If my dd wants to be a civil engineer. what subjects does she need at O'level?

That would depend on whether she gets to work on airports! She would have to work for a very large consulting practice to design them or a contractor to build them. My DH employs female engineers and no-one takes much notice these days. However they don't do so much site supervision - which is a more macho place!

DH did Engineering A level when it was considered the bees knees for aspiring Engineeers and was run in conjunction with Brunel University by his grammar school. I am going back 40 plus years though and it was pioneering then - not a dumbed down A level. That would not have been allowed in a grammar school. It worked well with Physics and Maths. They designed and built Engineering projects and were finalists in the young "Engineers of the Year" competition which was run by the The Times back then. this type of learning should still be valued today for this career. Practical, relevant and academic.

Maths is replaced by computer programmes in the real world but engineering design concepts still need to be mastered. However I believe the best engineers are born to do it. Go for it!

In 17 years of uni and consulting engineering, I've had so few negative comments I could count them on one hand.

The client that asked me if the increase in female engineers was a feminist plot got pretty short shrift from me. Not publicly. But he was bottom of my list for short notice favours for a LONG time...

I suspect that the OP's reaction to her dd wanting to be a civil engineer, is in part due to most people not actually knowing what a civil engineer is. With the Forth Bridge and flooding in the NW and North Yorkshire (and beyond...) this week, maybe that awareness will improve.

On my first day on site as a graduate Geotech eng I got "unusual job for a girl" from one of the earthworks contractors. "Not really", I said, "it's just an unusual job". "True enough" he said.

Even if women had not been successful, it does not make you strange to want to be one. With that attitude, it is any wonder women aren't encouraged to so what they want to. Very sad.

My DD is rather a strange one. She wants to be a civil engineer.

Why is it strange to want to be a Civil Engineer?

Some unis ie Bristol will give a lower offer if you have FM at A level for engineering, not sure if that covers construction engineering as well.

OP if she takes a GCSE in tech it will be a specific subject. At KS3 tech is often taught by schools under a blanket title for several subjects (the ones you list basically, with different names) but for GCSE she would need to pick (eg) food tech OR textiles OR DT resistant materials etc.

Science is taught now across the three subjects; if you do triple you will get a GCSE in each subject, if you do double you get two GCSEs in science; in both cases you have to study all three science subjects tho.

Good luck to your DD - engineering and science subjects really need more girls interested.

She sounds smart and not at all strange . Engineering is a great career for a woman, I wish her well

My brother did history GCSE as one of his choices, he like I did, chose a broad range of GCSEs, narrowed the focus at a-level and then chose degrees at uni and he went on the get a first in Mechanical Engineering, (I did architecture) - we both did maths, physics, DT and GEneral studies at a-level although I also did a GNVQ in manufacturing (everyone at my ctc did it as we had good links through the college sponsor)

If she prefers history to maths then engineering is not going to be a lot of fun for her
My ds loved history as well as maths and physics, its not exclusive. He is now doing a mechanical engineering degree. TBH i really dont think any of the unis he applied for were interested in his GCSEs.

Sorry - pressed "post" too quick. If she prefers history to maths then she should take history obviously - but maybe re-think the engineering.

Btw as she enjoys history is it ok to take that. Instead of the futher maths?

Hmmmm - I'm a bit less enthusiastic about the "history over f.maths" than everyone else.

Ok - universities won't penalise her for not having it at GCSE as so few schools do it. (I did a maths degree and don't have it.)

But....

Firstly - from what I've heard further maths GCSE makes the (really quite tough) jump from GCSE maths to A level maths much much easier.

And Secondly - saying you want to do Engineering is basically saying you want to do (applied) maths, (applied) Further maths and (applied) Extra Hard maths for the rest of your life. If she prefers history to maths then engineering is not going to be a lot of fun for her.

Decent schools have always made sure that DC are picking the right subjects at 14 to give them the options at A Level.

Christ, poor kids these days. The pressure they are under is horrific.

Firstly why is engineering an issue? Secondly, she needs Maths and Sciences, if she prefers history to further maths then she should absolutely take it. Many schools dot offer further maths at GCSE so a University would be unlikely to penalise based on that.

She may well change her mind many times before she's 18 so just tell her to rake a good spread of subjects that she enjoys and most importantly will be good at.

DH always feels there should be an Engineering A level these days.

There is an engineering A level but it is being phased out. It is not recommended for several reasons:

• The material covered is covered in the first half of the first semester of a university course in a much deeper way.
• It is not facilitating, i.e. university courses don't require it. (And in my experience most engineering courses didn't like it, i.e. they preferred other A levels.)
• It is not considered to have comparable difficulty to maths/physics.

As part of the changes to A level, the current Engineering A level is being replaced by a BTEC and the final exams will be next year or the year after (don't recall which).

Headstart also do special course to encourage girls.

I was going to mention Smallpeice Trust, too - do note the odd spelling of it.
Both my DCs went on their courses. My dd wanted to be a civil engineer, too, and did work experience with Taylor Woodrow on the new water treatment plant at Reading. As it happened, she worked there with a Chemical Engineer, so changed her interest, did Maths, Chemistry, Physics for A level, and now has a Masters in Chemistry.

I forgot to mention that some universities offer a year abroad to study. This can be done with a GCSE MFL but additional language work is done at the university to get up to speed. However it will be hard work if you are not a fairly natural linguist. Obviously the year abroad is taught in the language of where you go so a basic understanding is not good enough. I would say that for Civil Engineering only think about an MFL if you really want to settle in that country and work.

Dh is FICE, FiStructE, FIHE and CEng of course. GCSEs should be as broad as possible and allow for Maths (plus further Maths if possible) Physics and one other subject of interest at A level. Geography or Chemistry would be fine.

The main thing lots of people overlook in becoming a chartered engineer is the need to explain solutions to clients and give presentations (not to mention pitching for work and invoicing if you are a consultant). Therefore confidence in speaking to others with less knowledge is useful. There are Engineers who will specialise in one tiny aspect of engineering but others will have a much wider brief. There are fewer female structural engineers but women are, of course, welcomed in all aspects of Civil Engineering. Environmental Engineering is also another aspect to consider.

Degrees are broad based and universities vary as to what specialisms they offer in years 3/4 of the MEng course. DH always feels there should be an Engineering A level these days. He took this (yes he is Grandad age) and felt it was great preparation. He also took a pre Architectural qualification at A level stage but I guess this is also no longer available. The huge advantage of doing some practical study or summer school is that it really gets you involved with solving problems and you can "think" like an engineer before you embark on the degree.

There are lots of jobs available for Civil Engineers and it will always be a good career choice. In our house, it has been a very lucrative one too!

I really wouldnt bother taking German for the sake of engineering. If she wants to do an MFl chose a language she wants to learn, but you are not going to get to an level of usefullness at gcse. DH is an electronic engineer and worked over the world including at least a year of his life in germany ie multiple trips for weeks at a time and never needed German. The company he worked for was owned by a German who had another factory in Germany. DH was dyslexic and not allowed to take a language when he was at school.

Consider taking German if she would like to work abroad. Germany is a centre of excellence for Engineering and they are not always known for their strength of English. I know several engineers benefiting from knowing at least some German in their work (I am not saying it is a must, but might be an added advantage for an international career).