IF YOU want to be an engineer you must have sat higher-level maths in the Leaving Cert. QED.
Not so.
This is certainly the case if you are looking for a place on an ab initio engineering degree programme. Most of these degrees require students to have a minimum of C in higher-level maths and to secure a place in UCD's engineering faculty you must have a B at higher level.
But Dr Columb Collins, director of Tallaght RTC in Dublin, begs to point out that you can study engineering at certificate level in the regional technical colleges without having studied higher-level maths in the Leaving Cert. Students may then progress to diploma and degree if they perform well enough in their examinations.
Dr Collins is anxious that this message gets across to students. Yes, it will take longer - usually five years - to acquire an engineering degree following this route, but you will have time to acquire the mathematical competency you need as you go. The flexibility of this route also means you can leave the system with a valid qualification (a cert or diploma) if you decide that a degree is not for you after all.
AQA
Seven engineering courses in the regional technical colleges took all qualified applicants (AQA) last year. These included mineral engineering in Athlone RTC; electronics/product development in Dundalk RTC; mechanical, civil and electronic engineering in Letterkenny RTC electronic and mechanical engineering in Sligo RTC. And remember - a low points requirement is no indication of the quality of the course. Points are set by the number of applicants and the numbers of places, not by the colleges.
Omnibus entry
You can opt for specialist engineering programme such as mechatronics at DCU or mineral engineering at Athlone RTC or you can go for an omnibus entry which allows you to specialise later.
For those who are unsure which branch of engineering they want, it might be best to stick to omnibus entry in colleges such as TCD and UCD. All the CAO handbook will tell you about omnibus engineering is the single word "engineering". It is vital that you read the course details in the college prospectuses and that you consult your guidance counsellor so that you can make an informed decision.
Colleges will offer different specialisations, for instance, chemical engineering is offered in UCD but not in TCD. You must check out this information before you start filling out your CAO form.
Women and engineering
Women are still in the minority when it comes to engineering. Looking at the electronic engineering degree level graduates of 1995, there were 342 men and 54 women. In civil engineering, the situation was slightly better, with 233 men and 39 women. Other branches of engineering graduated 606 men and 86 women.
And this doesn't seem too bad if you compare it with the first batch of students to start DCU's new degree in mechatronics - 40 men and one woman registered for the programme last September.
The low numbers of women registering for ab initio engineering degrees could be attributed to the higher-level maths requirements, but the situation is little better at cert and diploma level, where about one-tenth of the 1995 graduates were women. Women are passing up excellent job opportunities in interesting fields if they ignore engineering as being an oily-rag type job, best left to the boys.
Electronics
Job prospects are now excellent for electronic engineers. In fact, Mr Frank Burke, director general of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland, reports a shortage of electronic engineers in Ireland and abroad. He expects this shortage to continue for some time.
Mr Padraic Gallagher, co-operative education manager at the University of Limerick, says the demand for electronic engineers is at its most buoyant ever. UL, which offers two degrees in the electronics area - electronic engineering and electronic manufacturing - is simply not producing enough people to meet the demand.
Three hundred electronics companies employ more than 33,000 people in the State, according to the IDA. The electronics industry here spans areas such as systems, components, peripherals, networks and communications. Almost a quarter of third-level graduates employed by Intel in the past six years are electronic engineers while a further 28 per cent are mechanical, electrical, production or industrial engineers.
Over the next three years, Intel expects to hire in excess of 300 graduates with degrees and about 350 cert or diploma graduates. About 80 per cent of these graduates will have backgrounds in electronics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computers, chemical and industrial engineering.
What with all the good news about electronics giants such as Hewlett Packard and Intel, it would be easy to forget that there are probably more electronics graduates employed outside the electronics sector than in it. As Mr Gallagher explains, graduates may end up working in a sugar or milk-processing plant rather than a computer or microchip manufacturer.
Mechanical engineering
A shortage of mechanical engineers is also predicted by the Institution of Engineers of Ireland. All 11 RTCs offer certificate courses in mechanical engineering and most offer follow-on programmes. Sligo RTC offers a one-year follow-on diploma in industrial automation or a two-year follow-on diploma in tool design.
The tool design course is unique in Europe and yields virtually 100 per cent employment, according to Mr Padraic Cuffe, admissions officer in Sligo RTC. The course consists of a one-year work placement and one year's academic training in Sligo RTC, which is home to the national tool-making centre.
UL is offering a new degree in mechanical engineering with German to meet the increasing demand for mechanical engineers with a continental language. RTC Cork, UL and UCG offer direct-entry mechanical engineering degrees. There are common entry engineering programmes in UCD, DIT and TCD which include mechanical engineering options.
DCU has developed a degree in mechatronics which combines the electronic and mechanical engineering with computer-aided design to produce products such as consumer durables and robots.
Mineral engineering
Athlone RTC, which offers the only mineral engineering programme in Ireland, reports extremely good job prospects for graduates. Dr Elithamby Ambikairajah, head of the school of engineering, says Ireland is fast becoming one of the world's most important base-metal producers. Graduates have also found work in Australia, Britain, Europe, Asia and America.
The course is a three-year full-time diploma and subjects studied include geology, mineral extraction, surveying, mineral technology, electrical and mechanical engineering. Supervised fieldwork is included. Students who reach the required level in the national diploma may proceed to the final year of the BSc course in Glamorgan University, Wales, or the second year of the B Eng. programmes at the universities of Leeds, Doncaster and Exeter, in England.
Civil engineering
The latest Higher Education Authority survey of graduate prospects shows a healthy jobs scene for civil engineers. Two-thirds of civil engineering graduates with primary degrees go directly into jobs. About a quarter opted for further study or training and only 3 per cent were seeking employment on April 30th, 1996, the date the survey was carried out.
Chemical engineering
There are only two chemical engineering degrees available. Cork RTC offers a direct-entry chemical and process engineering degree. The cut-off points last year were 465. UCD's omnibus engineering programme (points required in 1996 were 465) has a chemical engineering option which is also much sought after. UL offers an industrial engineering programme which includes a fair amount of process engineering. The jobs scene is very good for chemical engineers - Ireland has a stable pharmaceutical and chemical industry and chemical engineers may also find work in a wide range of areas such as food- processing, brewing, distilling, oil exploration, waste minimisation. Polymer engineering
Dr Gertrude Taggart, head of plastics/polymer engineering in: Athlone RTC, reports 100 per cent employment for graduates of the college's ah initio engineering degree in polymer engineering. There are currently about 14,000 people employed in the plastics industry in Ireland and Athlone RTC is the sole provider of a degree in this area; Cut-off points for the course last year were a very attainable 270.
Additional research by Emmet Oliver
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