An engineering degree is a passport to careers that are as varied as your imagination, says Queen Mary University of London aerospace engineering graduate Kinjal Dave, who is now working as a security consultant at defence contractors BAE.
She found her forte fighting cybercriminals on the graduate scheme at BAE Systems Applied Intelligence (its cyber-intelligence business). Cybersecurity might not be an immediately obvious choice of engineering career, she says: “People have always had this ridiculous perception of engineers as men who are slightly overweight, covered in oil, wearing hard hats.”
Slowly but surely those outdated perceptions are changing. “There are so many routes into engineering,” she continues. “It’s becoming much cooler with the digital revolution – more attractive for younger people and especially women, who are supported with flexible working.”
Data analysis and artificial intelligence have led to an explosion in demand for engineering grads. “Engineering is not just for people wearing high-visibility jackets,” says Nigel Fine, chief executive of the Institution of Engineering and Technology. “The work engineers do now is pretty cool stuff. From robotics to 3D printing and blockchain, technology is reshaping the profession.”
The industry is crying out for fresh talent – particularly women, who historically may have seen engineering as a largely male occupation. The UK needs 37,000 to 59,000 extra engineering graduates and technicians annually, to meet current employer demand, according to the 2018 Engineering UK report.
And with Brexit potentially making it more difficult for UK employers to secure visas and recruit overseas engineers, “employers may hire more domestic students in the near future,” says Verity Davidge, head of education and skills policy at the EEF manufacturers’ organisation. Over 6,000 engineers and tech professionals with job offers had visa applications rejected between December and March.
The skills shortage has put a premium on engineers. The average starting salary of engineering and technology graduates was £25,600 in 2015/16 – 18% higher than the average for graduates overall. The highest paid were minerals technology engineers (£28,500) and general engineers (£27,100).
The most attractive feature of engineering is that the work has become much more fascinating, says Eleanor Eyre, head of careers at Engineering UK: “Engineers are producing medical vaccines, robotic limbs, developing autonomous cars and commercialising space flight.
“The great thing about the profession is that you can follow your passion,” she adds. Many young people are passionate about making a positive impact on society – engineering can contribute to solving the toughest global challenges, such as climate change.
Some civil engineers, for example, are developing tidal and solar energy to bring sustainable power to developing countries. “We are helping the world transition to a low-carbon economy,” says Lord Robert Mair, president of the Institution of Civil Engineers. “Engineering is a really rewarding place to begin a career.”
The pathway to the profession is often Stem subjects – science, technology, engineering and maths. “But creativity and collaboration skills are just as important as technical capability,” says David Heath associate director of resourcing at engineering and consultancy firm Arup. “Graduates need to design and develop solutions in teams and articulate them to clients.”
Arup recruits up to 300 people into its graduate programme each year. “We hire people who want to help us make a difference to the world,” says Heath. “Our engineers shape the future, whether by designing critical infrastructure such as railways or curbing their environmental impact.”
