Sounds like a pretty sad question, but I’m just looking for suggestions here! Hopefully this paired with various interviews, lots of prospectus searching, and much mind making-upping will help me decide what to aim for.

I’m in 5th year (first year of 6th form to English people I think), so I’m studying my highers. I’m doing English, Maths, Physics, Technological Studies and Graphics. I enjoy the last two the most, but I’m adequate at all five of them (projected 5 A’s) and also do loads of sport and musical stuff in my spare time. My problem is that I’ve no idea what I want to study at uni, or what I want to do for a living.

What I want:
-CAD/CAG content
-Not monotonous – new challenges constantly arising
-Not always indoors, and not a typical office job
-Use of brain every so often
-Decent pay
-Not necessarily much teamwork – I always seem to end up clearing up other people’s mistakes which annoys me

I’m told that the industry is crying out for engineers, but what exactly do each of the types of engineer do? What alternatives do I have?

Any (relatively sensible) suggestions appreciated.

Ta

Join the forces

-Not necessarily much teamwork

Houns – Member
Join the forces

🙂

Have a look at Renewables. Lots of work here in Scotland for decades to come and we need young keen people 🙂

Choose something portable. By which I mean a job that you can do in different places around the world.

I say this because it’s what I wish I’d done.

Anything in the engineering area uses maths, lots of it. That will get you into other roles too, including accounting & finance.

Civil Eng: roads, railways, bridges, infrastructure, dams, big pipes. related to structural eng: making buildings and other constructions work without falling down.
Mechanical Eng: Think engines, metals, vehicles, anything which has moving parts or comprises parts which are fixed together.
Chemical Eng: Smaller pipes. Food, pharmaceuticals, brewing, petrochemicals, nuclear: anything dealing with “stuff”

and there are other disciplines too. Look at the Engineering COuncil websites.

I’ll add Electronics engineering as well – think anything from designing mobile phones, to computers to 100kW electron beam generators to mixing desks for sound. You’ll need the maths and physics for that. You could also go all the way to semiconductor design as well but then you are possibly limiting yourself on the ‘trasportability’ bit that others were talking about.

I’m 47. I still have no idea what I want to do with my life.

HTH.

😀

If you want to head into the engineering field look at apprenticeships. You’ll gain a lot of qualifications relevant to that field of engineering and should get a job at the end of it.
Getting paid rather than racking up a massive uni debt is also a bonus…

-CAD/CAG content
-Not monotonous – new challenges constantly arising
-Not always indoors, and not a typical office job
-Use of brain every so often
-Decent pay

Civil engineering.

I would recommend thinking about stuff that your have enjoyed doing over the last couple of years, writing a few down, and seeing if that points in a particular direction. e.g. are you someone who likes to tinker mechanically, fiddle with amplifiers, draw designs of things? Whatever you pick you’ll be doing it for a while so pick something you like doing :). You CAN change later but it is better to do stuff that pushes your mathematical skills now rather than later as it is tough to get your maths back up to speed at 40.

-Not monotonous – new challenges constantly arising

This bit is up to you, be up for taking new stuff when it arises even if you aren’t quite ready for it. The more you take them up the more they will start to appear.

Not necessarily much teamwork – I always seem to end up clearing up other people’s mistakes which annoys me

The only way to avoid working in a team in the end is to either work for youself or be so totally brilliant at something that others will leave you to yourself. Better to get on with the teamwork really

I’m adequate at all five of them (projected 5 A’s)

Improve your English for a start! Adequate is not the best description of 5 grade A’s 😯

Also when you say not always indoors do you mean outside if it’s sunny? Outdoors is fun with the right people and sunshine otherwise it’s just grim.

Portable is key these days as there are no jobs for life and moving is a good way of getting on.

As my eldest said, I might not want to go to Uni, but I have to – as its expected (by employers) these days.

But you’re only 16/17, don’t worry about it.

1. You’re more likely to successful and therefore employable if you do something you really like doing… IME it means you’ll be motivated to do a good job, and break through any barriers in your way.
Too many people* spend their working life doing something they don’t even enjoy, it’s a waste

2.

I’m adequate at all five of them (projected 5 A’s)

sort out your perfectionism! It’ll hold you back

3. Hardly anyone at your age knows what they really want to do – most graduates don’t either. Do a degree you’re interested in and then see what you think would be my advice

* including me!

Try for:

Oxbridge
Harvard
MIT (I’d kill to get into MIT)
Yale
Stanford
Princeton

You won’t regret graduating from either of these, although the work load may seem dire in your first year. Any of these will open doors to you that you would never have thought existed and not necessarily in your degree field if you so choose, a good degree from either of these will prove to an employer your pretty much capable of putting your mind to anything. For example, if you apply for a Finance job with a degree in Engineering from MIT….they will definitely take notice of you.

By the sounds of it though, you should have done Biology if you want to do a bit of work outdoors and use your brain.

If you can afford it or you can convince someone to give you a grant, stateside is where it’s at in terms of scientific research. If you find yourself unable to do undergraduate there then save up and take a masters in the States and/or do a year there on Erasmus during your undergraduate – whatever you do…get international experience.

It’s common to feel like you don’t have an overwhelmingly strong calling to do something at 17 – this describes most people. Given your background, you’re probably best keeping your options open by taking a maths, physical sciences or (if you must) engineering degree at a Russell group university. These will be broad degrees where there’s certain to be something that clicks with you.

You need to decide if you’re a seeker of truth (maths, physics) or whether you’re more in to pipe fitting (engineering). Either pathway can be very rewarding.

Stick with the maths for as long as you can keep advancing your knowledge, in the long run it’ll give you a good income and flexibility in the job market. The rufty tufty fun stuff you can do at the weekends.

Yeah Maths is a good choice…..I’m moving away from my undergrad in Biomedical Science to Biometry/Medical Statistics.

I should end up with a nice rounded education in Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics.

Just concentrate on your education for now and aim for a top university. You have to be better than everyone else around you – read, read and read around your subjects – don’t just cover the course material – find things that interest you so that you can talk to interviewers about things that will impress them.

Forget about drugs, booze and birds. The latter will come once you start doing well – I wish I was your age now so I had the sense to be the best I could have been at that age…..instead I ended up doing things the hard way.

Gosh, at your age my 3 main priorities were getting off my face, attempting to shag girls and going to gigs. My early career choices were also driven by those 3 wants. You sound very sensible, you will be fine.

Good question…. nuclear industry will always want well educated and qualified employees, whether to build new power stations or to decomission old ones (I don’t see the world ever not wanting electricity, so it will always have a future). Npower used to run a really good apprenticeship/sponsorship scheme for engineers to work in the general sector, especially ndt, but I’m sure there will be others too.
CERN have paid (yes, really) programmes for graduates from all the contributing countries and its really good pay. The UK does not provide enough applicants for them, they would like us to send more (this is current, I was there last month).
At the end of the day pick a course that you think you will enjoy that takes you in the direction you hope to go in, and then embrace what happens along the way.

Good luck, and enjoy the journey

(P.s I’m a teacher who has worked in industry in the UK and overseas)

(Pps I’ve been marking all evening and out on a second job all day, so apologies for any spelling etc in advance to any critics out there).

Forget about drugs, booze and birds.

Worst advice ever.

Worst advice ever.

I sincerely regret doing all the shit I did at his age.

It’s taken me a good 8 years since I was 16 to start to tire of the three things I’ve just mentioned and I’m only now just starting to grasp the fact I can go anywhere or do anything as long as I stay motivated and that I should stop missing the chance to grab opportunities by the neck.

I sincerely regret doing all the shit I did at his age

Unlucky, i had a ball and my career hasn’t suffered due any of it.

Have you thought of Architecture/Architectural technician/Town and Country Planning kind of areas?
Renewables is a good call.

Unlucky, i had a ball and my career hasn’t suffered due any of it.

I guess some people can handle both but some of us get distracted, I have a bit of a one track mind.

Comparing my friends that did very VERY well…. to the ones that got say….a 2:2 in Physics or whatever at Sheffield….then their idea of success is a whole other ball game.

There’s coasting and doing okay then there is making the most of yourself.

I think that is one of the most difficult questions in life. I have no idea. Try and do something thoughtful and caring? bwaarp, you sound like such an asshole.

Don’t ask me, i’m 39 and i’ve just walked away voluntarily from a £75k+ a year job because i didn’t really like the way the job was being run……… /idiot

Anyway did you get into Oxbridge or an Ivy league..

Nope, nor did i ever aspire to. I think any response i give you on where i am at in life will just sound a bit smug, so I’ll not bother. But I’m glad you have found your focus and drive.

Smell it….sorry mate didn’t mean to word it like that…I edited it….what I was trying to get at is that I have plenty of friends who have done okay….landed in decent jobs after graduating from a redbrick…..but a few of them could have done much much better had they not been so lazy or distracted.

And they know and regret the fact they didn’t push themselves.

Yes, I’ve known a couple of guys who graduated from Oxford that I used to go punting with off our face on shrooms etc that were heavy drug users and womanizers throughout their time at Oxford – these were the exception to the rule – my point being is that very few students can party hard and be really successful at the same time.

Try for:

Oxbridge
Harvard
MIT (I’d kill to get into MIT)
Yale
Stanford
Princeton
You’ll need more that 5 As at highers to get in to those, you’ll need a few advanced highers too. You’ll need AAB or AA in advanced highers for Oxford for instance.

I would recomend some mathsy engineering – very versatile if maybe not as hands on as civil engineering. You can help develop cutting edge technologies/products/projects.

I’m half way though my research masters and am none the wiser as to what I want to do, worked in renewables for a year and it was pants, gold-rush industry full of cowboys and the planning policy is ridiculously inconsistent.

My advice would be to do something useful but general if you’re unsure, no point getting stuck with something that bores you!

Meh, when I was at 6th form we didn’t have advanced highers!

EDIT: He won’t need more than three highers at A*AA and AA/AAB at advanced highers for most Oxford courses.

I know of a fair few people from a few years back with a silly amount of A-levels at A grades that never got in….and one that did with AAB. They look at other aspects of the student as well.

I’ve logged in for the first time in ages to post on this…

Whatever you do at 30 you’ll say “with the benefit of hindsight…”

Assuming you pick the University route, and I’m not it’s strongest advocate with two subject specific degrees in what turns out to be the wrong subject – two bits of advice:

1. From my experience only a handful of Graduates go on to do what they thought they’d end up doing, pick a good university (Russell Group, regardless of what others say this does matter when you get to the sift) and a broad(ish) degree, not too specific, say mechanical/Structural Engineering. Don’t do work experience in the holidays, pursue women (…) instead, this is the best chance you’ll get. Fight light for you life to get on a graduate scheme with a big company (say Siemens, Nissan etc…) and jump ship after two or three years. This is when you’ll demand a real salary – ride the graduate scheme out.

2. Nepotism works. If you know anyone – use them. That extends to asking on forums where people have common interests*.

Good luck. Enjoy yourself. At some point you’ll work out it’s not a race. 🙂

* Mechanical/Structural/Acoustic/Drafting/Projects, in the North East drop me a mail.

Ps. I’m an Architect. It’s a fantastic couple of degrees but utterly useless if you imagine working less that 60 hours a week for a modest wage.

I did almost the same Highers as you*, and the best advice I got was not to do something practical at Uni, do someone that interests me. So I did Physics and Astronomy. Employers honestly don’t really care all that much exactly what your degree is in for a lot of things, they care that you’re smart and able to learn. I ended up going straight into a very well-paid job with IBM.

Then left after 8 months to start a bike business 😉

*and I got 5 As too…

Agree with many above uni is a route to a job as most employers seem to use “has degree” for a blanket filter of ability (how wrong can people be)

Unless you want to do a specific job (doctor/vet/dentist/Architect) The most important thing you can learn at uni is independence, resolve and a bit about who you are. The rest (including the bit of paper is a bonus). Make sure the course has some relevance but should really tick a load of boxes that say practical, thinker, problem solver etc.

Live at uni, join things experience things things – life I think they call it. That is what makes a good recruit.

If you join a graduate scheme be ready to learn and remember having a degree doesn’t make you good at a job learn from those around you or you will just be a banker graduate who reckons they know it all.

I pissed my degree up the wall left with nothing but the experience part and it’s done me well, I wouldn’t swap that for the world.

I’m currently consulting for the sort of companies that wouldn’t look at my CV as there is no degree on it. I’m paid better than their staff who they picked over me. 5 years down the line the degree doesn’t matter it’s what you learn despite it that does.

well said mikewsmith. I feel a
bit of anger and bitternes there though ;~)

no anger or bitterness, I work part time have earn enough to live comfortably and ride my bikes – leaving the UK helped though

study abroad. if possible, do it in another language. There are loads of options in france, belgium, holland, italy, spain, denmark, sweden, finland and even latvia to study engineering/biology/physics/chemistry disciplines at uni, in english if you need.

Have you thought about a career in dance?