which path to follow 4

[engeeneer]

hello

I am soon to start an HNC/HND in engineering and possibly an apprenticeship.

Can you advice me which qualifications to get, what experience to get, which skills to develop, etc in order to have a successful engineering career aiming at high salaries?

Which sector to follow and which specific subdiscipline?

So far, I have been offered some apprenticeships in the production, but I feel I won't be able to progress any further from being just an operative in the production field.

Please provide me as much feedback as possible from your experience and views.

Thank you

 

[GregLocock]

In my opinion you are more likely to succeed if you do what you enjoy, rather than aiming at 'the' optimum field for salaries. Your absurdly open ended question is easily answered by research on the web, where you will find that chemical engineers and mining engineers often have very high salaries, and civil engineers tend not to. This rather depends on which country you are in but you couldn't be bothered to tell us. By inference you are in the UK, I doubt you'll find an apprenticeship in many fields.

So, I suggest you refine your parameters, do some work yourself, and then ask a better question.

Incidentally if you can get an apprenticeship, do so.

Cheers

Greg Locock


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[IRstuff]

Internship at any engineering related job is way better than nothing or some random retail job.

I agree with Greg, you need to find something that you have a passion for, or at least, a biding interest. Anything sort of that will most likely be doomed to failure; how can you succeed in a discipline that you have no interest in?

TTFN
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[berkshire]

Now that Apprenticeships are again being offered in the UK, you need to be very careful in selecting an apprenticeship.
Get one that also offers course work in HND or HNC., with a track leading to a degree if you can get one.
There are some unsavory employers offering what they claim to be apprenticeships, that are nothing more than short term training courses.
Check with the National Apprenticeship training council. Here is a link:

http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/

B.E.


You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.

 

[DerbyLoco]

Haven’t we had this before but last time it was wanting a job on nights and doing a degree. It’s all too vague to be real.

 

[HPost]

What do you mean by "high salary"?

Even the highest qualifications are no guarantee of success if your salary expectations are excessive.

Do you want to get a mechanical qualification or a manufacturing qualification? A mechanical HND / Degree is more challenging and will give access to slightly more in terms of salary.

Why not do the production apprenticeship and a mechanical HND, get the best of both. That will help.

Either way, with the way things are going in the UK, you will be expected to be competent in both fields anyway, so you might as well do as much as you can while you can. You can't expect to go too far without a degree though and even then an academic qualification will only ensure your CV avoids the bin. Irrespective of the academic qualification, once you start in any role, it will be your personal attributes and abilities that have the most influence on your progress up the greasy pole towards management.

Cheers

Adrian

 

[engeeneer]

I am from UK, but currently on vacation in Greece.

My question may seem vague, because I am indeed open to many disciplines, aerospace, oil and gas, mechanical, electronic, chemical, etc.

I wouldn't follow any discipline if I didn't like it, only for the money, but I enjoy many disciplines, since what I like is to make calculations, estimations, predictions, analyses, etc, so any engineering field would fit.

That's why, and for other reasons as well, the level of salary becomes an important criterion in my decision. At the same time, I wouldn't like to limit myself in low level positions with no challenges and no prospectives, and I would like to take full advantage of my efforts to become an engineer, by achieving highly rewarding levels.

So far, I only saw opinions about chemical engineers and mining engineers. Both are hard to enter as an apprentice, especially the second. Maybe I could start as an operative in a factory and work my way to a chemical engineering role?

 

[berkshire]

engeeneer (Specifier/Regulator)
DO NOT start as an operative/ operator in a factory, unless your employer has agreed to accept you as a candidate for an apprenticeship. It is the kiss of death. You will be there for ever.
B.E.

You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.

 

[KENAT]

Any particular reason you've ruled out going and getting your BEng/MEng from university straight off?

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[engeeneer]

I can't afford not being paid for three years and after that to be again unemployed
furthermore, I enjoy alot more to be trained on the job, that going to uni

 

[IRstuff]

if "have a successful engineering career aiming at high salaries" is a serious goal, you're not going to get there with just an HNC/HND, you need a full college degree, at least in the US; don't know if that's the same in UK.

TTFN
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[KENAT]

Historically, no it wasn't the same in the UK (in fact if you go far enough back I'm not sure it was true in the US). However, the trend at least before I left was toward degree being required more often.

Back around 10 years ago in UK place I worked had a bunch of guys age 40+ who had HNC/HND & Apprenticeship and were in fairly senior roles. However, frankly the ones in their 40's weren't as sharp technically as the ones nearing retirement and the younger HNC/HND's were further off still and none were in real technical/analytical roles. Not sure if this is due to the individuals or changes in what was covered in the older apprenticeships/HND's when less folks were probably getting degrees or other factors - just what I observed.

Unless you manage to get your apprenticeship somewhere that explicitlly offers a path to the technical/analytical role you desire then you may find it difficult to break into that role.

A couple of times we tried brining guys off the shop floor who had or were working on their HNC/HND but it didn't really work out - at least in part because we didn't have a really structured way to help with their education/training.

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[berkshire]

I came up that way, I started on the shop floor as a apprentice, did City and Guilds ordinary, advanced ,and full tech, then went into the drawing office, where they wanted me to do National certificate. I had done ONC when I got offered a Job in the USA , and you know the rest of that story. I never did go on to HNC although I had done a lot of the course work.
B.E.

You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.

 

[DuncanM]

Would you consider working on ships? Google MNTB, the merchant navy training board in the UK.
A merchant navy cadetship (apprenticeship) takes just under three years, half at college and half at sea, and results in an HND, an SVQ level 3, and a professional qualification (STCW Engineer Officer of the Watch). You'll also get paid (a little) and have accommodation & food provided the whole time, along with getting to travel to all sorts of places, depending which company you go with.
I know if you study at South Shields College you can then convert the HND to a bachelor's degree with 6 months' further study. The HND and degree are titled Marine Engineering but they are effectively mechanical engineering with some naval architecture included.

I did this, starting at the age of 22. I'm now 32, and working for myself supplying service work to oil & gas related companies, and making enough to live an enjoyable and comfortable life. I've done 3 months work this year, including a few weeks of admin & paperwork...


Having said all that, grapevine knowledge says that good chemical/process engineers are the rarest and highest paid in oil & gas.

 

[engeeneer]

that is something very interesting, thanks!

 

[oldestguy]

Something the reviewers are missing is an eventual ownership of your own company. Self employed engineers make the most as compared to those working for someone else. You get there by becoming versed in all aspects of the chosen field, generally starting at the bottom. However, the workweek is long when the business starts. If you can't stand work, then self employment won't result.

 

[berkshire]

engeeneer

From the multitude of questions you have posed on this and several other engineering groups, I suggest that you make an appointment with a high school, or college career guidance counselor who can sit down and discuss the subjects you bring up face to face. I for one will no longer answer the many and varied subjects you bring up. Get help!
B.E.


You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.

 

[BreatheEasy]

You need to get into a Modern Apprenticeship either in Electrical, Mechanical or Mechatronics which will lead to NVQs 2 & 3, HNC, a number of Key Skills and if you are at a good company you will work with expereinced people to further your knowledge.
On completion of the Apprenticeship you can carry-on to do a HND or other specific courses such as CAD courses, Electonics courses, Programming etc...