Hi rich! I asked you the question of what it takes to be an engineer and what you would say to school pupils who are

Question: Hi rich! I asked you the question of what it takes to be an engineer and what you would say to school pupils who are interested in engineering . You said that you could expand your answer if I messaged you. Would it be possible for you to do that now? Thank you.
- Keywords:
  advice,
  school
Asked by 675appg45 to Rich on 7 Nov 2016.
- Richard Symonds answered on 7 Nov 2016:
  
  First of all, you need to decide what engineer you want to be. For example; I am an Electrical Engineer. This is still a very broad term as there are loads of different types of Electrical Engineers in many different sectors (do you want to design or install, big or small so on so fourth) Im an Electrical Engineer within the Building Services Industry. Now we are narrowing it down. Even then it could be subdivided into different jobs i do, there are specialist engineers for Lighting, Fire Alarm, Security and Lightning Protection.
  
  So in a nutshell you will first of all need to decide what type of engineer, in what sector you want to work in, your school careers manager should be able to help with this.
  
  You will then need to research the industry, and a good place to start would be what professional bodies over see your chosen industry. For example, the professional bodies which I am involved with are The IET (Institute of Engineering and Technology) CIBSE (Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers) and The EI (Energy Institute). These organisations have loads of information about how to become certain engineers and routes you can take.
  
  In any route you go, good math results in school is of great benefit, and will save you time. Ultimately you will be attending some form of higher education. The higher up the levels you can start, the sooner you can reach your goals. I would also look into a science such as Physics to study with your GCSEs and A-Levels (If you choose to do them).
  
  The last thing to decide is to either study at uni full time, or study as an apprentice. Again your career manager can help regarding university, and maybe apprenticeships. If you choose an apprentice route then I think it wouldnt hurt putting together a cv and a covering letter detailing why you want to be a certain engineer, how you would like to achieve it and what your ambitions are, like a career plan (again your career manager can help). Send this out to companies within your chosen profession and I would be very surprised if you dont here anything back eventually. Persistence is key. It is also worth getting into a good company when you do your work experience and bombard the senior engineers with questions (relevant ones of course ;p). They may show an interest in you for after you leave school if you say something along the lines of (I really enjoyed this experience with you, many thanks, do you hire school leavers or apprentices, how could i make myself more employable within this industry/practice?) They will be putty in your hands if you ask that and show a good can-do attitude during your time there. Never be afraid to ask questions.
  
  Sorry its a bit of an essay, but I wanted to try and cover everything. I hope this helps. If I have missed the mark please feel free to let me know where and I will try and elaborate.
  
  Cheers
  
  Rich

Comments

schofieldn16 commented on 7 Nov 2016:

This is an amazingly helpful and informative answer. Thank you so much! If only other industries did something like this project….
Rich commented on 8 Nov 2016:

Any specific industries in mind nicscho?

Question: Hi rich! I asked you the question of what it takes to be an engineer and what you would say to school pupils who are interested in engineering . You said that you could expand your answer if I messaged you. Would it be possible for you to do that now? Thank you.