How to Become a Design Engineer

If you have great technical knowledge and design skills, acareer as a design engineer may be the perfect choice for you. In this role,
you’ll play a key part in the development of projects and products: from
building and software, to mobile phones and vehicles.

Alongside this, you’ll likely be responsible for putting
ideas into action, testing prototypes, modifying designs and presenting these
back to project managers and clients. This is a varied role, which enables you
to be creative, while also remaining technically challenged.

But how do you go about becoming a design engineer? We
explain everything you need to know, below.

Key skills

There are a few key skills that you’ll need to demonstrate
to secure a job as a design engineer. First off are the technical skills.
You’ll need to have excellent knowledge of computer assisted design (CAD)
software, as well as an understanding of engineering, construction and design.

Alongside this, it’s beneficial that you’re good at problem-solving,
you’re creative, you can work well as a team and are a good communicator.
Essentially, a strong mixture of these soft and hard skills will put you in a
good position.

Qualifications

In order to become a design engineer, you’ll usually need to
obtain a foundation degree in a subject such as industrial design, engineering
product design or computer aided design engineering. However, you could also
have qualifications in electrical, mechanic and civil engineering.

It may be possible to become a design engineer without one
of these degrees, though it’s likely that you’ll have to take a postgraduate
conversion course. Alongside this, you could kick-start your career in this
area through an apprenticeship scheme, where you’ll train on the job and work
towards a qualification in design engineering.

Experience

Like any job, you’re more likely to stand out if you’ve got
a bit of experience under your belt. It may be that your university course
included a placement, but if not, it’s worth exploring your options further.
Consider a work experience stint, or a summer job within the industry.

Alternatively, you could have a go at designing your own
project in your spare time. This will look great on your CV and will show that
you have experience in designing a product from scratch.

CV and cover letter

Finally, it goes without saying that you need to write a
winning CV and cover letter to bag yourself the job. List out your key skills,
qualifications and experience and checkout handy templates online to see the
best order for laying these out on your CV.

Alongside this, your cover letter needs to complement
everything you’ve included in your CV and is your opportunity to really sell
yourself. Again, do your research online to build an understanding of what you
need to include.

Design engineering can be an exciting career, especially if
you have a technical mind and a creative streak. Use our handy advice to get
ahead of the competition and kick-start your job hunt today.

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