• Question: how long does it take to become an engineer?

    Asked by Hollie to Ashwanth, Jeni, Mark, Natalie, Stephen on 14 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: Jeni Spragg

      Jeni Spragg answered on 14 Jun 2016:

      Hi Hollie 🙂

      It depends on which way you do it. I can only speak from my own experience, but if you do a degree it takes 4 years at university to graduate with an MEng (which a lot of companies ask for). You’re then qualified to go and work as an engineer.

      You might also do a sandwich year in industry during university. I nearly didn’t do one myself (because it’s an extra year, and 5 years sounds like an really long time!), but I’m so glad I did. I got so much useful experience and they gave me a job at the end of the year so I could relax during my final year.

      There are other routes, such as apprenticeships, or diplomas, which might take a different amount of time but I’m afraid I don’t know much about those. They can be a great idea if you are perhaps a bit more practical or if you’d prefer not to go to university.

      Once you have been working a few years, you can apply to become chartered. Being chartered sometimes means you can get promoted to better jobs and get paid more. But being chartered isn’t compulsory. It’s just an extra mark of excellence to show that you’ve proven that you’re great at your job.

      Hope that helps!

    • Photo: Stephen Richardson

      Stephen Richardson answered on 14 Jun 2016:

      Great answer Jeni.
      I did a 4 year MEng like Jeni describes.
      I worked with some guys in my last job who were doing the HNC / HND route and they took a bit longer than 4 years to finish all that. But then they were working at the same time so really they were already trainee engineers

    • Photo: Natalie Wride

      Natalie Wride answered on 15 Jun 2016:

      Hi Hollie!

      I went a slightly different route but still spent four years studying. I did a Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) for 3 years and then spent 1 year doing a Master of Science degree (MSc) because I wanted to focus more in a special area of Civil Engineering. After those four years you are able to go and work as an Engineer 🙂 unless you want to study more.

      I’m still working towards my qualifications – I’ve got about 3 years for my PhD and I’m also working on getting chartered (a professional Engineer). It seems like a long time but being at University is very different to being at school! (I promise!)

    • Photo: Mark Gowan

      Mark Gowan answered on 15 Jun 2016:

      Hi Hollie
      I think Jeni and Stephen have covered it perfectly. One thing to note is that if you want to become a Chartered Engineer, you need to undertake a course which is approved by the Engineering Council. Not all courses at all universities are accredited.

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