Want to build a robot or a plane? Study mechanical engineering

With a shortage of engineers in the UK, there’s no better time to join this exciting industry

If you have dreamed of building a robot or an aircraft, or if you have a passion for racing cars or even for designing Mars bars, mechanical engineering is the subject for you.

It is for people who like translating theoretical research into practical solutions. From smartphones to healthcare and climate change, and from food processors to mapping the human genome, mechanical engineers are at the forefront of ground-breaking innovations.

“We make things move,” says Dr Helen Meese, head of healthcare at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Today’s engineers are offering the technological solutions that will reduce mankind’s impact on the planet and ensure there is enough energy to cope with population growth.

There are more than 900 mechanical engineering courses and you can take the subject at most UK universities either with another branch of engineering or on its own. Dr Meese studied electromechanical power engineering and worked in an oil refinery after graduation.

A few universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, Warwick and Exeter offer all engineers a general course in their first two years, with the option to specialise after that. “We think that people will be better placed for the workplace that way,” says Professor David Towers, head of mechanical engineering at the University of Warwick.

Courses last four or five years, depending on whether you spend a year working in industry. The majority of students now opt for the MEng rather than the BEng. “We’re trying to educate people to go on to the professional level of engineering and that means we need to put students on the route to become chartered,” says Professor Towers.

To get on to a degree course you need A-level maths and/or physics. The same goes for entry to a higher apprenticeship in engineering run by a company such as Ford, Rolls-Royce or Jaguar Land Rover.

To gain entry to Ford’s higher apprenticeship, for example, you need three A-levels or equivalent at grades B or above, including maths, physics and one other science. These apprenticeships educate at degree level and come with a salary and on-the-job training. They are a real alternative to university.

Pay and prospects are good. On graduation you can earn £26,000-£28,000 a year in your first job. After 10 years this can rise to £50,000-£60,000, particularly if you have chartered status.

Opportunities for young engineers abound in the traditional industries of cars and aerospace, in defence and in many other companies. You will be doing the country a service by becoming an engineer. “The nation is crying out for engineers,” says Steve Wainwright, new product development manager at Naylor Industries in Barnsley.