Since my first interaction with the IMechE in a freshers week introduction lecture, it has been my goal to become a Chartered engineer.
I felt that doing the EngTech qualification during my placement year was a clear first step to this goal, as well as showing that I was serious about this goal to any potential employers once I graduate. The process was straightforward, and I had plenty of help from my mentor at work. There is also plenty of advice on the IMechE website and my university Year in Industry team ran a couple of presentations on the topic. I first looked at the UK spec, then used an excel spreadsheet to make sure I had ticked off all the criteria. I had previously made sure to keep a document logging all my Continuous Personal Development (CPD) activities to help with this. From this I worked through the application form on the website, alongside a help sheet on the IMechE website that split up the three main questions into twelve or more smaller questions. I did all this across about several months, just doing a little bit whenever I had free time for CPD. Although it could be done much quicker, I took my time as I started the process early in the placement so I could focus on what parts of work I was lacking in my application. For a sponsor I asked my line manager since he was accredited with the IMechE. A wide range of examples were used in my application. This started with writing up information about the MATLAB project I had been working on for the mass properties calculations at work. Then for the second part I moved onto work I have done at university with Engineers Without Borders Sheffield. However, I realised any example of work is useful, so I even included details about how I helped my friend at a different university with the electronics revision he was stuck on.