Careers As An Engineer & Engineering Training
The term 'engineering' is used in many different ways. Those looking for a career in aeronautical engineering or automotive engineering are likely to be seeking work with challenge and innovation.
In the UK, the aerospace industry competes on the world stage, and is a front runner in scientific and technological developments. Similarly the automotive industry here provides design, development and manufacturing work for around three hundred thousand people.
Reputable Training
Training in the UK is excellent - in fact there are over thirty British universities offering aeronautical engineering based courses alone. Students can also go on to do post grad work at many institutions. (Other colleges and institutions offer training in the subjects as well). Undergraduates can take the opportunity to put the knowledge and experience they've gained in the first two years of their degree programme into practice by taking a one year industrial placement in year three.
Sandwich courses can also be available on certain training programmes. If you're prepared to agree to work for a particular organisation following graduation, you may be able to negotiate a sponsorship deal. It really is good advice to do your research thoroughly, as there are such a lot of alternatives to consider.
Automotive Engineering
This area involves everything to do with the production of motorised vehicles. The automotive engineer's skills are tested right from the initial design concepts. With new technologies such as ultra low emissions, active suspensions, composite material structures and electric vehicles, there is much to challenge the thought processes of the student.
In the life cycle of a vehicle, design engineering comes first, followed by development engineering and then manufacturing engineering. Product or design engineers will first design all the parts and test them to make sure they perform properly. The development engineers' co-ordinate the engineering attributes of vehicles. They liaise with designers with regard to technical specifications and so on. Their work is then given to the manufacturing engineers, who establish how the vehicle will be built.
There are a great deal of product disciplines for the auto engineering student to take on board. Amongst other subjects, you will be taught about aerodynamics, performance, emissions and vehicle dynamics. Safety is a top priority, and so all elements of a design will be tested via crash simulations and test dummies etc.
All components have to function well for the job they're designed to do, but they also have to work synergistically with the whole vehicle. That's why automotive engineering students need to learn about the work of development engineers. This area also covers trade-offs - such as learning how to achieve performance whilst maintaining fuel economy.
In the end, developers must have carried out sufficient checks and tests to verify that the finished automobile will be street legal and in line with the manufacturers' demands.
When the design and development work are completed, the vehicle is ready for the manufacturing process. Manufacturing engineering is involved with a wide assortment of tasks related to the planning and engineering of assembly. Safety procedures have to be applied to every stage of manufacture - from design of equipment and layout of people, to machine and line rates and all automated tasks.
The Aerospace Industry
Aeronautical engineers are involved in the research, design, manufacture and maintenance of all forms of aircraft. Students who train as aeronautical engineers would be preparing themselves for a career in the aerospace industry -a most interesting industry at the forefront of science and technological developments. (That said, engineers working in Formula One use aerospace technology too!)
Atmospheric pressure and temperature changes place huge stresses on aircraft during flights. Due to the complexity of flight vehicle development and design, it would be impossible to learn enough about all the technologies involved, so teams of engineers deal in their own specialisations.
Students will use software to learn about design and the layout of essential aeronautical systems. All studies will focus on analytical concepts. Examples of analytical subjects are Fluid Mechanics, Thermodynamics and Dynamics. In recent years advances in computing mean that simulations can be used to test the behaviour of fluid, which lessens the need for expensive wind tunnel research. (Nevertheless, students will still get plenty of opportunity to experiment with wind tunnels and other physical testing machines).
When training to be an engineer you need a lot of practical design experience. All academic programmes will involve a mixture of group and individual assignments to design and build actual machines or components.
Training courses in these engineering disciplines will also introduce students to other transferable skills. Such areas as time-management, writing skills and presenting can all help at interview.
The aerospace industry provides excellent career development into a variety of technical and managerial roles. Completing an accredited engineering degree course will allow you to obtain the status of a professional Incorporated Engineer or Chartered Engineer.
