• Question: what qualifications do you need to be an engineer

    Asked by 952enec43 to Yasmin, Liz, Lee, Hilly, Tadhg on 16 Jun 2015. This question was also asked by 165enec48, steph.
    • Photo: Lee Margetts

      Lee Margetts answered on 16 Jun 2015:

      @952enec43 – Maths and Science are essential. But don’t give up art or languages if you enjoy them. Both can be very useful in engineering. Engineering jobs can take you across the world and being able to speak in more than one language is very useful. I believe Chinese will be very useful for a job in the next 5-10 years.

    • Photo: Yasmin Ali

      Yasmin Ali answered on 16 Jun 2015:

      Depends what route you take – you can study engineering at university, or you can do an apprenticeship in engineering. I can tell you about my route: I did GCSEs, then I did A-levels in Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Physics, then I studied Chemical engineering at university.

      If you go the uni route, you need Maths and another science at A-level, grade A* to C depending on which university you choose.

    • Photo: Tadhg O'Donovan

      Tadhg O'Donovan answered on 18 Jun 2015:

      So to be an engineer you need a degree (Bachelors or Masters) in Engineering – ideally this should be from an accredited degree programme. What do I mean by that? Each discipline has an independent accrediting institution (for us it’s the I Mech E, Institution of Mechanical Engineering) – they make sure that the Universities teach you the right skills to call yourself an engineer. When you graduate, then after about 5 years of experience you can apply to become chartered!

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