Engineering apprenticeships

[psycho_fling]

hi all

just wondereing if anyone went down this route after school 6th form and what the expierence was like? where did you do it? what area of engineering?

and any other info

thanks alex

[typhoon_driver]

Engineering apprenticeships

Didnt go down the apprenticeship route but I instead took a year out before uni and got a job with rolls royce through year in industry

http://www.yini.org.uk/http://www.yini.org.uk/

[john]

Engineering apprenticeships

worse thing i ever did was stay at 6 form and not get an apprenticeship :sad:

[Kenny]

Engineering apprenticeships

What type of engineering are you intrested in getting into?

[Mouldy]

Engineering apprenticeships

Im in my final year of doing one and its rubbish. Your going to find it hard to find one at the moment aswell with so many engineering companys making employees re-dundant at the momment. The engineering industry isnt a very nice place to work at the moment. I went to a college with alot of aprentices from large companys suchs as GKN drive line, goodrich etc. most of the companys are making alot of workers redundant at the moment. As an aprentice your pretty much immune to redundancys, but it doesnt garantee you a job when your out of your time.

Do urself a favour, stay at school, go to uni..by the time your finished the economy might of settled down and you will be better qualified.

I regret not going to uni even though i had the qualifications to get in.

[Kenny]

Engineering apprenticeships

before you start an uni course or anything like that look at what qualifactions you need, if any, what you need for the job you want to get after, there were a few people what came into the company i used to work for before i started one myself, they had been to uni and got the grades but when it came to me showing them the machines we wanted them to run they didnt have a clue how to use them., All companys will look at experiance over grades in engineering, because if you havent run the machines before why should they employ you.

[RogueTwoRobots]

Engineering apprenticeships

To me thats what seems to be the main issue between taking the uni or college route compared with an apprenticeship. A lot of employers, as Kenny said, will choose someone with practical experience over someone with the written qualifications from an instituion and I can understand why.

After three years of uni, the most practical work Ive had related to the curriculum was to build a small hinge in first year (the biggest piece of apparatus we used was a pillar drill - the rest was all school-level technical work) and to dismantle and rebuild a small motorcycle engine in 2nd year. That wont help us much when it comes to being asked to operate lathes/mills etc

We have a mechanics club in uni but it hasnt really taken off. The most we can use unsupervised is the pillar drill again, even for the lathe we have to ask a technician to do it (all due to Health and Safety restrictions within the department).

Based on what Ive learned from the past couple of years at uni: if you decide to go down the uni path, make sure you work hard to pass your exams first time round so you can keep your summers free from resit exams. Then you can use the holidays to do internships and placements at engineering companies and (depending on where you get an internship) you can gain valuable experience using machines. You might not have a bit of paper that says youre qualified to operate that machine but the useful thing is that you can.

Fortunately youre also in a hobby that requires machine use from time to time and, even if you dont have your own machines, you will probably be able to ask around for some practice time and instruction on using machines. Every bit of experience you get will stand you in good stead further down the line.

[typhoon_driver]

Engineering apprenticeships

From what I have seen from companies generally university graduates are expected to work excel and not much more. Just work it in new and interesting ways.

I am getting real sick of my uni course and especially my year abroad

*RANT WARNING!*

One of the lecturers I have today told the entire class 7 weeks in well after we can swap classes that none of should have taken it as none of us have the relavent previous experience for the class. He cant speak english much fullstop and wont answer perfectly sensible questions about the work. The notes are a joke and all the tasks we are given have to perfect or else we get them back to correct them. I am now sitting with 6 seperate reports including graphs and technical drawings to do for this class as well as more on the horizon. O and if I dont get the credits for this class i will have to do the equivalent of a full years work in a semester next semester.

Ok sorry to rant and go off tangent but it has been one of those days.....

[Gaseraki]

Engineering apprenticeships

*pats Gary on the back

There there....there there.

Well I am not an engineer but I am a uni graduate and my partner works in recruitment usually dealing with laborers, welders and certain engineers.

Maybe ten years ago things were differnt but nowadays University degrees are not essential.
Experience by far is the most important thing for emplyment and not education.
However on that argument, an 18 year old fresh from school is going to have a harder time finding a job then a graduate.

I would suggest taking a gap year and looking for work when you leave school. This year working will help you find employment at the end of your degree as well as get you looking forward to dossing about for 3 years at uni.

From the engineers I have spoken to involved in this sport have said that robotic combat has really helped them get the job. This tells your employers that you do this thing for a hobby.

Any hows take care. Feel your pain gary. Had a lecturer specialize in CGI coding and he gave me such grief. When you could make out what he was saying it was mostly rubbish any way.

[stu]

Engineering apprenticeships

Difference in opinion it seems..

Quote Maybe ten years ago things were different but nowadays University degrees are not essential.

errr if anything i have been told and also seeing the complete opposite!

In my IT/Business Uni Course, we had alot of mature students in our class (say lots say about 6 out of our group of 30) because companies are sending them back to Uni to get the Qualification.

I agree experience is slightly more than a qualification (sometimes), but at the end of the day you need the paper work... These people were being told, go and complete the Uni course or we need to drop you, as we have all these new students with the paper work and you dont. So another way of looking at it maybe?

If anything, was told paper work is more important than experience when it comes to professional jobs. Specially in the IT/Business/Teaching/Nursing industry now. But experience is just as important that€™s why most courses put you on placements or give you projects with a real client etc for real life experience.

My advice as it was given to me and glad i took it, go to Uni as soon as you can while your in the learning motivation mood. I was told by the careers people something like 65% of students who take a gap year and intended to go back to uni, didn€™t. I€™m glad i went right to Uni, glad i did it for the experience it self, and glad i did it now rather than taking a gap year. But that€™s just me.

And i feel for you also Gary, glad it wasnt me... we had a module in Information Process Managment (annoying module to say the least) and they give us some guy from Iran who speaks English like he just arrived in the county for the first time (even though he lived here for 25 years) and goes off on tangents alot and speaks rubbish and gave us slides to read but were no use really. And then had a go when we only got Bs. And it was a module you HAD to complete, or you re did it again. 40% class failed and had to have him again, woop woop. LOL.

Go to Uni, get a job/experience over summer holidays, do a course with placement if its in engineering. Good Luck! Youll love it!

Mr Stu

[craig_anto]

Engineering apprenticeships

Ive got a HNC in mechanical engineering and have completed a Advanced Modern Apprenticeship I have everything but a degree in mechanical engineer and wish I had a degree
Stus right most employers these days are looking for grads they can get maching done abroad or by veteran workers, getting a machinist job these days can be difficult

Go to uni I went and did a media degree and loved my time at uni, go to uni as Stu says youll love it

[psycho_fling]

Engineering apprenticeships

in a perfect world i would like to do something with electrical engineering and the sort where you make stuff or machines

my work expierence was with a company who service the robots in car plants, i have a qulification in progamming them now that would be a good job for me as i really liked it

the reason im thinking more of going for apprenticeships is beacuse i want to be making stuff and im getting bored of studying etc

thanks for the advice, really appreicate it

alex

[Gaseraki]

Engineering apprenticeships

Yeah I agree, a difference in opinion.
Maybe depends on the employer.
In computer animation qualifications are not needed. I was not asked once to show that I had done any education. I could of got this job with no degree, A levels or GCSEs.
This is also the same in other companies and widely discussed.

I guess there are certain jobs which require you to have a degree. But there are occasions where I chat with a few friends and the topic of conversation is the lack of use of degrees. Saying Degrees are only useful for special fields......like marcos. I then jump in and tell them that they are completely wrong.

Considering that Stu has told me otherwise that degrees are still needed in certain fields. Speak to some one in the working field that you want to apply to and get there advice. Avoid just speaking to universities. They will just convince you that you field does need a degree and you do need to apply to this university.

Regarding CGI degrees are not needed but it sure helped me. Three years to improve me skills gave me a good start to getting a job. However if your awesome before university then you wont benefit much.

[stu]

Engineering apprenticeships

Marco Said - They will just convince you that you field does need a degree and you do need to apply to this university. Hehe yeah heeeeesss sooo right there.

Thing is i know plenty of people who could write a database information process software programn blah balh balh alot better than me, and they neve even completed A-Levels... but they dont have the paper work to back them up to get the job. I have the job as i proved i can do it, they dont have a job in that field as they cant really prove it. Even now when my Job is going to send me out to a clients place to do some computer work, even that company wants to see my CV to make sure i have a degree and im good enough for the job! Its scary!

Some jobs like CGI and Art/ Design its all about showing off what you have all ready done - a portfolio kind of style thing. then fair play. Id hire someone who shows me some ace designs and so on than someone who has nothing but a degree. This subject crops up all the time, even on the other forums im part of. One of lifes things. Some people are lucky and some are not.

But something like Electrical Engineering is a pro job and you need to prove your safe and know what your doing, eg a Degree or high qualification.

But if i had the time and money, id go back to Uni and do ANY course just to get back to Uni. The skills and how it helps you grow as a person is great.

Mr Stu

[typhoon_driver]

Engineering apprenticeships

and then there are the awesome parties, waking up at 2pm with the realisation that you have missed all the days lectures so you get ready to party again, waking up in random locations, waking up with random objects....I could go on