Options after your degree

As an engineering student, a key question to ask yourself is: do I want to be an engineer?

Having an engineering degree means you can choose to work as an engineer and many do – but you don’t have to!  (Consider: very few students of English will become writers; or students of philosophy will become philosophers). This page provides information about following either path.

Occupations open to any degree

In the UK, our labour market is very flexible. (N.B. This may not be the case in other countries, so international students are advised to be mindful of this and to check out the situation in your home country.) Many graduate jobs simply specify that you have a degree and don’t mind about the subject. A common example is accountancy, which recruits from all degree disciplines.  However, if you apply for roles outside engineering recruiters will expect that you have:

  • researched and gained an understanding of the profession (start with these job profiles) – perhaps having spoken to people, or even gained some work experience (informal or formal) and from this be able to explain why you want to move into this sort of work; [More about this on the Build experience page]
  • researched their company/organisation and be clear why you wish to work for them.
  • reflected on what makes you suitable in their role: how can your training as an engineer (particularly the transferable skills) be useful to them.

The good news is that engineering degrees are prized by employers: you are great at solving problems; carrying out analysis; using IT/software and programming; working well in a team; managing projects and deadlines; understanding and manipulating data; explaining and presenting things.  Find out more about the skills you possess in Understanding yourself.

Be aware that while open to any degree, employers might ask for a particular class of degree (e.g. a 2.2 or even a 2.1 for competitive areas like financial services and management consulting), although this requirement is beginning to

To see more opportunities open to any degree, use MyCareerHub and also popular career guides such as the Times Top 100, the UK 300. 

Gradcracker is helpful because it lists opportunities (internships and graduate jobs) by your discipline of study (e.g. chemical) but that will include both discipline-specific jobs (e.g. process engineer) and jobs open to chemical engineers – which may not be engineering at all!

Top Tip: If you are looking at opportunities outside engineering, keep an open mind! Jobs and professions are often discounted by students based on erroneous stereotypes and unfair portrayals on screen and in the media.  Read up about an occupation so that if you feel it isn’t right for you, you’ll be clear as to why – information that might help you decide (either way) about other professions, too.

Becoming an engineer

Consider a civil engineer. They may opt to work as an engineer for:

  • a construction firm (contracting engineer; site engineer etc.)
  • a consulting firm  (consulting engineer; structural engineer; fire engineer etc.)
  • a client firm (Transport Scotland; Network Rail, BAA; local government, Transport for London; Forth Ports; supermarkets, NHS etc.)

Each of these jobs will see graduates working as engineers, but the roles may have differing demands, rewards, work-life balances, salaries, pressures, locations and more. So it is important to think about your own situation (i.e. Understand yourself) and what you want as an engineer. In particular, in which sector of engineering do you wish to work?  Do you have a particular sort of employer in mind?  Are you limited by location? (Engineering sectors are often clustered to specific parts of the UK.)

Gradcracker offers a useful guide to engineering and non-engineering job sectors, to help you decide, as does Prospects. 

The TARGETjobs website offers a helpful starting point of common sectors in which you can work, for the following disciplines:

as well as an Engineering Careers Guide.

One final point to consider is degree-level: is a bachelor’s degree (BEng) sufficient to work as an engineer, or will you need a master’s (either the integrated MEng or a stand-alone MSc, following a BEng?)  As ever, the answer isn’t straightforward and varies by:

  • sector  – e.g. the electronics industry is often happy with a BEng-level degree; electrical recruiters are more likely to specify a masters-level degree;
  • employer size  – bigger employers tend towards preferring a masters-level degree;
  • employer setting – consulting firms tend towards favouring a masters-level degree;
  • supply & demand  – recruiters will be more flexible when demand for new recruits is high and a BEng may suffice, whereas when recruiters are able to cherry-pick from large numbers of applicants, they are more likely to prefer a masters-level degree.

It often comes down to the sector or company’s desire that their engineers are or become chartered (CEng), which varies widely.  Having an accredited MEng or BEng + MSc makes becoming chartered straightforward.

Some firms may be willing to hire a BEng graduate willing to work towards achieving masters-level qualification, either by further study (part-time/distance learning) or by becoming an incorporated engineer (IEng) first and then working and studying towards full chartered engineer (CEng) status.

The only real way of knowing is to:

  1. Browse current and past graduate vacancies for your preferred type of engineering job and sector.  In addition to the sites listed above, the archive on MyCareerHub (More search options > include expired vacancies) contains thousands of expired graduate jobs from the last few years.
  2. Ask recruiters by attending careers fairs, employer presentations and through networking (see below)

Working in an engineering context

This all sounds very clear-cut: either you can be an engineer, or not. But of course, life is never this simple.  There are a range of opportunities that sit in the middle.  For example:

  • Working in an engineering firm in a non- or semi-engineering role (e.g. sales, finance, project management, logistics/supply chain, purchasing, IT/software etc. where your knowledge of engineering might afford you an advantage).  Look at the range of opportunities in large employers, such as Arup, Babcock,
  • Working outside engineering but using your skills (e.g. patent/intellectual property, estates manager for the NHS/chain of supermarkets or engineering policy work in the Civil Service)

Again, it is important to consider what matters to you and to Understand yourself. 

Think sectors as well as occupations

This also means that you should also consider sectors in which you might like to work, as well as occupations.  Good places to browse sector information are:

  • Prospects – Job sectors
  • Targetjobs – lists job descriptions by sector and also offers advice by sector (links from toolbar at the top of the page)
  • Gradcracker Toolkit – is arranged by sector, with a strong engineering focus.
  • Inside Careers – focuses on five career sectors: pensions, intellectual property/patents, insurance, accountancy and actuarial.

Talk to people

The best way to understand jobs, sectors and to learn about individual employers is to talk to people and hear about them first-hand.  There are many ways to do this:

  • Attend careers events and employer presentations (in-person and online). There is a live listing on MyCareerHub
  • Visit careers fairs – incl. Careers in Engineering (runs at the start of November annually)
  • Engage with employer webinars on Gradcracker. You can ask questions at the live streams (there is also an archive of recordings of previous webinars).
  • Get involved with student societies and professional bodies, which may offer opportunities to meet employers and graduates. Find out more in the Build Experience section.
  • Build your network and use it to set up informational interviews with graduates in different jobs and organisations. Learn more about how to network and using LinkedIn in Becoming professional.

Try things out

Look at the advice on the Build experience pages to see how you can find ways to get experience. The more things you do and try whilst at university, the better you will understand yourself (what you like/dislike, are good at etc.) and understand what different roles and sectors might involve.

Watch video recordings

Watch the recordings on Media Hopper (MyEd log-in required) of:

Use the Careers Service Toolkits

The Careers Service has developed a toolkit for each part of the Careers Compass framework.

The toolkits can help you to understand what you want from a career, identify career options, develop experience and make successful applications. In each toolkit you will find exercises, advice and resources which you can work through at your own pace, choosing to engage with what will be most helpful for you.

https://ed.careercentre.me/Resources/CustomPage/24318