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Careers in Engineering

As a student at Warwick, you will be highly sought after as the University of Warwick is the second most targeted university in the UK by top employers (High Fliers Survey 2011 and 2010).

Employers tell us that when they recruit graduates they look for candidates who possess:

  • a good degree from a good university
  • relevant work experience through vacation work, placements or internships
  • evidence of having been fully involved in university life beyond their academic studies.

At Warwick, you will have plenty of opportunity to develop all these credentials, giving yourself a competitive advantage in the graduate job market when you complete your studies.

Careers in Engineering

Engineering is one of the most exciting and rewarding professions, and influences all aspects of our everyday life. Worldwide engineering is recognised as a vital sector in global economic recovery. The engineering sector generated 24.9% of the turnover of all businesses in the UK in 2010, the UK is still the world’s 7th largest manufacturing nation and engineering graduates in the UK commanded the 4th highest mean average starting salary. (Source: “Engineering UK 2012” by Engineering UK).

An engineering degree is a passport to many career opportunities:

  • Our four-year MEng course equips you to become a chartered engineer and the majority of graduates work in engineering or IT industries with roles as varied as Mechanical Systems Engineer at Marshall Aerospace, Civil Engineer with Network Rail or Software Engineer at Ericsson. Others take up opportunities in research via doctorates in topics such as Environmental Fluid Mechanics.
  • Our three-year BEng course enables you to become an incorporated engineer with further study required to become chartered and 20–30% of BEng students take postgraduate courses after graduating. The breadth of experience you will offer means that graduate unemployment rates are low and you will be highly sought after by employers from many sectors, not just in engineering.
  • Graduates from our taught Masters courses gain specialist technical knowledge which allow them to focus on careers as professional engineers in niche sectors or in broader career areas such as project management, operational management, risk analysis and education. Opportunities within manufacturing, ICT, automotive and energy companies have been taken up by our graduates recently.
  • Following a PhD in Engineering, our graduates have gone on to establish their research careers in academia, in not-for-profit research centres or in the commercial research sector. Their specialist expertise means that they can take on specialist professional roles and progrss into management positions.

Routes to Chartered Engineer status

Most ambitious engineering students will aspire to achieve the status of Chartered Engineer (CEng), which is the internationally recognised badge of professional achievement and competence. The preferred route to chartered status is to start by reading a 4-year Masters of Engineering (MEng) degree, which is accredited as fully satisfying the educational base for a Chartered Engineer (CEng).

An alternative route is to start by reading a 3-year Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) degree, which is accredited as partially satisfying the educational base for a Chartered Engineering. A programme of accredited Further Learning will be required to complete the education base for CEng. All our specialist MEng and BEng degrees are accredited by the relevant professional institutions, for progression to CEng status. Our accrediting bodies include the IET, IMechE, IStructE, IHE, CIHT, ICE and InstMC.

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