Engineering Degree. What else can you do with it?

DRoyalSampler

Does having an engineering degree open up other professions to you? Just wondering as i'm still in college and not to sure whether I would want to do engineering when I finish.

If it does what are the other professions?
Has anybody had experience with doing this and what was it?
Or know anybody that has done this and what where their experiences?
Would I need to get more qualifications to enter these other professions?

I have completed an ordinary degree in Building Services Engineering in DIT and am moving into the Honours Degrees.

Obviously the Honours Degree would be better but would it much different than the Ordinary Degree if moving into an other profession. The extra two years spent in college getting my Honours Degree could be used studying for a qualification (a diploma) in an other profession. Am I wrong in thinking this.

Thanks to anybody that can give me any info.

ArseBurger

Generally, your degree gets you your first job. What you do after that is up to you and how you steer your career. I did Electrical Engineering in college and have never worked in that area.

Also, having a primary honors degree will allow you entry into other third level degrees if that's a path you want to consider?

Within DIT (at least when I was there) there was a mechanism to move between disciplines if you had the appropriate marks. A couple of guys in my course moved to the Science degree for example.

advise12345

You can use it after you go to the toilet. thats about all its good for these days

Secoundrow

advise12345 wrote: »

You can use it after you go to the toilet. thats about all its good for these days

+1

It makes great quality toilet paper.

Woden

Please keep it on topic guys.

random.stranger

Engineering is such a broad area, you can usually find something that you like, but if you want to (or have to) work outside the area, I don't think it would be a problem.

Engineers make good technical sales reps, project managers & generally end up in a management position over time anyways.

I'm sure there will be tonnes of options open to you, might be worth popping into the careers office in your college to go through your options with them.

Good luck.

gcdwebmaster

from my friends who did engineering degrees, they have a variety of occupations, many work in software industry, I know a sales rep who has an engineering degree, a project manager, a guy working in TV production, and a guy who went on to do an MBA now runs a business(which has nothing to do with engineering or technology)

D-Generate

Many go in to banking, either in IT or in investment banking (trading, algo-trading, etc). They like the quantitative analytic skills that engineering courses give its students.

Cicero

OP - First of all well done on your achievements to date- NOTHING you have done from a study perspective will go to waste- it just might not be used in its pure form- but most degrees are like that- its qualifications coupled with real life experience that brings it all together.
A lot of engineers take on management roles quite early in their career - the way you have been taught to think and analyse (like a previous poster has suggested) along with a considerable body of knowledge, will certainly stand to you. Most people eventually specialise after their degree- regardless of what their primary degree is- you have asked a difficult question because the specialisation is up to you in a way- you could go on and study Law and specialise in construction law, study accountancy and work in a manufacturing related area or indeed, as one engineer I met in SuperValue 4 years ago, take a year off, and with a friend, develop a line of Thai sauces and organic rices- seriously- that happened!
Work experience is probably going to be your biggest challenge in the current climate but somehow I feel your question is something on the lines of : What will I be when I grow up??
Up to now, you might of thought 'An engineer' - my advice is ultimately aim to be a 'something' - engineer, accountant, etc etc - what specialisation you choose is purely your decision- if you haven't already, do a 'battery' of tests with a careers councilor- always very useful to give you a steer and focus- finally, ask some friends over a pint- If you could see me in a job, what would it be? - might surprise you what their answers might be and give you some additional insight into yourself

best of luck with it.

samhail

i got a BEng in computer engineering out of college 3 or 4 years now and im working as a Software Tester (permanent consultancy). not exactly what i studied in college but still in IT/software.

imported_guy

im going to be using it to get into graduate medicine

Buffman

DRoyalSampler wrote: »

Obviously the Honours Degree would be better but would it much different than the Ordinary Degree if moving into an other profession. The extra two years spent in college getting my Honours Degree could be used studying for a qualification (a diploma) in an other profession. Am I wrong in thinking this.

Thanks to anybody that can give me any info.

Well, I don't think you'll have the time to be doing a diploma in one thing and the final two years of the honours BS degree at the same time.

But to give you a few examples from my class, some went straight into consultancies, contractors, commissioning etc... A group headed off to Australia, another is in engineering sales, another is a pub manager, and one joined the guards.

The building services degree is a very flexible one.