Any Mechanical Engineers on here

Torndao01

My 13 year old son has started to show an interest in his future and has mentioned the idea of Mechanical Engineering. I have no idea where to start to advise him on this. As no one in my family has even made it to sixth form, I have no idea how to advise him. He is currently in Year 8 and is very academic with his main strengths being in Maths and Science.

Just thought I'd see if anyone could point me in the right direction.

fannyadams

Imperial College do the best Mech Eng course in the UK IMHO and that's where my year 9 is going... if he can get is !!!! in gear and pass his GCSEs.
*subscribing to make sure I don't miss anything*

daisiegg

My brother is in his first year of engineering at Nottingham (I think you start out doing general engineering and then specialise, and he plans to specialise in mechanical). He got an offer from Imperial but didn't want to live in London. He did maths, further maths, physics and chemistry for A Level (and got all A grades).

Not really sure what advice you are after - just tell him to continue working hard at school, make sure he gets good all-round GCSEs and then chooses maths/science subjects for A Level. And bear in mind, 13 is still pretty young - in a few months' time, he might be fancying something else!

Good luck to him and you

daisiegg

fannyadams wrote: »

Imperial College do the best Mech Eng course in the UK IMHO and that's where my year 9 is going... if he can get is !!!! in gear and pass his GCSEs.
*subscribing to make sure I don't miss anything*

Lol...is this his decision or yours?! Y9 is very young to 'know' what uni course he will be doing and where!

neon_dannii

Maths and Physics A levels are the main requirement for any sort of engineering course

Mechanical engineering is one course, there are many others with a focus on engineering. My boyfriend studied Motorsport Engineering and his friend studied Aero Engineering. As your son gets older and still would like to get into engineering, he can make this call as to what sort of engineering he prefers.

My boyfriend has ended up working for a formula 1 team, and his friend works in the aeroplane engine field, so very good prospects. There is a shortage of engineers as well, so is a very good career path to take

Gloomendoom

Whereabouts do you live?

mustmakealist

There are some very good BTEC courses in engineering around. If you get good enough marks they will get you into uni as my son did. They also offer a good route into some of the very good apprenticeships that are around if he doesn't want to go to uni. Might be worth looking around at some 6th form colleges to see what they offer.

Mrs_Imp

Look for degree courses that have a year in industry. That way, once he graduates he already has work experience.

daveyjp

Torndao01 wrote: »

My 13 year old son has started to show an interest in his future and has mentioned the idea of Mechanical Engineering. I have no idea where to start to advise him on this. As no one in my family has even made it to sixth form, I have no idea how to advise him. He is currently in Year 8 and is very academic with his main strengths being in Maths and Science.

Just thought I'd see if anyone could point me in the right direction.

Search for manufacturing companies in your area and contact them for a visit. Companies are taking on apprentices and prefer those who are interested in the subject.

Alikay

There are some very good higher apprenticeships out there too, which balance hands-on training with good qualifications:
http://www.rolls-royce.com/careers/students_and_graduates/apprenticeships/higher_apprenticeships/

theoretica

Also encourage him as you can with mechanical hands on hobbies - making or mending stuff. Great experience and good to talk about when applying for courses.