• Question: What qualifications do you need to become an engineer?

    Asked by 229artc24 to Sonia, Nick, Andrew, Lizzie on 18 Jun 2015. This question was also asked by 477artc24, ellsworth, rach, Grace.
    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 18 Jun 2015:

      To get into university you will need good A level grades – check with the university course prospectus. Some universities have foundation courses for candidates who do not have the necessary grades or not the right A level subjects.

      Usually an engineering degree of some form. Most universities offer the MEng which is a 4 year degree course.

      But you can still qualify as an engineer without a degree if you can get Charter Engineer accreditation. But the CEng accreditation will need the candidate to prove they have worked at a Master equivalent level of complexity in their job.

      For those qualifying with BSc or BEng they will also need to proof they have work at a Masters level to be eligible for CEng accreditation.

    • Photo: Elizabeth Kapasa

      Elizabeth Kapasa answered on 23 Jun 2015:

      This is a great question. Make sure you look at the university websites for the engineering course you’re interested in. The requirements may vary between them but it is likely that you will need A Level Physics and/or Maths.

      Although, I didn’t do either and still managed to do engineering so its worth having a look at different universities or sending them an email and asking.

      http://www.prospects.ac.uk is really helpful.

    • Photo: Andrew Phillips

      Andrew Phillips answered on 23 Jun 2015:

      You have to do an undergraduate degree. You can do a BEng or an MEng. If you do an MEng you normally do one year more and spend more time doing a big piece of project work. In the UK you can then become Chartered in a shorter length of time if you have done an MEng degree.

      Not all engineers become Chartered, but for some jobs you need to be Chartered to be allowed to sign off on final designs. I’m Chartered with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. This allows me to use the initials CEng MIMechE after my name, which are a bit like badge showing I know what I’m doing!

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