable tool like they do in the UK
Crystal_sword
The UK Government is a backward Joke. Where it looks to exploit you, and not Employ you
It's not just for Engineering, it's for any course.
Even Doctors are leaving the UK due to the lame opportunities and considering the virtual implosion of the NHS, if their not leaving the UK, their going Private.
The recession obviously has not helped, and the bureaucracy in this country is ridiculous.
You best of going somewhere in the Middle East where they get things done, and they won't treat you like some expendable tool like they do in the UK
It's not just for Engineering, it's for any course.
Even Doctors are leaving the UK due to the lame opportunities and considering the virtual implosion of the NHS, if their not leaving the UK, their going Private.
The recession obviously has not helped, and the bureaucracy in this country is ridiculous.
You best of going somewhere in the Middle East where they get things done, and they won't treat you like some expendable tool like they do in the UK
You do know that clients from the UAE are notoriously difficult to work with right?
Peel
You do know that clients from the UAE are notoriously difficult to work with right?
why
Related discussions
- EPQ potential idea but need lots of help please lol thanks :)
- Which movies can make you cry or at least teary-eyed?
- Shouldn't Euthanasia be made freely available to all sick old people now? because
- Medical doctors working in the uk
- Which universities are targeted by employers?
- Sausage Dogs: yay or nay?
- Should I try cybersecurity or stick with pharmacy?
- Why do so many girls in Yr10 all of a sudden have red hair (literal)
- Euthanasia EPQ questionnaire
- Recommend a dog breed
- Quick question about research studies
- Should XL bully dogs be banned?
- Mental and physical health deteriorated completely, anywhere that can fix me?
- Qualifications Degree and Subject?
- Engineering
- British Youtubers are DYING/DEAD/DECEASED! 💀
- Electrical Engineering vs Computer engineering
- Should I pursue pharmacy and if so is it worth it in the uk?
- Space Engineering Discussion
- Why is engineering so badly paid in the UK
