Why Study Engineering?

With university fees now at potentially £9,000 a year, the question of which subject to study has become particularly pertinent. Studying a degree for the love of a subject has unfortunately become a luxury perhaps few can afford.

I believe that for the vast majority of students, picking a degree that will pay for itself, whilst not necessarily as easy, is certainly the wiser option. Whilst arts and humanities degrees have their merits (particularly from good universities), and no doubt do improve job prospects they do so to a much lesser extent than the vocational subjects such as medicine, law and engineering.

I chose to study aerospace engineering at Bristol University, and whilst I did so because because of a passion for maths,physics and problem solving I also knew that I would come out of University with much better prospects for finding work and with a diverse set of skills.

Engineering graduates typically find work quicker, earn high salaries and are in greater demand than non-science based students. If you enjoy solving exciting problems it is a particularly rewarding, if challenging degree. And whilst you may find yourself with a lot less spare time than your fellow arts or humanities students you will also find yourself in a much better positions three or four years down the line.

Engineering graduates are renowned for their ability to think outside of the box, to solve problems rationally and creatively and are known to work well in teams. These are skills that many firms in the city are willing to pay high salaries for, often high enough to tempt you out of working in the engineering sector!

Work hard and do well in such a degree and you will find plenty of opportunities in many great engineering firms, working on anything from new aircraft designs to wind turbines or even attempting to solve the great problems of the 21st century (or work for a bank and earn twice as much)!

Yes the degrees are tough, but they are incredibly rewarding and you come out university feeling as though you have really achieved something.Whilst I couldn`t go out three nights a week like some students,I still had the best years of my life at university, and I am now in a very strong position having graduated.