We thought it might be helpful to revisit some of our past engineering graduates and ask them what they’d wish they’d known when they started out and what advice they’d pass on to someone starting an engineering degree or engineering apprenticeship today. As you might expect we got a great response so we’ve split it into two parts. It contains some sage advice, some hard learned lessons and a good dose of common sense. The advice comes from people now based all over the world; let us know what you think.

Our first question was what tips would you give someone just beginning a cadetship in marine engineering? This type of question always gets people thinking and the responses are very helpful and insightful. Practical ones first “brush up on basic Maths and mechanical principles prior to starting” and “ensure you’ve got plenty of supplies like pens, paper and a calculator”. Common-sense you’d hope but worth remembering all the same. A point made by a few people was “keep on top of your college work”, letting it back up will only cause you pain later.

Once at sea things change though and the advice becomes more personal, for example “living away from home can be difficult, particularly if it’s your first time. So work hard and keep busy that helps it pass more quickly” that is something all marine engineers will recognise. There was a lot of talk about attitude and how having the right attitude is important, but just what is the right attitude? A 3rd Engineer on a Cruise Ship put it this way “Realise that these 3 years are difficult but if you sacrifice a bit of your spare time to learn then it will reward you very highly in the end. It is also important when on the ship to realise that your knowledge is limited compared to the officers and it is important to respect them. Get up early and try to help them as they will be much more likely to help you with your training.” Another suggested “ask questions and take responsibility for your learning, people on board will be happy to teach you but only if you show willing and initiative, they don’t have to teach you anything”.

Another favourite question is what did you miss most whilst away at sea? Now of course the answers to this change with age and responsibility, however there are a few constants. It won’t surprise anyone to know that missing family topped the list, whether parents, siblings or partners everyone misses someone special. We enjoyed answers like “my mother’s cooking”, “going to the pub” and “going out for a cycle”. Someone missed watching their favourite football team but added that having seen their recent results he’d been “spared a lot of misery” being away! Anyone who works away from home knows you always miss something or someone, it wouldn’t be called home otherwise.

For some balance we also asked what was your favourite thing about going to sea? Almost everyone told us it was getting a chance to do something they enjoyed, for example one told us “being able to actually see and understand the systems we learned about during the college phase.” Another explained “getting hands on experience and help to carry out the work a marine engineer does in order to know what the job is actually like”.

Someone else put it this way “my favourite thing at sea was the daily challenges that were given to me, each day there were new challenges and new opportunities to learn”. What becomes clear is the work was rewarding, challenging and enjoyable. Lastly we were quite envious when a fairly recent graduate wrote, “I get to see the world and meet the most genuinely nice people in the world”. Now that’s certainly something we don’t all get to do at work!