Skip Ribbon Commands
Skip to main content
Book on an undergraduate open day
Skip Navigation LinksPlymouth University > courses > undergraduate > BSc (Hons) Marine and Composites Technology > Career, further study and research opportunities

​MARINE AND COMPOSITES TECHNOLOGY: CAREER OPTIONS

 Information provided by our Careers & Employability ServiceStudents working in the engineering laboratory

Glen, our Careers Adviser for marine and composites technology, says:
"This programme converts school leavers and career changers into professional engineers.  Mechanical engineers develop a huge range of products and services across industries including: aerospace and automotive design and manufacturing, the armed forces, energy utilities, engineering construction companies, engineering consultancies, government agencies, medical engineering, and mineral extraction including the oil and gas industries."

What skills do mechanical marine & materials engineering graduates develop?
This programme enables students to develop skills including:

  • Design: prototyping and testing, innovative problem solving, research and investigation
  • Management: project management, quality management, team performance development
  • People skills: clear communication, cooperative teamwork, negotiating with clients and customers
  • CAD: computer-aided design using the latest software tools

How will mechanical marine & materials engineering develop me as a person?
Beyond developing your skills, studying this programme will change you as a person. Students typically become increasingly driven and achievement oriented as they build on practical successes during the course. Our graduates are able to take the initiative and project a resilient, flexible professional image, based on their existing technical and commercial knowledge - and confidence in their ability to understand new and unfamiliar technical information and commercial challenges. The Engineering Council’s UK-SPEC and the Prospects 'Options with Mechanical Engineering' pages outline the characteristics of graduates from this programme.

  

Work-Based Learning

The University encourages and helps engineering students to compete for an industry placement year with businesses across the UK and overseas in countries including France, Germany and Japan. Mechanical marine & materials engineering students are paid on average around £14,800 and up to around £15,800 per annum by their employers during their placement year, and in addition often receive final-year sponsorship and a graduate job offer.

 

The Placements Office collates and advertises employers’ placement year vacancies, and the University’s Careers & Employability Service teaches students how to target their performance management and convert their skills and experience into winning placement job applications. Both services work with individual students to improve their written applications and interview techniques. Your work placement experience provides opportunities to put theory into practice, and provides practical experience that makes sense of what you learn in your final year.

​Typical Career Profiles

The mechanical, marine & materials engineering degree programmes develop graduates with attitudes and skills that enable them to enter less technical roles including finance and management consultancy.

Case Studies

Dimitris Katsanis - Specialist External Consultant, UK Sport and British Cycling

Russell Lloyd - Founder, Eco Filtration Solutions

Final year student with his project

​long-term career development

Use this LinkedIn search to explore Plymouth mechanical marine & materials engineering graduates’ long-term career trajectories.

​Previous Plymouth University graduates from this course are now employed in a wide variety of roles, some of which include: composite development engineer, design engineer, engineer manager, engineer officer of the watch, manufacturing process engineer, materials engineer, mechanical design engineer, mechanical engineer, project engineer, research scientist

 (Source: DLHE Survey 2010)