• Question: What A-levels do you recommend taking for a career in engineering?

    Asked by Kiki.L to Victoria, Laura, Katie, John, Holly, Ele on 28 Mar 2018.
    • Photo: Eleanor Sherwen

      Eleanor Sherwen answered on 27 Mar 2018:

      The only one I would recommend as crucial is taking Maths; you’ll use it across whatever branch of engineering you go into, so being really solid in your maths will get you a headstart.

      Other than that, a broad range of things with a technical twist, and at least one in a D&T subject. Popular choices are Physics, Electronics, Graphics, but you can afford to spread out, that just shows that you are curious. I did Product Design, Maths, History, Chemistry, so a real mixture but that suited me well.

      Getting lots of workshop experience during your D&T-related A level is a really good idea if your Sixth Form has that available. When I went to University, not everyone had been to a Sixth Form with workshops, if yours doesn’t don’t panic; Universities are looking for potential so you can show your interest and skill in making stuff via graphics or electronics or a hobby.

    • Photo: John Allport

      John Allport answered on 19 Sep 2019:

      The key subjects are Maths and Physics, although some Physics A Levels are now becoming more Astrophysics biased, which is not really relevant to engineering. The key thing to remember is that these are tools that you are going to use in the future to help you to solve engineering problems, engineering is about far more than just the academic subjects that you study at school. There is quite a lot of Maths involved, as a key skill in engineering is being able to simulate things mathematically in order to see what will happen before you actually make something.

    • Photo: Victoria Sharpe

      Victoria Sharpe answered on 22 Sep 2019:

      Maths and physics are generally the key ones. Depending on your particular interest, you may want to study chemistry, electronics, DT or computing. I studied maths, physics, German and Spanish. I hadn’t decided what I wanted to be an engineer do until half way through my A- levels. The languages certainly helped with foreign travel but maths and physics are the skills I use on a daily basis.

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