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Secondary education

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Original poster

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

55 replies

Grikes · 06/12/2015 06:30

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

I assume that Maths and English is compulsory. She will take triple science. Her MFL most likely will be Spanish. Leaving her other choices to be Geography, History and IDT. She also wants to take RE. Does that make sence to take these subjects..

Is there any other specfic subjects she needs to take?

Thanks for any information

OP posts:
BrendaandEddie · 06/12/2015 14:46

Ive taught for over twenty years. Mum - back off

catslife · 06/12/2015 15:17

brenda it is still possible to take the international O level in some countries now - it is still offered by CIE as an option.
I would check whether IDT means (does it mean DT iGCSE?)
My dd is doing DT Product Design GCSE - highly recommended for engineering and not a soft option at all as they now need to know and understand the technical aspects it's not just making products!
Agree with the others though that additional subjects should be those she enjoys as the most useful ones are Science and Maths.

lljkk · 06/12/2015 16:25

DH is an (electronic) engineer & does most the cooking & even some needlework, don't knock it!
He has A-level in DT. Handy DIYer around the house.
There are special bursaries for women in engineering & all. My cousin (civil engineer) works 9 months then travels for 9 months.

senua · 06/12/2015 16:26

Christ alive. She's 14. Let her take what she wants.

Seriously? Is that the level of careers advice in your school?Shock

earsarehurting · 06/12/2015 16:50

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).

bruffin · 06/12/2015 17:25

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.

Millymollymama · 06/12/2015 17:45

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!

Millymollymama · 06/12/2015 17:52

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.

TheExMotherInLaw · 06/12/2015 18:05

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.

bruffin · 06/12/2015 18:34

Headstart also do special course to encourage girls.

disquisitiones · 06/12/2015 19:59

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).

Quiero · 06/12/2015 20:06

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.

Hatethis22 · 06/12/2015 20:11

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

Mumoftwoyoungkids · 06/12/2015 20:28

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.

Mumoftwoyoungkids · 06/12/2015 20:31

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

bruffin · 06/12/2015 20:50

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.

wonkylegs · 06/12/2015 22:04

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)

K1mberl1 · 06/12/2015 22:14

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

Original poster
Grikes · 06/12/2015 22:55

Thanks everyone for the excellent information and support. DD had talked with us last night. She is happy with her choices. We just have to wait and see. The career fair at school helped. What we find strange is she would happily have dropped biology for futher maths but not history. She can't though. If she takes science. Then she has to take triple science.

I think German would be great. TBH she took French and Spanish. She prefers Spanish. The fact being one of her friends is Spanish. Her French is decidedly very average if we are trying put a positive spin on it.

OP posts:
clary · 06/12/2015 23:36

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.

bruffin · 07/12/2015 08:04

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.

DoreenLethal · 07/12/2015 08:07

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?

Original poster
Grikes · 07/12/2015 08:58

Doreen good point. At first we felt it was. After looking at the websites and how many other woman have had a successful career. We are very much relaxed about it now. That is thanks to all the good posts full of information on here.

OP posts:
DoreenLethal · 08/12/2015 06:12

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.

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