What do you have to do/study to become an engineer?

Question: What do you have to do/study to become an engineer?
- Keywords:
  career advice
Asked by anon-73959 on 23 Apr 2020.
- Sophie Louth answered on 23 Apr 2020:
  
  There are lots of different ways to become an engineer, you can study science and maths at school in GCSEs and then A-levels and then study engineering at college or University. Or you can do an apprenticeship in an engineering company. You can also do something else entirely and then decide you want to be an engineer later and do a course then.
- Rhys Edwards answered on 23 Apr 2020:
  
  I studied maths, physics and history at A-level before starting my degree.
- Katie Sparks answered on 23 Apr 2020:
  
  There are all sorts of way to become an engineer.
  Maths and science at school will really help you and if you enjoy tinkering with things (creating things, trying out coding, or even pulling things apart to see how they work) then keep up those things as they will stand you in good stead.
  
  I always recommend doing something you like, follow what you enjoy, explore, try stuff out and ask questions! If you try something and don’t like it, that’s totally fine, you’ve learnt you don’t like it. If you can put your finger on why you don’t like it, you’ll end up with a collection of things you do like, some you can put up with (every job has these) and things to avoid.
- Claire Brockett answered on 23 Apr 2020:
  
  There are a lot of ways to become an engineer – apprenticeships and university courses are the most obvious training routes.
  
  I did chemistry, physics and maths at A-level, but I think subjects that are creative – design, textiles and art are also really useful – you need to be creative to be an engineer.
- Douglas Wragg answered on 23 Apr 2020:
  
  All the STEM subjects.
- Louise France answered on 23 Apr 2020:
  
  There are so many ways to become an engineer! The most traditional way is to study A-levels in science and maths subjects, and then do a degree. But there are now more practical equivalents to A-levels called B-TECS, that allow you to study in a more hands on environment. You can also do an apprenticeship in an engineering company or at a college. There are so many ways into engineering, which is great as it is accessible to everyone.
  
  I studied A-level maths, further maths, PE, Biology and chemistry, and then went on to do a degree. But this route isn’t always for everyone. I would recommend choosing the route that you will enjoy most, as this is what you will succeed at best.
- Reshma Vora answered on 23 Apr 2020:
  
  There are a lot of different ways to get in, but I think the big one is Maths. It’s important to remember you don’t have to be good or quick at Maths but just be able to follow it and understand the method.
- Jeni Spragg answered on 30 Apr 2020:
  
  I think everyone else has covered this really well, so I would just add one more thing. If you’re interested in doing a degree or apprenticeship, you can do some research on entry requirements for your specific route, to make sure your subject choices are right for you. Careers advisors and teachers might be able to help you do your research & figure out the best combination.
  
  For example, if you were interested in a specific type of engineering degree, you could check what A level requirements are listed in university prospectuses. Or you could check out what the entry requirements for an apprenticeship are.
  When I was at school, most chemical engineering degrees needed A levels in chemistry and maths. I chose to do these two subjects, but was able to keep my options open by also doing French and History. So you don’t have to restrict yourself to science and maths!
  Requirements change over time though, so best to check the most recent updates online.

Comments

Andrew commented on 27 Apr 2020:

The most important things to have for engineering is a love of understanding how things work and a love of solving problems. Got those? Then you are halfway there.
After that, maths is our most important tool. Maths linked to the real world = science, and engineering is a science. But it is not always an exact science so a little creativity and judgement is always needed too. So if you want to be an engineer, and you love creative subjects too, this is a good thing!

I studied maths, physics, further maths, chemistry & geography at A-level. This helped me study engineering at university.
Other ways into engineering can be more hands-on: via an apprenticeship you can learn everything you need to become a hands-on engineer.
Jennifer commented on 29 Apr 2020:

I decided to become an engineer as I liked designing things but I also wanted to do a things that worked. I’ve found that having an understanding of how things work, helps you solve problems, so if you like solving problems then that’s a good thing. As far as subjects so, math is a definite and physics is a good place to start. I had friends who were accepted on my course and had never done physics and they struggled.

Question: What do you have to do/study to become an engineer?