Engineering
What can you do with a Mechanical Engineering degree?
Quick answer
A Mechanical Engineering degree commonly leads to roles such as graduate mechanical engineer, cAD technician and maintenance engineer (entry). Five years after graduating, Mechanical Engineering graduates had median earnings of £43,600 (middle half: £34,800–£53,100), and 89.5% were in sustained work or further study (DfE LEO, 2023–24 tax year). The largest employer sector for Engineering graduates is professional, scientific and technical services (26.4% of those in work).
Mechanical engineering covers mechanics, materials, and design. Accredited programmes can support later professional registration. Official figures appear when an extract is loaded.
- Median pay after 1 year
- £31,100
- Median pay after 5 years
- £43,600
- In work or study after 5 years
- 89.5%
- Earnings rank at 5 years
- 19 of 146 subjects
- Top employer sector
- Professional, scientific and technical services
- Graduates in latest cohort
- 3,940
On this page
What jobs can you get with a Mechanical Engineering degree?
Graduates commonly start as graduate mechanical engineer, cAD technician, maintenance engineer (entry) or manufacturing engineer (entry). Mechanical Engineering also builds skills that employers outside the obvious routes ask for, so many graduates move into roles that do not name the subject at all.
Graduate mechanical engineer
Supports a design or plant team with models, drawings, and verification against a specification.
Skills these adverts often ask for
- CAD
- design reviews
- calculations
CAD technician
Skills these adverts often ask for
- drawings
- BOMs
- revision control
Maintenance engineer (entry)
Skills these adverts often ask for
- fault finding
- permits
- spares
Manufacturing engineer (entry)
Skills these adverts often ask for
- process sheets
- yield notes
- line trials
Role examples and skills are CourseToJob editorial guidance, not a guarantee of a job. Pay for individual roles varies by employer and location; we do not attach a salary to a role unless an official source publishes one.
Where do Mechanical Engineering graduates work?
Five years after graduating, the largest employer sectors for Engineering graduates in UK employment were professional, scientific and technical services (26.4%), manufacturing (24.3%) and information and communication (9.6%). One year after graduating, the most common sector was professional, scientific and technical services (28.7%).
| Industry sector | Share of graduates in work | Median earnings in that sector |
|---|---|---|
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 26.4% | £44,300 |
| Manufacturing | 24.3% | £45,800 |
| Information and communication | 9.6% | £48,300 |
| Construction | 5.8% | £48,700 |
| Wholesale and retail | 5.7% | £37,000 |
| Administrative and support services | 4.2% | £39,500 |
| Public administration and defence | 4.1% | £44,300 |
| Finance and insurance | 3.8% | £65,900 |
Most common specific industries
- Architectural and engineering activities and related technical consultancy — 15% of graduates in work, median £41,000
- Computer programming; consultancy and related activities — 6.7% of graduates in work, median £49,800
- Manufacture of air and spacecraft and related machinery — 4% of graduates in work, median £48,300
- Management consultancy activities — 3.4% of graduates in work, median £58,600
- Provision of services to the community as a whole — 2.9% of graduates in work, median £46,800
- Research and experimental development on natural sciences and engineering — 2.7% of graduates in work, median £47,200
How much do Mechanical Engineering graduates earn?
Official dataMechanical Engineering graduates had median earnings of £31,100 one year after graduating and £43,600 five years after graduating in the 2023–24 tax year. The median across all first-degree graduates of GB higher education institutions was £33,700 at five years.
| Years after graduating | Median earnings | Middle half earned | In work or further study | All-subject median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year after graduatingGraduated 2021/2022 | £31,100DfE LEO, Tax year 2023-24 | £26,400–£36,600 | 90.5% | £26,400 |
| 3 years after graduatingGraduated 2019/2020 | £37,000DfE LEO, Tax year 2023-24 | £30,700–£45,400 | 90.3% | £30,000 |
| 5 years after graduatingGraduated 2017/2018 | £43,600DfE LEO, Tax year 2023-24 | £34,800–£53,100 | 89.5% | £33,700 |
| 10 years after graduatingGraduated 2012/2013 | £53,400DfE LEO, Tax year 2023-24 | £41,400–£68,400 | 88.1% | — |
How one-year earnings have changed
Which universities have the highest-earning Engineering graduates?
Among universities in our index with at least 50 Engineering graduates measured, University of Oxford had the highest median earnings five years after graduating (£73,600), followed by University of Cambridge (£64,400) and Imperial College London (£56,400).
| University | Median earnings | Graduates measured |
|---|---|---|
| University of Oxford | £73,600 | 95 |
| University of Cambridge | £64,400 | 230 |
| Imperial College London | £56,400 | 225 |
| University College London | £55,300 | 175 |
| Durham University | £54,000 | 130 |
| Open University | £52,300 | 335 |
| Wrexham University | £51,200 | 55 |
| University of Bath | £50,500 | 350 |
| University of Warwick | £50,100 | 240 |
| University of Bristol | £49,800 | 280 |
Is Mechanical Engineering the right degree for you?
EditorialYou may enjoy it if
- You like turning a brief into a drawing, a model, and a test.
- You are willing to learn CAD, thermodynamics, and workshop practice.
- You enjoy spotting failure modes before they happen.
It may not suit you if
- You wanted a course with almost no mathematics.
- You dislike lab reports and tolerances.
- You expected to skip manufacturing constraints.
Interview questions for Mechanical Engineering graduate roles
EditorialGraduate mechanical and manufacturing interviews usually mix a simple technical explanation with how you work on site or in a workshop. These prompts are editorial illustrations.
Explain how a common mechanism from your course actually transmits force.
What it tests. Whether you understand the physics, not only the CAD screenshot.
A drawing and the part on the bench do not match. What do you do?
What it tests. Checking revision, raising a query, and not machining the wrong thing.
How would you make a simple assembly safer to maintain?
What it tests. DFM and basic risk thinking: access, isolation, and lifting.
You are asked to estimate a cycle time with incomplete data. How do you answer?
What it tests. Stating assumptions and a range, rather than a fake precise number.
A machine trips out on your shift. Walk us through your first checks.
What it tests. Safe isolation and a method, not guessing at live equipment.
Most Mechanical Engineering courses do not use a standard admissions interview. If a university invites you, it will say so — see UCAS on undergraduate interview invitations.
Illustrative question types for the roles above, not questions from a named employer.
Find Mechanical Engineering graduate jobs
Searched by the entry-level roles aboveSearch UK vacancies connected to mechanical engineering. These are role matches, not guaranteed graduate-level jobs: read the experience, qualifications and work-permission requirements in each full advert.
Salary filters and ordering use the provider’s data, which can include estimates. Cards below show employer-listed pay only. Cached searches can be up to 30 minutes old; the employer’s advert confirms availability.
Checking vacancies for Graduate mechanical engineer…
Prepare your application with graduate cv examples, student cv examples, the free CV builder and the application tracker.
Is there an apprenticeship alternative to Mechanical Engineering?
EditorialEngineering degree and higher apprenticeships are common in manufacturing, rail, and energy. This note is editorial.
Research exact university programmes
These intake-specific records have been checked against official course pages. They are separate from the broader editorial subject links.
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Planning to study Mechanical Engineering in the UK?
Check the exact programme, entry requirements and total cost before applying. International applicants should also confirm qualification equivalence, English-language evidence and visa requirements.
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Universities for Mechanical Engineering in our index
123 universitiesAn editorial provision index, not a live UCAS catalogue: confirm current courses on UCAS. CourseToJob is not UCAS.Open Mechanical Engineering in the full university explorer.
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Mechanical Engineering degree: frequently asked questions
What jobs can you do with a Mechanical Engineering degree?
Common starting roles include graduate mechanical engineer, cAD technician, maintenance engineer (entry) and manufacturing engineer (entry). Five years after graduating, the most common sectors for Engineering graduates in work were professional, scientific and technical services (26.4%), manufacturing (24.3%) and information and communication (9.6%). These are examples, not guaranteed jobs: your experience, location and further training matter.
How much do Mechanical Engineering graduates earn in the UK?
DfE Longitudinal Education Outcomes data for the 2023–24 tax year shows median earnings for UK-domiciled Mechanical Engineering graduates of £31,100 one year after graduating, £37,000 three years after graduating, £43,600 five years after graduating and £53,400 ten years after graduating. Each figure describes a different graduating cohort, not one person's pay rise, and it is gross pay for those in sustained employment, not a starting salary offer.
Is a Mechanical Engineering degree worth it?
It depends on what you want to do. On the official data, 89.5% of Mechanical Engineering graduates were in sustained employment or further study five years after graduating, with median earnings of £43,600. For comparison, the median across all first-degree graduates of GB higher education institutions was £33,700 at the same point. That places Mechanical Engineering 19 of 146 subject groups by five-year median earnings. Earnings are only one factor: enjoyment of the subject, accreditation and the route into your target job matter too.
Which universities have the highest-earning Engineering graduates?
Among universities in our index with at least 50 graduates measured, the highest five-year median earnings for Engineering were at University of Oxford (£73,600), University of Cambridge (£64,400) and Imperial College London (£56,400). These figures reflect entry grades, subject mix and where graduates work, so they are not a measure of teaching quality.
Can international students study Mechanical Engineering in the UK?
Yes, most UK universities accept international applicants, but entry requirements, recognised qualifications, English-language evidence and overseas tuition fees depend on the university and programme. Check the university course page and international admissions team, then check visa requirements on GOV.UK.
Skilled Worker visas
Sponsorship depends on the job's occupation code and the current Skilled Worker rules, not on a subject's median pay. A Skilled Worker decision uses the higher of the general threshold and the SOC going rate. Subject LEO medians are not sufficient. Read the Skilled Worker job rules on GOV.UK.