danc2188

Good Morning All,

I am looking for the opportunity to work and study in the USA. I am 22, a HNC qualified Electrical Engineer and an NVQ Level 3 qualified user of AutoCAD Design software.

I currently work for a company in the UK and have 3 years experience in the sector. I regularly use AutoCAD Design, E-Plan P8 Design for designing of control panels for jobs nationwide as well as designing control panels for the far and middle east.

Just over a year ago i took a course using Mitsubishi GX-Developer software and have been programming automated jobs since, i currently have 3 major projects of my own working in factories and on sites throughout the country as well as having worked alongside a senior software engineer for the past year on various projects including ones in the food industry to something as different as the explosives manufacturing industry.

I would like to study and gain my B Eng Honours degree, hopefully starting term September 2011 (I wanted some time in the field before choosing to go to university).

What i want to know is if anybody has any information about companies accepting/ Sponsoring British citizens to work for them and/ or allow them to have days at university to gain there degrees?

Any information will be greatly appreciated.

Thank You
Best Regards

Dan

jamestravis

I wouldn't recommend doing a bachelors degree in the US. You would have to take a large number of general education courses like english, history, philosophy etc. The length is usually 4 years and you probably won't do as many engineering courses as you would on a 3 year uk bachelors.

Duncan Roberts

Plenty of companies sponsor visas but in reality they sponsoring the individual and paying a fairly considerable amount of money to do so. Realistically a fresh out of college student with limited qualifications and experience will not be that appealing to companies. Also, if you want to study in the US you may have a slightly increased chance of picking up sponsorship but you will need a boat load of money and a significant amount of cash in order to qualify for a student visa. I have no idea how much tuition runs for a good engineering degree but figure a good starting point of $100,000 for a 4 year course plus all the extra you will need living in a different country and away from everything familiar to you.

danc2188

Thank you both for your speedy and honest replies, I guess it was a long shot but it's always worth asking.

Thanks again.

Lazzza

I would suggest you complete your education here in the UK. Also, you would be best to try and get your masters (MEng) if you can. I am fairly sure that you would really need to obtain chartered status before being considered. UK engineers are generally well thought of internationally I think. Charter in the UK and the world is your oyster! (well that's what I tell my son who is a first year MEng).

Bob

Thing is, student visa only allows part time on campus work, so unless the company is part of a uni it somewhat limits your options.

Best approach though, get your degree in the UK and work for a place who would be in a position to transfer you to the US in the future.

Good luck though.

helwardman

UK Chartered Engineer status does not apply in any way to USA. I know because I am a CEng Electrical Engineer and I've looked into the coverage of the reciprocity agreements of the licensing body of here.

The American equivalent is a PE license, but that is only really required if you are working on public contracts and need to sign-off on designs and drawings.