Hey Dubz, whats your Engineering Discipline?? I know you're involved in yachts
Have you registered with a relevant institute? IMechE, IET, etc? Because they've opened up new routes to get to become an Incorporated Engineer (IEng) or even Chartered Engineer (CEng), aimed at folk who have come through the apprenticeship / trade routes and have gained good, relevant Engineering experience without having necessarily gained a degree. They take all the 'on the job' experience into account. Might be worth looking at. Companies would look more favourably on someone without a degree, but with IEng / CEng than they would on somebody with a Degree but no IEng / CEng. If that makes sense. And would be something relatively straightforward to achieve - some paperwork and an interview - assuming you have all the relevant experience.
Just thinking out loud!!
Thanks Mate,
I don't have an actual discipline, I was just a more "hands on" person when it came to a "Facilities" role, most Facilities Managers/Assistants sit behind a desk with a list of phone numbers for when something needs done or goes wrong, I was of the school of thought... If I can fix it I will. Mostly it was just AHU's, Heating Systems, Phone Systems and AV setups. It's just with the current economic climate their is an increase in competition for positions, as such a lot of places won't even interview without a 3rd level degree (I get the distinct feeling it's any degree as most job specs are asking for a "degree" and not a "relevant degree").
I possibly should do something more along the lines of Project Management or Facilities Management but I feel while these would be more benificial they would also not be as enjoyable, I'd love to do Engineering or something really "hands on" but that wouldn't be as helpful, so I've decided to split the difference and do Engineering Systems Maintanence or Building Services Engineering something thats probably more 50% beneficial and 50% enjoyable.
But thanks for the advice mate I do appreciate it. When I worked on the boat the High Heid Yin used to say we always had to come up with ideas (think out loud) some may have been nonsense but sometimes you could take a nonsense idea and tweak it to something a lot more useful since then I've always been an advocate of "Thinking Out Loud", Cheers Bud.
Hey, I'm in my final year at uni just now, I'm 22 - 23 in a few short weeks and I'm at RGU. I wouldn't say uni is so much a young man's game now as there's quite a few mature students out there now. Across my course 5 across my course and that's Law/Law and Management (haha, about your line about lawyers - its a snooty profession, I didn't get an interview for one traineeship I applied for and I'm 2 As off getting a First!! Dammit! and yeah there are some right knobs in our class - hahaha). Anyway, I was in a class a few years back and we had engineering students in with us and there was heaps of mature students in there. I also know someone from home who has gone back to uni and she's in her 40s and says she loves it. I would definitely say go for it! I don't think its much of a big deal about being the oldest in your class. You find that a lot of the younger people in your class will get to know you, especially those that are keen to learn like yourself as they know you're just about as dedicated as you are. Best bit of advice I can give you is to get to know them well and you're laughing.
Haha sorry about the Lawyer quote but I used to work in the Education Centre of The Law Society of Ireland at Blackhall(it's the last stage to becoming a solicitor, rather than a barrister) It was full of nobs who were seriously full of themselves, however there were some really great folks there too. A lot of the had everything financed by Daddy and would probably end up working in his company these folks also had never had to do a day's "hard graft" in their life. It was much later when I worked in a big Solicitors firm that I actually realised how arrogant these people were, When at the firm they were the lowest of the low.
Senior Partners
Partners
Solicitors
Execs
Secretaries
Support Staff (IT/Facilities/HR/Reception/etc.)
Apprentices
They made tea, did shredding/photocopying and all the menial tasks while also learning the ins and outs but when they came to Blackhall they strutted about as if they owned the place. That is why I still have a bit of a problem with some of them, They were talked down to in the Office (never by me) so they then thought it was ok to talk down to the support staff in Blackhall. I once heard one ask a colleague (in the bar) where he got his law degree my colleague replied "I didn't, I work here I'm an administrator for your course" the reply was dealt with a snear "Oh a servant". I'm not a vindictive person but at that moment I would loved to have pulled his file and made his time at Blackhall extremely difficult (given him the strictest tutors, the earliest lectures the latest tutorials, kept him hanging around all day and various other petty victories) but alas I didn't.
Hey no worries about that quote. No offence taken! haha! I'm thinking of working within the law but not as a solicitor. I'm almost finished my degree and would be due to start the Diploma (which would be the equivalent to what your speaking about) but ... meh ... its £5000 to do it, and there's limited chances of funding - RGU only gets 14 funded places, so those with the best grades get in. No way am I in the top 14 and sadly, all those who get everything funded by daddy will get funded when they don't really need it. Bit shit like! There's a few of those in my class - twats. Like one who got a B for his employment law moot and laughed his way at everyone else's - we got info that at school he was known as the closet gay cos he kinda looks like one! haha. half of them wouldn't get off on speaking to the uni's staff like tho - 2 of our course administrators are trained solicitors. My mum was at a tribunal with one of them running it and all she said was I would not like to get on the wrong side of him!
Here's the website link to the IET's advice on being an Incorporated Engineer (IENG) IET and advice from the Engineering Council ec
The telecomms / small power side of things would definitely fall under the IET's remit as an awarding body. And, as I say, companies will look favourably on a CV where the applicant is registered with an institution. And I would strongly recommend speaking to the IET's career councillors about pursuing something like an IEng. They can be very helpful.
Also, if its more project Engineering roles you're looking into, there's some good MA courses that can be done in evening classes and would only take two or three years. Appreciate it wouldn't be as enjoyable, would would be completed in a shorter time than it would to get an Engineering degree (4 years for a bachelors). And an MA would be more useful as you took the project engineering forward. I know quite a few of our Project Engineers here have followed this route.
