Help your job-hunt: join a professional engineering institution before you graduate

If you join a company with an accredited training scheme, you’ll definitely be joining one of the professional engineering institutions in the near future. In fact, many engineering employers will pay the membership subscription to a professional institution for you.

Professional engineering institutions you could join

• The Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS)
• The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE)
• The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE)
• The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)
• The British Computer Society (BCS)
• The Energy Institute (EI)
• The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
• The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST)
• The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining
• The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)
• The Institute of Physics (IOP)
• The Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM)
• The Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE)

Student membership

It’s never too soon to investigate your opportunities to belong, however. Most professional institutions offer student membership rates (some offer free student membership) and a range of services tailored to students, including careers guidance and access to online information as well as financial benefits such as student scholarships and discounts on books. But the most important benefits come from the opportunities to network with fellow members both locally and globally, which can give you an advantage when researching careers and looking for jobs.

Make the most of opportunities to meet experienced engineers

‘Professional engineering institutions are vastly underused,’ says Helen Fennell, a senior process engineer. ‘When you join, make the most of opportunities. Attend meetings and events organised in your area. It’s easy to feel a bit intimidated, but don’t be because the experienced engineers at these meetings are keen to pass on the benefit of their own experience, whether it’s related to technical or professional development issues.’

Rachael Gurhy, European technical liaison manager for EDF Energy, agrees and encourages you to join the relevant engineering institution for you and attend local branch meetings. ‘Not only do you build up a network with engineers from a range of disciplines and broaden your engineering knowledge,’ says Rachael. ‘But when you come to apply for registration, activities such as these demonstrate that you are committed to engineering as a career.’ And showing commitment to your career in engineering is also good CV fodder.