Mechanical Engineering with Management CAREER INSIGHT
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Careers Support AT LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY
No matter what your subject of study, it is never too early or too late to start planning your career. LJMU has a range of careers tools and services available for you, all designed to help you secure the future you aspire to.
Careers Zones
Careers Zone 24/7
LJMU’s Careers Team provides tailored careers and employability support through delivery of careers information, advice and guidance from our three campus-based Careers Zones. At the Zones you can book careers guidance interviews, have your CVs and applications checked by an expert, have practice interviews, get help with postgraduate applications and much more. The Careers Zones are located in Aldham Robarts Library, Byrom Street and IM Marsh Library, supplemented by ‘pop up’ Careers Zones in other LJMU buildings.
We have a range of digital careers tools available to enable you to work on vitally important employability skills at your own pace, in your own time, either on or off campus. The 24/7 tools suite includes CV Builder, Interview Simulator, Careers Newsroom, CV and Interview Learning Zone, Job Search websites, GoinGlobal and more. You can set up an account via the Careers website (www2.ljmu.ac.uk/careers) or call into their nearest Careers Zone to get more information or support to use the tools.
My Jobs & Placements
Careers Team website
You can search for part-time jobs, volunteering opportunities, work placements, internships or graduate roles via our vacancy website. The MyJobs&Placements site is free to all LJMU students and graduates and lists opportunities with regional, national and international employers. Jobs from the website are also displayed on ‘jobs boards’ in Careers Zones and are advertised via our Facebook and Twitter accounts (@LJMUCareers). To register and start searching for opportunities go to: https://pcn.prospects.ac.uk/ljmu/login
The LJMU Careers website (www2.ljmu.ac.uk/careers) is the focal point for careers support, information and news. From the website you can access our online careers tools, the Careers Zone blog, job search websites (including the GoinGlobal database, which enables you to search for jobs and internships internationally), links to our events booking system and video content. Resources, including Career Planning Guides, Career Insights and Career Planning Mini Guides, are also available to download from the site.
Career Planning Guides
CareerSmart
The Careers Team produce annual, school-specific Career Planning Guides that are packed full of useful articles, tips and advice tailored towards career options related to your degree. They include student and graduate case studies as well as information on CVs and covering letters, application forms, interviews, psychometric tests, assessment centres and much more. There are also suggestions on how to make the most of your time at university and information about the careers support you can access at LJMU. Copies are available in Careers Zone or can be downloaded from the Careers website (www2.ljmu.ac.uk/careers).
Competition for professional jobs is tough but we are confident that CareerSmart, our career development and employability programme, will enable you to compete against the best candidates and win. All students in their first year of study will have an opportunity to engage with the programme as an integral part of a core module of study. You learn about the key stages in successful career planning to equip you with the necessary skills, experience and sector insight to enable you to succeed in a competitive graduate labour market.
LJMU CAREERS TEAM 0151 231 2048/3719 || careers@ljmu.ac.uk
www2.ljmu.ac.uk/careers
Career Insight: BEng/MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering
Introduction In a rapidly changing world, engineers are in demand more than ever to design and build the new generation of engines, power plants, structures and vehicles that keep the world running. Whilst the two degree disciplines (Mechanical and Mechanical & Marine) are distinct there can be an element of overlap between the career options available meaning that it can be possible for a Mechanical student to secure employment in Marine Engineering roles and vice versa. There is a short introduction to each degree route below but the job options described further on will be applicable to students on the each degree programme. There is an acknowledged shortage of individuals with engineering-related skills within the UK and worldwide. The Royal Academy of Engineering states that the supply of graduate engineers is not projected to make up for the numbers of retiring engineers. It is important to think of the sector that you would like to work in as that will have a significant bearing on the day-to-day activities that you will be involved in. Sectors who recruit engineering students and graduates include those highlighted in the table below: Aerospace Defence Infrastructure
Advanced Manufacturing Built Environment Armed Forces
Automotive
Transport
Energy Marine
Oil and Gas
Planning for your career and gaining work experience throughout your course will benefit you when you graduate. Take advantage of work experience opportunities and networking events to develop your skills and find out which area of building surveying most appeals to you. A good example of this is Formula Student which the LJMU Engineering department takes part in. You could also attend any relevant events through student membership of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).
Career options: Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineers make up one of the largest branches of engineering professionals; they are employed in almost every sector of economic activity. Specific employment sectors include aerospace, automotive, power generation, engineering utilities, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, process industries, research and development, technical services, technical sales, consultancies and government agencies. There is currently a high demand for engineers across all of the above sectors but one area which many students are not aware
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Career Insight: BEng/MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering
of is the role of a mechanical engineer within building services. Building Services Engineers design, install and maintain the services that are needed to allow the building to do what it’s designed to. These services include heating, ventilation, lighting, power and supply, lifts and escalators, health and safety, acoustics and security. There is a growing emphasis on sustainability and building services engineers are at the cutting edge of designing, developing and managing new technologies that help to reduce the carbon emissions of a building. Automotive engineers are involved in the design, manufacture and operation of groundbased vehicles, such as motorcycles, cars, buses and trucks and their respective engineering subsystems. They are involved in the whole product design lifecycle from the initial concept through to delivery and generally work in one of the three main areas: design, research and development, and production In addition to the major automotive manufacturers it is important to research possible opportunities in the manufacturing supply chain as a number of organisations can be involved in the manufacture of a vehicle regardless of whose name is on the badge! The word cloud below gives you an indication of the type of engineering roles that students secure after completing their studies.
Specific examples of the destinations and roles of recent Mechanical graduates include:
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Plant Engineer at Proctor and Gamble Design Engineer at Sellafield Ltd Graduate Engineer at Jaguar Land Rover
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Design Engineer at Lotus Renault FI Manufacturing Engineer at Bentley Motors Project Engineer at Crowder
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Career Insight: BEng/MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering
Assistant Project manager at Mace Project Engineer at Vickers Shipbuilding Graduate Engineer at Nissan Graduate Engineer at Scottish power
Consulting Design Engineer at JCB Aerospace Engineer at Rolls Royce Project Engineer at National Grid Graduate Engineer at WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff
Mechanical & Marine Engineering Marine Engineers find employment in a variety of areas in the maritime industry both shore based and sea-going. Specific employment sectors include marine surveying (with companies including Lloyds Register), ship and port operations, offshore structures, petrochemicals, offshore renewable energy, and power generation. A drilling engineer develops, plans, costs and supervises the operations necessary for drilling oil and gas wells. They are involved from initial well design to testing, completion and abandonment. Engineers can be employed on land, on offshore platforms or on mobile drilling units either by the operating oil company, a specialist drilling contractor or a service company. A marine surveyor inspects, evaluates and undertakes surveys of water-based craft to ensure that government and international classifications are met. These surveys can take place throughout the lifecycle of a ship and graduate surveyors can typically be based at a shipyard overseeing the design and construction of a vessel. Surveyors can also be involved with accident and insurance investigations. Lloyds Register is an example of an organisation who recruits marine engineering students into surveying roles. Recent graduates from the Mechanical and Marine Engineering course have undertaken roles such as Sea-going Chief Engineer, Marine Superintendent, Power Plant Manager, Weapons Engineer (Royal Navy), Quality Engineer, Graduate Engineer (Cammell Laird), Marine Surveyor, Petrochemical Plant Manager, Mechanical Design Engineer, Project Engineer, Product Engineer (Bentley), Operations Graduate (BAE Systems submarines) and Graduate Mechanical Engineer after completing their studies.
MEng and further study options MEng students will undertake a fourth year of study and focus on a number of extended projects. The MEng course also satisfies the educational requirements to become a
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Career Insight: BEng/MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering
Chartered Engineer whilst students completing a BEng are required to undertake further study to reach this status. When researching possible employers it is worthwhile exploring if they require applicants to be studying for a MEng or if a BEng is acceptable. There may be opportunities for BEng students to move on to the MEng programme if certain academic criteria are met. If you wish to continue within Higher Education then there are possibilities to study towards an MPhil or PhD. There are a number of specialist research centres around the UK who actively recruit Engineering graduates to undertake research. Another option for further study is a PGCE for those interested in teaching as a career. This could be teaching Design Technology or Physics and bursaries may be available to support you on the course.
Possible employers There is an extremely wide range of employers who recruit both mechanical and marine engineering students and the information above will have given you an insight into some of the organisations who have recruited engineering students from LJMU over the past few years. It is important to explore the sector that would like work in as well as who the employer actually is – oil and gas, manufacturing, marine, automotive, defence, energy, rail, built environment or aerospace for example. Each of the major careers websites has an overview of the sectors within engineering and the positions available:
www.prospects.ac.uk/engineering_manufacturing_sector.htm https://targetjobs.co.uk/career-sectors/engineering www.gradcracker.com/advice/employers-and-sectors
These vacancy websites and the others listed in the section below will highlight a larger number of organisations and your careers adviser, Andy Byrne, also has an extensive list of organisations who recruit engineering students and graduates.
Useful links/websites
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LJMU My Jobs & Placements - http://ljmu.prospects.ac.uk/ Gradcracker – Engineering focus – www.gradcracker.com Prospects – Careers information and graduate jobs – www.prospects.ac.uk TargetJobs - Careers information and graduate jobs – www.targetjobs.co.uk Talent Retention Solutions - Government-backed website to assist recruitment within the Advanced Manufacturing sector. Key employers backing the scheme include BAE Systems, Airbus, Siemens, Shell, EDF Energy, Rolls Royce and Boeing. www.talentretention.biz Milkround – graduate jobs, placements & internships - www.milkround.com/ Year in Industry – Specific focus on Engineering placements www.etrust.org.uk/the-year-in-industry
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Career Insight: BEng/MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering
Rate my Placement – Internship and placement opportunities www.ratemyplacement.co.uk Engineering Graduates – www.engineeringgraduates.com – Opportunities for sandwich placements and development programme whilst studying Knowledge Transfer Partnership - www.ktponline.org.uk – Scheme which offer graduates the opportunity to undertake a project at a company for a fixed term, usually 2 years approximately. Graduates also have the opportunity to undertake postgraduate level study. Engineering-related projects are common. Engineering UK - www.engineeringuk.com Careers in Oil and Gas – www.oilcareers.com Careers in renewable energies – www.renewablescareers.com Renewable UK - www.renewableuk.com – Trade body representing wind and marine energy Nuclear Graduates - www.nucleargraduates.com - Graduate scheme organised by a number of large recruiters for students looking to work in the nuclear industry. Partners include the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Magnox, Sellafield and Rolls Royce. Machtech (Recruitment Agency for Engineering, IT and Construction) www.machtech.com/graduates Engineers without borders - http://www.ewb-uk.org/ - 3, 6 and 12 month placement opportunities in Africa, Asia and Latin America
Professional Bodies and Associations: IMarEST – Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology - www.imarest.org IMechE – Institute of Mechanical Engineers - www.imeche.org CIBSE – Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers - http://www.cibse.org/ Other sites: SMMT – The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders – This organisation has a facility on its website to search for organisations in the automotive supply chain. This may prove useful when researching placement opportunities - www.smmt.co.uk/ IMI – The Institute of the Motor Industry – www.theimi.org.uk - IMI Autocity website has a website dedicated to careers within the retail motor industry, mostly apprenticeship opportunities SEMTA – Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing www.semta.org.uk Also advertises graduate vacancies http://semta.org.uk/individuals/graduate-vacancies/ Cogent (Sector Skills Council for Science-Based Industries) – www.cogent-ssc.com
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Career Insight: BEng/MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering
Follow relevant companies/websites through Twitter:
@LJMUCareers @gradcracker @AByrneLJMU
Sources of work experience As part of your degree programme you will have the opportunity to complete a work placement. Gaining work experience in the engineering sector is extremely important for your future career so you should definitely consider this option. Many of the large recruiters have summer and yearlong placement opportunities available to those on degree programmes, which are usually advertised through websites such as Prospects, Targetjobs, Milkround and Gradcracker. The websites listed previously should be your first port of call when researching possible placement opportunities and you should also try to speak to your Careers Adviser, Andy Byrne, to discuss the options available to you. Some large employers will offer summer or sandwich placements year after year but you can also secure work experience through a more creative approach. Contacting companies directly through networking events, via email or through LinkedIn may lead to work experience. LJMU has also been facilitating a summer internship programme for Level 5 students in recent years, so keep an eye on your LJMU inbox for details of any opportunities. Applications for summer internships or year-long placements with large employers are very competitive, so involvement in extracurricular activities, voluntary work or previous work experience can give you the edge over other candidates. It’s never too early to start getting involved in clubs and societies or to gain work experience, so start exploring relevant options early on in your studies.
Recruitment schedules There are lots of graduate training schemes with large companies and if you are interested in these roles you will need to be aware of the graduate recruitment cycle. Many recruiters begin the graduate recruitment process during the autumn term for final year students. Some placements are advertised then as well. Closing dates can be as early as November and December so it is important to start researching companies that you want to apply to early on in the academic year. The application process for graduate training schemes usually involves completing an online application form, which may require you to answer ‘competency based questions’. This may be followed by psychometric tests, a telephone interview and an assessment centre. You may also need to submit your CV. You may also find work through small or medium sized enterprises/businesses (SMEs) and these companies don’t usually have structured training schemes but will recruit ‘as required’. The ‘creative’ approach to job hunting, outlined above, is also important when looking for
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Career Insight: BEng/MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering
graduate roles. Making contacts and approaching organisations speculatively to look for work is a common route into employment. You can get advice about the recruitment process by booking a one-to-one appointment with a Careers or Employability Adviser or you can attend webinars/workshops run by the Careers Team.
Key events and networking
The Faculty of Technology and Environment Employer day : 13th October 2017
Careers and Employability events at LJMU: Keep an eye on our events pages at https://www2.ljmu.ac.uk/careers for details of upcoming employability workshops, networking sessions and employer talks.
Liverpool Careers Fair: usually held in the autumn and spring of each year, see fairs website www.liverpoolfairs.org.uk/ for additional events
Manchester Careers Fairs: open to students and graduates from any university; check www.careers.manchester.ac.uk/students/events/ for details
The Graduate Engineer Show: held in Derby each October www.thegraduateengineershow.co.uk
LiverpoolSU Clubs and Societies: http://ljmu.unioncloud.org/groups#club-society
LinkedIn: You could also consider setting up a LinkedIn account (www.linkedin.com/) to network online with professionals and organisations in your chosen industry
Other information LJMU Centre for Entrepreneurship – Support for LJMU students and graduates interested in starting up their own business. Further details can be found here: https://www2.ljmu.ac.uk/startup/ including eligibility, timescales and training dates.
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Career Insight: BEng/MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering
NOTES PAGE
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Career Insight: BEng/MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering
NOTES PAGE
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