MEng or BEng/ MSC do employers have a preference?

[Tr3hern3]

Just that.

Depends on the role. What really matters is getting/ working towards chartered engineer status.

The MSc route can give you more of a specialisation (I did mine after working for 2 years so I knew what interested me most), but you might find the MEng funding / fees more straightforward and manageable.

For engineering? Definitely MEng or BEng. MSc would be last choice and would have to be exceptional and have a few years experience. For context I employ engineers.

I would also ensure the university course is registered with the appropriate engineering body.

@Miliao

For engineering? Definitely MEng or BEng. MSc would be last choice and would have to be exceptional and have a few years experience. For context I employ engineers.

This, assuming the course is accredited with the appropriate professional institution. Ultimately, it’s CEng that counts.

It’s much harder to get CEng without the Masters level qualification, either via the MEng or MSc route.

MSc certainly would not be the last route.

Arguably, the MSc (post graduate) qualification is a higher level than the MEng (under graduate) qualification as it is a higher number of credits as the course is over a full calendar year rather than an academic year.

For context, I have been chartered post MSc for the last 30 years.

It depends on the course. There's a very specialist MSc in my field at Imperial and I'm sure I heard some employers are offering to sponsor BEng students or get them to transfer for the 4th year. The MEng students share a few of the modules but it's nothing like as in depth.

There's nothing to stop a person doing an MSc later in career, I did mine after becoming chartered because I wanted the specialist training.

My MSc shared a couple of modules with the BEng course. They pretty much hated those modules, which I guess is why the industry needs those of us that has a passion for them.

BEng takes much longer these days to get Chartered. Many BEnc grads stop at being Incorporated Engineers. When DH did his BEng there was no such thing as undergrad MEng. All post grad training was largely done with an employer. DH was chartered at 24. Probably impossible now. He was fast tracked but most were qualified by 26/27. Very few did Masters. Not even first class degree holders. If wasn’t necessary. You found your specialism by being good at something. You didn’t have to decide at university.

MEng is the easiest way to get chartered. Doing a masters is vital though. No wrong I’d right way but lots of people don’t want to specialise too early. Academics do though.

DH has employed grad engineers in a consultancy for 40 years. They take a mix. They don’t see many MSc people applying. But they are not niche consultants.

but you might find the MEng funding / fees more straightforward and manageable.

This is an important practical point. The MEng is an integrated four year undergraduate degree so it's just the normal undergrad loan. MScs are a postgrad degree which need another loan, and I believe they then have to be repaid concurrently so they are much more expensive. (I don't know there are any MScs fully funded by grants nowadays.)
So nowadays it seems very much the norm for home students to do the MEng, with a high proportion of MSc students being from overseas 'topping up' their bachelors.

I would suggest a lot of BEng holders don’t do a MSc these days either. They stick at the incorporated engineer route. The people who become Chartered within a relatively short space of time (a few years) are MEng grads.

I don’t know how many larger employers look for both qualifications. Smaller employers are flexible. But I would look at possible employers and see who they ask for and recruit.

@Tr3hern3, I do hope your DS doesn't go off the idea of an Engineering degree, after you have started all these threads in the pursuit of relevant knowledge. I spent ages getting into the where / how / anything else going on Architecture (as an academic / career pursuit; I already had a general interest in the built environment) as DS2 for a couple of years was apparently determined to become an architect.

He's just started at university - studying History of Art.

Yes, to clarify
Vast majority of engineering undergraduates going in with good A levels will do an MEng.
BEng would be for lower entry requirements, or people coming through apprentice route who study part time for BEng.
MSc is probably more about adding a niche skill later in career, don't worry about that for now.
Were you the year in industry question too? That's also good but not a show stopper either way.

MSc can also be used for Science graduates to move into engineering.

The difficulty comes when Sheffield want AAA for their BEng. That’s higher than some want for MEng. It’s actually quite difficult to know what to do in that scenario.

My husband is a partner in a medium sized engineering consultancy. His take is that his first choice would be people with MEng, and that for progression to more senior roles, chartership with the relevant institution is necessary in the longer term. But depending on someone's CV and experience/interests, having a different route into work might not always be a barrier!

Well for Sheffield it's the same AAA for BEng/MEng, just offers a 3 year course as an alternative for people who want a Bachelor degree I guess. The courses will probably be identical for the first two years.

DH is a senior engineer for an engineering consultancy and says he prefers to hire BEng (or MEng) + MSC for all specialist and advisory roles. MEng by itself is only really ok for grad scheme entry or management roles.

Well grads have to be on a graduate entry scheme to get chartered or incorporated. They cannot do it all by themselves?

When files are filled at a more advanced level, work and experience are taken into account. However very senior positions in consultancies usually requires chartered status. It’s a bit like seeing a consultant doctor. Would you expect the nurse to do the operation? No. You want the highly qualified doctor. Chartered engineers are the same and take as long to train!

files? Roles..

@TizerorFizz

Well grads have to be on a graduate entry scheme to get chartered or incorporated. They cannot do it all by themselves?

When files are filled at a more advanced level, work and experience are taken into account. However very senior positions in consultancies usually requires chartered status. It’s a bit like seeing a consultant doctor. Would you expect the nurse to do the operation? No. You want the highly qualified doctor. Chartered engineers are the same and take as long to train!

I showed your post to my husband and he laughed. In the UK currently there is a far bigger demand for specialists which is why even MEng grads are going back to uni to study specialist masters. Chartership isn’t something most Engineers aim for - they don’t have to as the UK doesn’t discriminate in the way you have written

Well if does if you are heading up a consultancy. My DH did until recently and he’s a Fellow of 3 Engineering Institutions. I notice @Ozanj that your DH is a senior engineer so perhaps isn’t at the top of the tree just yet? Does he own and run a consultancy?

If being chartered doesn’t matter, why does it exist? DH was chartered at 24. Partner at 28. Employed dozens of grads over the years. For high flyers, it matters.

@TizerorFizz

Well if does if you are heading up a consultancy. My DH did until recently and he’s a Fellow of 3 Engineering Institutions. I notice *@Ozanj* that your DH is a senior engineer so perhaps isn’t at the top of the tree just yet? Does he own and run a consultancy?

If being chartered doesn’t matter, why does it exist? DH was chartered at 24. Partner at 28. Employed dozens of grads over the years. For high flyers, it matters.

He owns his own consultancy yes. Became chartered with a BEng and an Msc while working at the age of 26. He is very much a high flier but is still valued for being an engineer because he’s a specialist and so his knowledge is what matters.

Ah! So he’s Chartered. However he thinks it’s not necessary for others? I stand by my original comment that it’s the gold standard.

I do think, however, some younger Engineers no longer aim for this. Good enough is good enough. BEng won’t get you chartered very quickly now. DH is BEng and you could really fast track back then. He was member of 2 engineering institutions by 27.

I would say DH has noticed lots of Engjneers cannot be bothered to get Chartered at the moment. If will limit them though. They are unlikely to be the consultancy owners of the future. They will be well paid footsoldiers. DH has some some specialists but flexibility is also important. However I guess DH is pretty rare in that he’s a Fellow x 3. It’s also surely true that grad engineers, such as @ErrolTheDragon DD, choose employers where they will be trained to become chartered. If not we, as a country, and engineering as a profession, is falling behind other countries where qualifications are valued for professional posts. In Germany to be a chartered civil engineer is a protected title. We don’t have the same values sadly.