Mechanical Engineer

Mechanical engineers design, analyse, test and maintain things that involve moving parts, heat, fluids or structures - from aircraft components and car systems to pumps, production lines, building heating systems and medical devices. They work for manufacturers, engineering consultancies, energy and defence companies, construction firms and plant operators, usually as part of a team that includes other engineering disciplines, technicians and project managers. Day to day the work is a mix of calculation, computer-aided design, testing, and talking to the people who will actually build, install or operate the thing.

Starting salary: £27k–£35k
Live graduate jobs: 160 open now
Main way in: Structured graduate schemes at large manufacturers, defence…
They usually ask for: A degree in mechanical engineering or a closely related subject…

Approximate graduate salary

Typically around £27,000–£35,000 to start, though this varies widely. Large defence, energy, oil and gas and some consultancy employers sit at or above the top of that range, smaller manufacturing firms and some regions sit below it, and London or site-based roles with allowances can differ again.

What you'd actually do

Producing or modifying 3D CAD models and 2D drawings of parts and assemblies, and making sure dimensions, tolerances and materials are specified correctly so a supplier or workshop can actually make them
Running calculations and simulations - stress and fatigue on a component, heat transfer, flow rates, pressure drops, loads - either by hand, in spreadsheets, or in analysis software such as finite element or computational fluid dynamics tools
Writing and reviewing technical documents: specifications, test procedures, design justification reports, risk assessments and change requests
Going out to a workshop, factory floor, test rig or site to see hardware being built, commissioned or failing, and feeding what you see back into the design

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Talking to suppliers and manufacturers about cost, lead times and whether a design can realistically be made, and reviewing their drawings and quotes
Attending design reviews and project meetings where you explain and defend your choices to more senior engineers, other disciplines (electrical, software, civil) and sometimes the client
Investigating problems - a part that cracked, a system that is running hot, a line that keeps stopping - and proposing a fix, which often matters more than new design work

How graduates get in

Structured graduate schemes at large manufacturers, defence, aerospace, automotive, energy, rail, water and engineering consultancies - usually one to two years with rotations across design, manufacturing, testing and project work. These are the most visible route and tend to open in autumn for the following summer.
Direct entry as a graduate or junior mechanical engineer at small and medium-sized firms, which is extremely common and often overlooked. These roles are advertised year-round, have less formal structure and can give you hands-on responsibility faster.
Converting from a year in industry or summer placement into a graduate offer with the same employer - very common in engineering, and a placement year is one of the strongest things you can have on an application.
Degree apprenticeships, where you work for an employer while studying for an accredited engineering degree. This is a genuine alternative to the university-then-graduate-job path rather than a fallback.

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Entering via a technician or HNC/HND route and topping up to a degree later - less common for people already holding a degree, but a normal path within manufacturing businesses.
Moving across from a related discipline (physics, materials, aerospace, automotive, mechatronics, general engineering) into a mechanical role, which employers are generally relaxed about if you can show the relevant numerate and design skills.

What employers ask for

A degree in mechanical engineering or a closely related subject (aerospace, automotive, mechatronics, manufacturing, general engineering, sometimes physics or materials). Unlike many graduate sectors, the subject genuinely matters here - this is not usually open to any discipline.
Most graduate schemes ask for a 2:1, though a fair number of employers - especially smaller firms - will take a 2:2 with relevant placement or project experience. Some still ask for specific A-level grades including maths; many have dropped this.
An accredited degree if you want to work towards chartered status later. An MEng typically satisfies the academic requirement for Chartered Engineer (CEng) on its own; a BEng usually needs further learning on top. Accreditation is by professional bodies such as the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
Practical evidence that you have built, tested or fixed something - placement year, Formula Student or similar team projects, workshop experience, a substantial final-year project. Employers weigh this heavily because a lot of graduates can do the maths but have never seen a real part.

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CAD familiarity is expected but which package varies by employer, and they generally accept that you will learn their system on the job.
Security clearance eligibility for defence, nuclear and some aerospace work, which normally requires UK residency for a set period. Visa sponsorship varies a lot by employer and is often unavailable in cleared environments.

Skills that matter

Engineering judgement with rough calculations

Being able to estimate whether an answer is plausible on the back of an envelope stops you trusting a simulation that is quietly wrong, which is a real and expensive risk.

CAD modelling and drawing standards

Most of your design intent is communicated through models and drawings, and a badly dimensioned or untolerance drawing gets you parts that do not fit.

Design for manufacture

Knowing roughly how things are machined, cast, welded or moulded lets you design something that can actually be made at sensible cost, rather than something elegant and unbuildable.

Clear technical writing

Design decisions have to be justified in writing for reviews, audits, clients and safety cases, and the written record often outlives the project and the people on it.

Structured problem diagnosis

A lot of the job is working out why something broke or underperformed, which needs a methodical approach to evidence rather than guessing at causes.

Working across disciplines

Mechanical designs almost always interface with electrical, software, controls or civil work, and most failures happen at the boundaries between teams.

Putting these on a CV? We counted which skills 12,914 live graduate adverts ask for, and what to do with the answer — part of our application advice.

Where it leads

Graduate or junior engineer, typically the first two to three years: working under supervision, taking defined pieces of a larger design, learning the company's standards and processes. Many people are also collecting evidence for professional registration during this period.
Engineer, then senior engineer: owning subsystems or whole small projects, signing off your own work, checking other people's. The step to senior varies widely - roughly five to ten years is common, but it depends heavily on sector and company size.
Chartered Engineer (CEng) through a professional body, usually applied for once you have several years of responsible experience. Timing varies a lot; some employers run formal development schemes that push you through, others leave it entirely to you. Chartership is close to essential in consultancy and safety-critical sectors, and more optional in some manufacturing roles.
A fork in the path: technical specialist or principal engineer (deep expertise in stress, thermal, reliability, a particular product), or engineering management (leading teams, budgets, project delivery). Neither is automatically more senior; pay can be comparable at the top.
Longer term: engineering or technical director, chief engineer, consultancy practice lead, or moving sideways into project management, technical sales, procurement or starting your own design or manufacturing business.

What people get wrong

“You will mostly be designing new things from scratch.”

Much mechanical engineering work is modifying, maintaining, troubleshooting, verifying and documenting existing designs. Blank-sheet design is a small and often hard-won part of most engineers' careers.

“It is a desk job doing maths and CAD all day.”

A lot of the value comes from being out where the hardware is - factory floors, test rigs, construction sites, supplier visits - and from meetings and writing. Plenty of mechanical engineers spend less time on calculation than they expected and more on communication, cost and compliance.

“Chartered status is a formality you get automatically after a few years.”

It requires you to build and present a portfolio of evidence against defined competences, with sign-off from a supervising engineer and a professional review interview. Many engineers put it off for years or never do it, and support from employers varies enormously.

“Mechanical engineering pays like finance or software because it is a technical, hard-to-get degree.”

Starting pay is usually solid but below the highest-paying graduate sectors, and progression in some industries is steady rather than steep. The trade-offs people cite are job security, variety and tangible output rather than top-end pay.

Where this varies

"Mechanical engineer" covers very different jobs depending on sector. In aerospace, nuclear and medical devices the work is heavily regulated, slow-moving and documentation-intensive, with security clearance often required. In consumer products or motorsport it is faster, more iterative and more hands-on with prototypes. In building services (heating, ventilation, cooling for buildings) it is closer to construction and sits within consultancies working to client briefs and site programmes. In plant and process industries the job is largely maintenance, reliability and keeping production running, often with shift or callout elements. Geography matters too: aerospace and defence cluster in the South West, North West and parts of the Midlands; automotive in the Midlands; oil, gas and offshore renewables around Aberdeen and the East coast; building services everywhere but concentrated in large cities. Company size changes the job as much as sector - at a small firm you may do design, procurement and site visits in the same week, whereas at a large one you may specialise narrowly for years.

See all 160 live Mechanical Engineer jobsFrom employers' own careers sites, updated daily Tailor your CV for this roleFree with an account, 3 a month

General guidance about the role across the UK market, not about any specific employer. Entry routes and requirements vary — always check the individual job advert.