• Question: What could I do outside school that would help me learn useful skills if I want to be an engineer?

    Asked by testrussell on 10 Dec 2021.
    • Photo: Steve Bowes-Phipps

      Steve Bowes-Phipps answered on 19 Nov 2021:


      Be curious! Look at the way things work. Try and get into the minds of people who may have engineered bridges, railways, air conditioning systems, printers, mobile phones, etc.

      Find out what interests you the most and learn about it – feed your passion and you’ll be successful – guaranteed!

    • Photo: Leigh Greatorex

      Leigh Greatorex answered on 19 Nov 2021:


      Great question, begin part of any after school actives will help, it will develop your communication skills and encourage your leadership qualities, which are a great assets to any engineer.

      Keeping current with technical knowledge is also good, you could sign up to google alerts to receive articles written about the type of engineering or industries you are interested in. For example my alerts are for Ewaste, Carbon reduction, Net Zero, as I am working a lot in these areas at the moment and I like to keep up to date on what is happening in the UK.

    • Photo: Kamran Lateef

      Kamran Lateef answered on 19 Nov 2021:


      Depending on your location and specific areas of interest, there will be many young engineers programs being run – many of which are either free or heavily subsidized by government and industry. A search engine query of ‘young engineer program uk’ will show you a number of options. Plan ahead. Programs outside of term time will be in high demand and try to register your interest early.

    • Photo: Scott McLauchlan

      Scott McLauchlan answered on 19 Nov 2021:


      Practical problem solving skills that may not be covered in traditional education are incredibly useful for an engineering career, the internet is a great source for this. Places like Khan Academy and brilliant.org have a wealth of courses that can be taken mostly for free to expand your knowledge. Keeping up to date on current tech trends is useful too, if you have a specific job or career path in mind, start reading up about that now……

    • Photo: Amber Villegas - Williamson

      Amber Villegas - Williamson answered on 19 Nov 2021:


      There are so many options to choose from, my BIGGEST piece of advice is to do something you enjoy because there are always transferable skills that will help you as an engineer no matter what you do.

      As an example:- If you like playing sports in a team after school then you are learning co-operation, team work, group trust and these are all key skills engineers use daily. If you prefer playing sports solo then you are learning independent trust (learning to count on yourself), self-discipline and motivation which are all key skills for engineers (especially when we have been working from home so much recently).

      Those are just 2 examples because the most important thing is that you do something you enjoy and that makes you happy.

    • Photo: kristina kerwin

      kristina kerwin answered on 19 Nov 2021:


      It’s a good question. There are many things you could do outside school to engage in engineering, such as joining online learning platforms ( I saw someone mention Khan Academy – this is a very good platform) and after school clubs, you can even find some really good video tutorials on the youtube. But the best learning, I think, happens at home. By helping your parents around the house you can learn many different transferrable skills and also many engineering skills. For example DIY – by participating in putting together a piece of furniture, you will learn how to read and follow the instruction manual, types of fastenings there are and how they work, as well as very important hands-on skills.

    • Photo: Femi Olushola

      Femi Olushola answered on 22 Nov 2021: last edited 22 Nov 2021 9:34 am


      This is an excellent question that many have not thought about. Importantly is that, what you do outside of school is equally as significant as what you do in school. I highly recommend volunteering and helping out in the community. These help with communication, team, and leadership skills, from understanding and working with people. Additionally are Science and engineering competitions, such as those with the IET and other engineering institutions. They help with critical thinking skills and real world applications of subjects you have learnt in school.

      I would also add team sports, if you enjoy sports. These also help with team, leadership, and communication skills.

    • Photo: Mo Shivji

      Mo Shivji answered on 22 Nov 2021:


      Nowadays I would say lean some coding skills in python/C++/Golang of that’s the side of engineering you want to go into.

      There are lots of tutorials on the internet and doing it in your own time gives you a step ahead in learning it in further education.

    • Photo: John Odejobi

      John Odejobi answered on 22 Nov 2021:


      Seek an internship in the company that provides services in your area of interest and spend quality time with the junior-mid-level engineers there. They’ll expose you to so many skills that will help you in the long run. But if you start with Senior level engineers, though they are more experienced, they are always engaged and not always thinking straight.

    • Photo: Taiwo Bello

      Taiwo Bello answered on 30 Nov 2021:


      Find something you think is amazing and ask how does it do that? Whether is a cars, aeroplanes, roller coasters, power plants, VAR, space shuttles. Ask people around you, get an adult to ask someone in a company that makes the thing you’re interested in, look on YouTube.

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