IAgrE - Why Engineering

Never let it be said that engineering is poorly paid

Some of you may be lucky enough to have a very clear idea of what career you want to pursue but for many, making this decision can be a major problem. It is surprising how many students leaving school still have absolutely no idea what they want to do after school or University. So lets be hard nosed about this and see why you should choose to follow a career in Engineering, and Agricultural Engineering in particular.

Did you know -

Employers think that engineering degrees are an excellent `general' qualification. With demand exceeding supply, the engineering profession needs significantly more new recruits than either medicine or law. There is currently an estimated shortfall of some 9,000 engineering graduates per year.

Some more interesting statistics

55% of engineering graduates go into finance, commerce and other fields
72% of engineering graduates find employment within 6 months of graduation compared with 60% of other graduates
45% of all professionally qualified Chairmen or Chief Executives of UK manufacturing companies have an engineering or science background
80 of the FTSE Top 100 companies have a professional engineer on their main board
There are more engineers on the boards of quoted UK companies than any other profession except accountants
City firms have discovered that an appreciation of technology adds value to financial analysis.
Average annual earnings for Chartered Engineers exceed £44,000 compared to solicitors (£34K), accountants (£28K), architects (£25K), and health professionals (£39K). Indeed, many of the highest paid individuals in the UK are engineers.
Engineering is increasingly the career choice for young women with the numbers of women on engineering degree courses doubling since 1984.

So, there has probably never been a better time to get into the Engineering profession.

Professional engineers register with the Engineering Council at Engineering Technician, Incorporated Engineer and Chartered Engineer levels. Courses leading to these registerable levels are available from over 50 colleges feeding into the land based sector. These colleges include Universities and the more traditional agricultural and horticultural colleges throughout the country. Courses provided range from NVQ1 and 2 (Operator level) through NVQ3 (Craftsperson/Engineering Technician) to NVQ4 Incorporated Engineer with the Universities providing degree level courses for Incorporated and Chartered Engineers.

Never let it be said that engineering is poorly paid

Did you know -

Some more interesting statistics

So, there has probably never been a better time to get into the Engineering profession.

For further information about career opportunities in agricultural engineering, please contact the Institution.