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At The Forefront of Engineering Education

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. Great Britain is renowned for its aeronautical engineering excellence, and its aerospace industry turns over many billions of pounds every year. When it comes to the automotive industry, over 300,000 people in the UK are employed in design, development and manufacturing.

Getting The Right Qualifications

There are approximately 32 UK Universities providing Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Engineering Degrees in Automotive or Aeronautical Engineering. Students can also go on to do post grad work at many institutions. Diplomas and other vocational certifications are also available from some colleges. University students can choose from full-time three, four or five year courses, some with a year out in industry or at an alternative overseas university or learning establishment.

Those who need the facility to work alongside their study programme may find they can do a sandwich course. Students on engineering courses can sometimes arrange sponsorship in exchange for a certain time working for the sponsor after graduating. With so many variables open to you, it's a good idea to really research everything that's on offer.

Automotive Engineers

Every facet of a motorised machine has been developed because of automotive engineering. Today, it incorporates elements not only of mechanical and electrical engineering, but also electronic, safety and software engineering. As standards are constantly set to improve to accommodate global issues, new technologies such as ultra low emissions are being introduced.

If you take the critical path of a vehicle, you have design, development and then manufacture. First comes design. These engineers have to design all the component parts and systems on a vehicle. The second discipline is covered by development engineers, who engineer all the features of the vehicle. Developers supply designers with various specs they have to comply with. With all the design and development work complete, the manufacturing engineers have to build the vehicle.

There are a great deal of product disciplines for the auto engineering student to take on board. Modules will cover all aspects of design, development and manufacture - and use examples to illustrate principles such as fluid mechanics. Safety is a top priority, and so all elements of a design will be tested via crash simulations and test dummies etc.

Whilst each individual system has to perform its job properly, it also has to complement the rest of the vehicle. Thus students will be taken through aspects of development or systems engineering. This can also involve understanding tradeoffs, a process which ensures that all the vehicle attributes are delivered at an acceptable level. The final vehicle must also meet government regulations, which are becoming increasingly environmentally relevant.

The next stage of course is to work on the manufacture of the vehicle. Engineers involved in this stage of the build use statistics and process controls to ensure every stage of the manufacture meets rigorous quality standards. Tasks include equipment design and machine specifications as well as people layout and management.

Aeronautical Engineers

Aero engineering is all about turning ideas into reality by applying scientific principles to produce sophisticated flight products. 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. As an aside - Formula One racing cars share a common technological base with modern airliners.

Atmospheric pressure and temperature changes place huge stresses on aircraft during flights. Therefore aerospace engineering divides into very specialist areas, such as materials science and aerodynamics, which all come together to form the whole.

University students will be introduced to aircraft design techniques early on in their training, with modules on key analytical subjects. Modules that deal with solving problems, like thermodynamics and fluid mechanics, are what we mean by analytical subjects. Study is divided into theoretical mathematical elements and empirical testing - much of which is done by computerised simulations in commercial environments. Nonetheless, university students will still benefit from wind-tunnel experiments and other physical testing methods.

Applying yourself to practical applications is an important engineering principle. Whichever programme you choose to follow, as a student engineer you will be involved with a major group design project at some time throughout your training. Aeronautical and Automotive Student Engineers are often also taught a variety of soft skills that will be useful for their career. Subjects to choose from might include European languages, presentation skills and teamwork.

Well paid, rewarding and financially attractive careers are available for qualified Automotive and Aeronautical Engineers. Refer to the Engineering Council for details on becoming a Chartered Engineer (CEng) or an Incorporated Engineer (IEng).