Poor pay turns graduates away

The majority of people surveyed by the

(IMechE), believed students are not going into the field of engineering because it didn’t pay well as a career. This is despite a recent survey by the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) which suggests that mechanical engineering will be a key area for graduate recruitment in 2005.

The IMechE, the leading global voice for the profession, asked: A leading graduate survey is predicting a hike in the number of vacancies in the mechanical engineering sector in 2005. Why do you think fewer students are accepting it as a career? Results revealed 55.4% said it was down to poor salary, 14.5 % said there were too few career prospects, 13.5 % said engineering was boring in comparison to other careers and 16.6% said it was because engineering degrees (which are often four academic years as opposed to the traditional three) are more costly/longer.

The problem in securing graduate engineers to the profession could worsen next year when the Government plans to increase annual tuition fees to £3,000.