General engineering courses in UK unis

[11plusNewbie]

Hello,
Could anyone recommend some general engineering courses ? I know that Cambridge has one. but hardly a safe bet so looking for other options. Chosen a levels are maths, physics, chemistry and a MFL. Chemistry is the least preferred of the 4, but I think it's due to not putting enough work on it, which is in remedial.
Sounds interested in mechanical engineering, but hasn't got a full grasp of the various sub-disciplines. thanks

Durham, Warwick do general I believe.

Mech, aero and automotive tend to have a mainly shared syllabus for Y1 and Y2, specialising in Y3 and Y4 (if doing MEng).

DS initially applied for aero, changed to auto before starting, and will probably change to mech for Y3 and Y4 so he can take the modules he has developed an interest in after 2 years of study. Point being, I think the courses are pretty flexible.

No advice about civil, sorry.

@FleeceNavidadfromtheSheep thank you ! it's very helpful to know about the flexibility

@11plusNewbie
The majority of Engineering courses here are specific but might have y1/y2 crossover syllabi with other disciplines. However lots of our Engjneering powerhouse universities seem to prefer dedicated degrees for each discipline. As the topics are enormous anyway it seems sensible and the vast majority of students are able to choose what they want before they start.

A good place to look at the different disciplines is www.engc.org.uk. You can also look at the web sites of the professional institutions, eg ICE, IMechE, IStuctE, etc. They may have taster days and I would also suggest contacting local engineering consultancies about work experience.

I would also recommend MEng courses when the time comes.

@TizerorFizz thank you
please can I ask if you mean doing Meng over a Beng, I think it might depend on grades, in our case, as they might not be high enough to get a "good" Meng

many thanks for the links

A BEng will give them the academic requirements to become an IEng (Incorporated engineer), but they need a MEng or to otherwise demonstrate they are working to masters level to become a CEng (chartered engineer).

MEng is a more straightforward route, but they dont need to do that at uni, some companies will support them through a masters of they want /need to be chartered.

@Iamsodone
The above explanation is correct. However a BEng from RG universities isn’t necessarily better than a MEng from elsewhere. Former polytechnics do have excellent MEng courses and these still give a head start in the workplace. Smaller employers might not sponsor a stand alone masters either so the route to becoming Chartered can be slow with a BEng. Earnings will be less on the slow route too. Therefore look very carefully at course content and employability.

You should also be aware that plenty of DC doing engineering courses don’t become engineers at all. They get city/finance jobs. If he’s not likely to get into Oxbridge, Warwick or Durham for general engineering, I really would do the research and see what branch he prefers. An MEng in that is worth more than a BEng for engineering jobs.

Therefore start talking about what he’s interested in. Is it robotics? Buildings? Huge civil projects like roads, bridges and tower blocks? Environmental engineering (civils), electronic/electrical? Or he could look at building services engineering like lift installations etc.

@TizerorFizz @Blanketpolicy

Thank you very much for the clarification !

DC can’t actually make a decision between engineering and city/finance.
So partly why we are looking at General Engineering courses for now, on the basis that if he can’t decide, then it is best for him to try/throw himself into something which, at least, keeps his options opened to an extent. On the engineering side, he is leaning towards mechanical.
@TizerorFizz
If DC ends up switching to city/finance is there a road that perhaps a bit better within the range of engineering courses ?
I had in mind to go for the ‘best’ BEng course based on grades followed by a masters that we/he would self fund, as the entry grades for MEng are higher and as he is so indecisive then the Master might finally ‘nail it’.
He got 11x9s and 1x 8 on GCSEs but has had a slow start of sixth form distracted from studies, and now is working on catching up.

Sorry for the long one. Thank you all !

@11plusNewbie
I honestly have no idea. I personally think engjneers who take up expensive degree places should be engineers. DH is an engineer and knew that’s what he wanted to be. This neatly illustrates why we are short of engineers.

Ask the question: if their grade averages are high enough can they switch to the MEng at some point during the course?

Sheffield has excellent links to industry.

Finance take people from all disciplines. My friend did law and now works in finance, and I have a lot of civil engineering friends that also switched to finance. I even know someone who did history who is now in finance! Best bet is to pick a course you think you’ll enjoy, at a university you want to go to. It’s very easy to switch courses after a year as they don’t want to lose your money! If a career in engineering might be on the cards, make sure the course is affiliated with the relevant professional body (IET, ICE, etc) as that will make it much easier to become chartered.

Few MEng courses are not registered. Each uni should state if the course is approved.

Would recommend work experience to better understand the different types of engineering.

Would strongly recommend your DS looks at Warwick, as they are so strong in business courses, the engineering courses also include some business modules (relevant for engineering roles).
DS was part of the student Formula team (build a car and race it, like F1 but smaller budgets and races between unis), and found that the big management consultancies were targeting him and his team when they were at races. As practical, highly numerate students used to working in teams, solving problems and giving presentations, they are highly sought after. And a lot of his friends did then go on to finance careers.

@AvocadoPlant thank you very much for the tip ! Will check it carefuly
@MrPickles73 agree we are scratching our heads re what we can find
@Qwill
thank you, I was wondering it was still the case that someone with a totally different topic could still be hired to work in finance or that was a thing of the past. Though I take that as long as people can demonstrate they are numerate it works. Thanks all !

@11plusNewbie
My DH used to run an engineering consultancy. They would always offer work experience to interested young people. There are umpteen engineering consultancies in this country. Can you and DC not see what’s around in your area. It’s really not difficult. I gave you info on how to find what the different engineers might specialise in, so start Googling!

There might also be taster days at universities and at the Engineering Institutions. Get looking at what they offer potential engineers.

Agree with above post. When I was 16/17 I wrote to a couple of local firms explaining I wanted work experience to help choice my uni course. I found an aeronautical and a mechanical. Aeronautical seemed really fun and mechanical was dull as dishwater so that was me sorted (obviously it depends on what exactly you go to - the latter for me was a kind of steel mill so not surprising). Also there was stuff like a Year in Industry where you joined a company for a year. I was a year young at school so I did that.

had in mind to go for the ‘best’ BEng course based on grades followed by a masters that we/he would self fund, as the entry grades for MEng are higher and as he is so indecisive then the Master might finally ‘nail it’.

A bit late to the thread, but it is usually an option to accept a BEng place with a correspondingly lower offer and switch to MEng later in the the course. Unlike a separate masters, he would not need to self fund this.

Some BEng courses don’t ask for much lower grades. This is because the first two years are the same. You won’t do well if you don’t have good grades. All BEng does is reduce time at university, reduce fees and increase the length of time it gets to be chartered and increases the possibility of not doing engineering at all one year earlier.

I think DH was a born engineer. He had a flair for it. He didn’t like finance and, even when running a very successful company, he had staff to do it so he remained an engineer. I really think any DC that has not got the nous to research engineering, get work experience or show any real interest is not an engineer in the making. Finance would suit them better from the start.

Thanks @etulosba we will keep that in mind
and thank you at @TizerorFizz DC seems to have been hit by the procrastination bug since September :(, to our frustration
may you have a point, and it is because no option feels absolutely right to DC ???

Just wondering how you are getting on now @11plusNewbie?

Is DC in Y13 and have they chosen which Unis yet?