There's only really a point in going to university if you need the qualification to get into the job you want, or you want the experience (social and educational!) of going to uni. I wouldn't have got my first job without a degree, so it was entirely necessary - but then I went into an engineering discipline with an engineering degree and wanted a design orientated job, not something on the shop floor.

Going to uni to study a softer non-focussed subject seems a sure-fire way to get a job in a call centre and little else.

One route that I wish I'd been aware of is the option of doing a more practical qualification like an HND, and then converting it into a degree - it takes the same time as the degree would, but you've got some practical qualifications to back it up with.

I'm doing engineering in September Andy..

Haven't had any practical experience in the subject though, so because it's a very competitive area I'm looking at doing a placement year during my degree to get my foot in the door with a company and apply some paper-learning into practice.

What field did/do you work in?

I agree with Andy, I did a soft degree and landed myself a job in finance/administration... Good opportunities where I currently work and i'm hoping the future has a lot to offer to me. I now know what I do and don't want to do which is a very important factor, more importantly the company is fairly decent and like I said, a lot of scope to move around.

Advice to you, Prox - get looking to be employed by a big company/service/respected employer. NHS/Local University/Civil Service etc and you'll be amazed at what you'll start to get interested in. Like me, you'll soon realise what you don't want to do.

Yeah, I found that myself, unfortuntely the thing I didn't want to do was working in IT. Pain inthe arse is I have a Computing degree

I'm doing engineering in September Andy..

Haven't had any practical experience in the subject though, so because it's a very competitive area I'm looking at doing a placement year during my degree to get my foot in the door with a company and apply some paper-learning into practice.

What field did/do you work in?

I work in the automotive sector as an electronic engineer. Any practical experience that marks you out as different is worthwhile.

I spent my summers working in an electrical workshop repairing various bits of railway equipment - not directly relevant to my automotive work, but it showed I was willing to get my hands dirty. Dicking around with my Polo also was useful experience-wise - as is literally any practical stuff you can get. I also did the Year In Industry scheme which helped too.

i volunteer for a bloke who races a formula ford and also volunteer for my uni when they go racing in their formula renault.

experience is the most important thing you can have

I'm definitely doing Formula Student, even if it takes up a lot of study time, I know it will be worthwhile..

My course isn't a Sandwich Degree but they do allow for, and support, the Year In Industry program, if I could find one up north it'd be great (the £12k might help pay back some debt lol)..

Unless you're 100% sure which sector you want to go in to, variety of experience helps too.

Before I had my first electronic engineering job in the automotive sector I'd got experience in a civil engineering company, electrical workshops, had a year as an IT Network Admin (thanks to my original Year In Industry placement company going bust) and spent more time than was healthy dicking around with my Polo. Gave me stuff to talk about in interviews, and also helped me decide exactly what I wanted to do.

The problem these days is that virtually everyone has a degree (okay, not all degrees are equal...), so you need to do more to differentiate yourself.

I know what you mean.. I'm doing an Integrated Foundation Year first as I don't have A-Levels, so after this Access course I'll have an extra year to decide which area to go into (Civil / Structural is really tempting)..

Also the Foundation year is classed as 'stage 0', so when I actually start Stage 1 of my degree I'll be with people paying like £9k a year, then if I do a placement year and go onto an MEng I should be in good stead..

6 years sounds like a lot to be fair but like you said, there are a lot of graduates these days so it could all be necessary.

I want out of the UK anyway workwise.. I hear Australia is in need of engineers.......

^^ my old boss went to australia as a engineer he's on 75 grand a year. I good As left school at 15 and done a aprenticship as a enginner finished that and nearly finished another apprenticeship as I Maintaince enginee on mobile heavy plant. I always wanted to be a fireman but I kinda gave up when it took me twenty mins to get in the attic lol I also work for myself at my unit as a body worker Franicator and mechanic everyday after work. But the way we all got to look at it is even if our jobs is boring dull crap you got money comming in. All the money is in different countries. Best thing I ever done was done two apprenticeships.but my job kinda same shit different day. Anyone can do there dream job you just got to work for it and don't give. Just bcome a porn star easy money lom :-D

I'll be honest, I'm on a Mechanical Engineering course and didn't really get into it at all in the first two years, I'm at Warwick too, so a pretty good base, but it really didn't leave much to be desired whatsoever during the first two years, did the odd project which was interesting but a lot was completely out of my field of interest and as such I just flatlined, got some pretty bad results last year but this year things have really turned around.

I've been lucky enough to get on to the Formula Student team and also been involved in the EVGP competition in the States, spent the first week of the Easter break training up on one of our 3 axis CNC mills and I can now go down to the workshops and make up custom parts whenever. I'm absolutely loving it, it's a hell of a lot of work and some of the more interesting stuff is extra curricular but it's what I'm into and anything to help should set me aside from the hundreds of other Engineering graduates is worth it in my eyes. I'm so glad I stuck with it, I suppose what happened with me was due to already knowing exactly what I wanted to do and what I was interested in, but ofcourse the first year and a bit have to be taken up with a more general approach in order to meet iMechE accreditation, so it's a necessary evil. I hate to say it but I've already found myself needing some of the knowledge that I absolutely loathed being lectured about in year 2!

Edited 20 April, 201115 yr by AMD_Man

I think Warwick's quite unique for it's engineering degrees..

They were/are one of the best mathematics unis in the country, and I've heard they apply that heavily to to their engineering..

Quite a few people applied their from my course, simply for the prestige factor (not saying it's not a great uni..), but like the guys on my course, some of them are in their 30's and have wanted to, for example, civil engineering for years.. but at Warwick the first 2 years are common across all their eng. courses aren't they? With a huge emphasis on maths..

Still a great uni to have on your degree when you graduate though

Yeah the first year is common across every one, then the second year splitting into two "pathways", 1 is for electrical/information and 2 for mech/auto/civil/manufacturing. Although everyone had to do the two business/management modules which were mildly depressing haha.

Don't get me wrong I'm very glad to be here, just saying that the way a lot of degrees work you don't really properly get a chance to focus on what interests you for a while, which is a shame if you have a real passion for something in particular, but then again pretty much everything is prerequisite and like i say, defined by the associaited bodies and their accreditation - employers will expect it so it needs to be done. I think our programme is particularly broad even into the second year, although it's done a lot of favours for my mates, swapping between degree streams as late as the start of the third year.

One of the things that I have found about Warwick is that we seem very detached from the hands-on processes, so many times I've had fellow students not know what a micrometer is, or what a lathe looks like. I appreciate that a graduate engineer isn't going to be laying underneath a car with a spanner, or in the 'shop knocking out parts on a lathe but it's crucial to have an understanding of the way things are actually manufactured if you want to ever come up with a good design. It's the one thing that made me a bit jealous of Imperial and Bath, I get the impression the students spend a lot more time in the workshops from the off, but then it's the price we pay for the heavy research bias at Warwick, we have the facilities and resources, but it's mostly tied up in the WMG and as such first and second year students barely get to touch it!

Edited 21 April, 201115 yr by AMD_Man

I was mad about cars,i knew i wanted to work with them.

On my paper round id look at them and imagine driving them,wheel spinning and sliding around corners like my telly heroes. I was already getting handy with fabrication,making a trick paper trolley that had a sprung platform which made the top paper waist height,no matter how many were in the pile.

I was quick to earn money,working in Woolworth at 15yo and took keen interest in the DIY and gardening stuff - as well as the model cars.

I was just 16yo when i took a full time job repairing and modifying cars,often repairing nearly new Jaguars and Hondas,for an insurance approved coachbuilders. It was an unofficial apprentice deal on a handshake,i work for peanuts at first and my wages increase as i get good. Training was great,old skool deep end but always with people teaching me as much as i could take in.

Within a year i would be driving a car that id customised myself..!?

But that did't happen. The Gulf war and recession worked hand in hand to cool the car industry,and i found myself looking for another job as work decreased.

Still 16yo,i applied for a job as a caterer,simply because id take anything if it meant i could afford said car/licence. I worked there five years - time of my life! With my own car and new direction (smoke,girls),mechanics no longer interested me much. I enjoyed driving and would do the odd repairs for mates but thats it.

It was several years later before i got into looking after machines in a factory. I started as an operator but practised preventitive maintenance and repairs,before going into setting and maintenance. Worked self employed as a roofer/cladder recently to execute a big job in London,but am now back on the machines. I could never earn money like this fitting clutches,but did i know this when i was 14..?

When i was at school i had a few dreams based on a hopeless view of how the world works. My fire officer father probably wanted me to go that way but it wasn't happening,i hate seeing all the destruction caused by fire,and it made him a very serious person.

How people can decide to invest in uni at that age,i cant see it in many cases. Uni used to be for the few who had the drive to go somewhere so early,usually at crippling cost for the family. To make it so accessible,popular and fashionable to go there is a flawed and damaging science for many people these days imo,you can see i agree with Neil and Toby but then it worked for me. I say just get out there.

There's so much out there,you dont even know where you'll end up. To sacrifice high grades in universally essential subjects such as sciences and maths,in order to focus on specialist subjects you may end up not using.. i cant advise that. I do advise something fun to start with though.

i'm in the exact same boat,

I came out of school with 13 GCSE's, went to college and graduated with an A in music, B in media, and B in business studies,

ATM i'm working in a nightclub, and delivering for a local chinese, It brings in £200 a week, But my true thoughts lie in music, I'm a producer in my spare time, www.soundcloud.com/chunkndrone,

The problem is, There is F.A careers in music going without paying out £4K+ on training etc... :/