Quote Originally Posted by ewan
I'm in the middle of a Mechanical Engineering course at the moment but am finding the degree of maths a little tedious- I'm much more a fan of the hands on/design modules rather than swatting up for exams
This completely sums up my feelings when I was at uni!

It was Robot Wars that got me interested in engineering and the reason I pursued it in later education. However I expected a lot more hands-on stuff compared to theory, but the most I did was build a hinge in first year and dismantle and rebuild a two-stroke engine in second year.

In retrospect, as much as I loved the uni life, if I was to go through it all again, I'd look at some form of apprenticeship as a route into employment with the bonus of qualifications. Some of the highest figures in large engineering companies took this route too so it's not a lesser way to progress your career.

It depends on what you want to do I suppose. I think the theory-heavy uni courses are suited to people who are strong-willed when it comes to self-study and want to focus more on the design of engineering projects (not that that applies to everyone who goes through uni) rather than the physical construction of said projects. If hands-on practical work is what you prefer, consider the apprenticeship route.