Engineering : Overview

The industry in a nutshell

• Engineering covers anything that is built or produced. Engineers and other professionals work in manufacturing, transport, construction, medicine, energy, chemicals and more.
• Post-recession forecasts for engineering are good. The Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) Graduate Recruitment Survey 2010 (Winter Review) showed that engineering, oil, construction, energy, utilities and water all expected their graduate recruitment to grow in in the future due to improved business confidence.
• The Royal Academy of Engineering reported that the current supply of graduate engineers was not projected to make up for the numbers retiring (Engineering Graduates for Industry, 2010).

What kind of work can I do?

There is a wide range of work available in this sector including:

• product and process development;
• manufacturing;
• consultancy;
• research and development;
• data management;
• IT support;
• logistics;
• management and administration;
• sales.

Non-engineering graduates can find careers in engineering as accountants, HR, IT, sales and marketing professionals and many more.

Many large companies also employ more than one kind of engineering graduate. For example, large oil companies recruit chemical, civil, electrical, electronic, mechanical, software and structural engineers.

What’s it like working in this sector?

• Working locations vary according to your role, and can include working in an office, laboratory, factory floor, on site or even a combination of these. Office hours, shift work and work away from home are common. 
• Starting salaries for newly graduated trainee engineers average £24,000.
• Only 7% of professional engineers are females (WISE, 2010). The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and some large companies offer mentoring programmes for women. Women into Science, Engineering and Construction (WISE) was established to encourage women to consider an engineering career.

How big is this sector?

In 2008 there were 470,305 engineering enterprises employing 4.5 million people in the UK (Engineering UK, 2009/10).

The UK has the sixth largest manufacturing industry, which alone employs 3 million people.

The number of registered engineers is estimated to be between 369,000 and 568,000. The Engineering Council estimates that approximately 180,000 of these are either incorporated or chartered. (Engineering UK 2009/10)

Where can I work?

• Most opportunities are in major towns and cities.
• Multi-nationals offer opportunities to spend periods of time working on projects overseas.
• Chemical manufacturing is centred in northwest England.
• The oil industry is centred in Aberdeen.
• High-tech areas of engineering are usually based around Oxford, Cambridge and London.