Information for school leavers and advisors

Considering a career in engineering?

Like many other professions, such as medicine, law and accountancy, engineering offers you the opportunity to demonstrate your professionalism through being listed on a national register.

A career in engineering is one of the most rewarding that you could wish for. Engineering is vital to our everyday lives, affecting all kinds of things we often take for granted like transport, energy, health, food and running water. Without engineers we would have to get by without television, mobile phones, hairstyling products, the internet, etc. You can find out more about how engineers shape our world and the kind of work they do at This is Engineering.

Routes into an Engineering Career

There are many routes into an engineering career. You could choose university, vocational qualifications or apprenticeships (which enable you to earn money while training). For information and careers resources visit the Neon website, you might be interested in vocational and apprenticeship routes or reading examples of real engineers in different sectors who took different routes.

The Value of Professional Registration

Achieving professional registration means that you can use the relevant letters after your name. This is useful as it will prove to colleagues, employers and customers that you’ve achieved a high standard of engineering professionalism. It will demonstrate that you have the necessary competence to fulfil your role as an engineer or technician and that you have the sort of work ethic that employers value. This means that professional registration could offer you improved career prospects, higher earning potential and greater influence at work.

How to choose which title is right for you

The professional title you apply for will depend on your qualifications, experience and role at the time of application.

You can learn more about the options available in professional registration, explaining the typical roles and competence criteria for each title. You can also read through our case studies from a wide range of engineering fields. Many individuals start with one title and progress as their career develops.

Professional registration and why it’s worth knowing about now

Some vocational qualifications, apprenticeships and degree programmes give you a head start on the road to professional registration.

When applying, you should look for programmes or qualifications that have been recognised (accredited or approved) by a Licensed Professional Engineering Institution (PEI). This means that the programme or course has the relevant learning outcomes required to count towards your application for professional registration.

You can use our course search database to check whether courses that you are interested in applying for – whether those are apprenticeships, degree courses or vocational qualifications – have been recognised.

Our Course Search can help you check whether a specific qualification or programme has been recognised as meeting the education requirements for a given category of professional registration.