• Question: what qualifications do you need to become an engineer ?

    Asked by SorryAboutThem to Mike, Camilla, Katie, Rhys on 18 Jun 2015. This question was also asked by 123spcc37, Maya.
    • Photo: Mike Lawton

      Mike Lawton answered on 18 Jun 2015:

      You can actually become an engineer without any qualifications, although this is really unusual. I once worked with a brilliant electronics engineer who had no formal qualifications. He taut himself at home and become an excellent ‘hands-on’ practical engineer.

      But the quickest route – and far more normal – is to get qualified. Ideally a Degree in a technical subject is required, which means you’ll need good A levels in something like physics, maths. If you’re not too good at exams like me, you can still become a successful engineer by becoming an apprentice – this is the route I went as I had no A-levels.

      Hope this helps – and good luck!

    • Photo: Camilla Weiss

      Camilla Weiss answered on 24 Jun 2015:

      It depends what kind of engineer you want to be, and there are lots of different areas – mechanical, aeronautical, thermal, biomedical, chemical, MAterial… You can probably tell that most of these are related to a science, so some kind of science and maths is a good place to start with A Levels. After that you can do a degree in engineering directly or maybe do a science degree and then do a masters in engineering (that’s what I did). Apprenticeships are also a good way to become an engineer.

    • Photo: Katie Sparks

      Katie Sparks answered on 24 Jun 2015:

      There are lots of ways to become an engineer.
      One route is to do something academic with maths – so a degree in physics or engineering would work there (but that’s not the only choice) you’ll also need good grades to get a great job too.
      The other route is apprenticeships: for these you are employed and your employer pays some (if not all) of your studying to HNC/ HND, some places all help fund study to degree level, but you’ll need to look around.

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