• Question: HOW LONG DID IT TAKE FOR YOU TO BE A FULLY TRAINED ENGINEER?

    Asked by Ciansky111 to Jamie, Kristen, Sheun, Simon, Will on 15 Jun 2015. This question was also asked by 973hspc22, Flawless, freya.
    • Photo: William Scott-Jackson

      William Scott-Jackson answered on 15 Jun 2015:

      I took on an engineering type role in the last summer holiday of my undergraduate days as did my best friend whom I was living with. As a result we had the experience to jump straight into an engineering role after our degree courses had finished. So be fully trained engineer in the sense we could go straight into work it would be 5 years.

      However if you don’t get the chance to get experience from work placements then you may enter an engineering graduate scheme in which you can rotate around the various roles in the company and train some more.

      I’d argue that as an engineer you’re always going to be learning new skills and attending various training courses and seminars. As the technologies get updated and renewed, your skills will have to follow suit.

    • Photo: Kristen Salzer-Frost

      Kristen Salzer-Frost answered on 15 Jun 2015:

      The simple answer is 4 years, which is how long it took me to do my engineering degree. After doing a degree in engineering I was qualified to work as an engineer.
      The longer answer is that I took slightly longer as I did an arts degrees at the same time, so it took me 5 years, but that didn’t contribute to my work as an engineer. I also changed from robotics to fire safety, so I did a masters degree (while I was working). After ten years working as an engineer, I’m now doing a PhD.
      There is another qualification – chartered engineer – which you can apply for once you have a few years work experience. It depends on what type of engineering you do how important that qualification is.
      There is always more to learn, but that is part of what keeps it interesting.

    • Photo: Jamie Johnston

      Jamie Johnston answered on 15 Jun 2015:

      To be trained to the point that someone will hire you, 3 years, this is how long a typical university degree lasts, however most people take a year in industry during their studies, some people choose to do a masters degree, some people don’t go to university but instead do apprenticeships.

      So the minimum time till you can get a job, roughly 3 years. But as everyone says, you never stop learning.

    • Photo: Sheun Oshinbolu

      Sheun Oshinbolu answered on 16 Jun 2015:

      It took me 4 years as thats how long it took me to do my first degree. I also had lab and industrial (company) experience which I think is also a vital aspect.

    • Photo: Simon Marchant

      Simon Marchant answered on 16 Jun 2015:

      Like the others say, after my degree I was a qualified engineer, but there is always more to learn. There are achievements for experienced engineers where you can become Incorporated or Chartered. These titles are looked after by the Engineering Council, so it’s only legal to call yourself a chartered engineer if you have passed the tests. It takes several years after graduation, though!

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