At The Forefront of Science - A Career As An Engineer
A large number of disciplines come under the umbrella of Engineering. Should you fancy yourself as an aeronautical or automotive engineer, you're probably hoping to stretch yourself technically and logically.
According to Loughborough University, there are more than 600 companies in the aerospace industry in Britain alone, with a combined turnover in excess of 17 billion pounds. In addition, the auto industry also has a global influence, not least from a design and development point of view.
Getting The Right Qualifications
Many UK universities offering aero and auto engineering degrees are globally distinguished - you will find more than 30 with BEng and MEng syllabuses listed. Also more advanced PhD courses are offered on some campuses. It's also possible to find other engineering diplomas and fitting vocational courses. The option of a one year placement in industry is available with most university degree courses, and most students choose to take this between the second and final year.
There may also be options for part-time study in some educational establishments. Engineering students can also look into sponsorship options which are provided by both private industry and the Armed Forces. Whatever your circumstances and ambitions, look into as many training alternatives as possible.
Automotive Engineers
Automotive engineering covers everything to do with designing and building cars, motorbikes, trucks and buses. As well as the traditional disciplines, automotive engineers now need to incorporate electronics, safety and software engineering into their skill-sets. As standards are constantly set to improve to accommodate global issues, new technologies such as ultra low emissions are being introduced.
Generally speaking, we can separate the automotive engineering processes into three distinct fields. The first stage involves the design or product engineers. They are the people who design and test the components and systems on a vehicle. Development engineers are concerned with the attributes or qualities of the complete vehicle. These engineers often have to liaise with designers on certain specs. With all the design and development work complete, the manufacturing engineers have to build the vehicle.
There's a terrific amount of knowledge for an automotive engineering student to learn. Subjects will include performance, ergonomics, emissions, fuel economy, aerodynamics and vehicle dynamics to name but a few. Safety engineering is one of the most important disciplines for the automotive engineer, and students will learn how assessments are carried out with various methods and tools.
It's one thing for a component or system to work in isolation, but quite another for it to work in harmony with everything else on the vehicle. Thus students will be taken through aspects of development or systems engineering. 'Trade-offs' come under this function, for example balancing fuel economy with engine performance.
Ultimately development engineering must meet the standards dictated by the manufacturer, the government and of course the buying public.
The manufacturing process takes over once all the design and development work has been done. Parts have to be assembled, (usually in separate plants) and vehicles built to the exacting standards of the manufacturing engineers.
At every assembly plant, manufacturing engineers have to plan out the body shop, the area for engine and transmission placement and the chassis and trim area.
Engineering - Aeronautical
Our obsession with flight over the years has created this very diverse and exciting branch of engineering. Individuals interested in aeronautical engineering must be intelligent self starters with the capacity for analytical, innovative and technical thought processes. Only those who relish a challenge should consider a career in aeronautics. You could also choose a career in motor racing, as aircraft engineering is the basis for Formula One design.
Many severe conditions have to be endured for an aircraft to fly safely, with immense structural loads being placed upon them. Aeronautical engineering requires a great deal of specialist knowledge, and so teams of engineers who each specialise in their own branch of science work together on projects.
Aeronautical engineering students will be taught design principles throughout their training, and receive a thorough insight into analytical subjects. Analytical subjects like thermodynamics are usually taught through lectures and tutorials. Computational fluid dynamics is used to simulate the behaviour of fluid today, which reduces wind-tunnel testing time and expense. All the same, students shouldn't miss out on aeronautical projects that carry out tests in wind tunnels.
Applying yourself to practical applications is an important engineering principle. All engineering students will get the chance to contribute to a practical group assignment to create an automobile or flight vehicle. Undergraduate engineering training programmes also provide other useful skill-sets for their students. These could include time management, teamwork, organisational techniques, leadership and foreign languages.
Aero and auto engineering degrees not only provide the opportunity to develop technical expertise, they also put graduates into the top sector for employment opportunities. Refer to the Engineering Council for details on becoming a Chartered Engineer (CEng) or an Incorporated Engineer (IEng).
