It depends how much you know about rail already. It’s more difficult if you are new to rail but an engineering background will help.

Hello, salary is much more experience dependant than qualification based. It’s hard to give you an estimate without knowing your salary but graduate positions can start from around £30k. The breadth of the railway is at your disposal after obtaining this qualification. You can go also go into most fields.

Hello, it depends on the type of Civil Engineering you are into. Land and surveying is very specific but there is a big need in that field. You can also do general civil engineering and move into structures and buildings.

Hello, for the project controls/planning I would actually recommend some qualifications by the association of project managers. The courses here are more engineering focused with less focus on planning and controls techniques.

Quite a few companies do sponsor international students. Look toward the larger companies as they have more budget for this. The probability of accepting and getting a job is largely down to how well you do and how well you come across.

Hi, everything you need software wise will be on the university system. AUTOCAD etc have some fairly hefty performance requirements especially if your models get big. Have a look on their website for the system specs required. Those bits of software get expensive too so I would see if you could do what you need to using the university computers first and foremost. You will have a choice between the university library (open very late) and the department (quite late) to work in. Any computer/OS you feel confident with will be fine for word processing.

I would say it’s best to read up on all aspects of railway from rolling stock, to signalling and infrastructure in order to give yourself a good grounding of the basics. Following this it would be good to look into the finances and economics of railways, how much they cost, what they do for wider economic growth and perception. Lastly, I’d say look into the macroscopic issues surrounding railway development, the reasons for and against choosing to build a railway as a public transport system.

Hi, this is a tough question, we have a need for both generalist and specialist, I would say taking the general route gives you a bit more of a chance to find an area you are really interested in even if you do not stay as a generalist. Career wise however, it really depends where your passion is as you will get the most satisfaction out of going down that route.

Hi, this is an excellent course to gain an appreciation of UK and European Railways. The UK has a very buoyant rail market with lots of opportunities.

Which course you choose will depend on where you wish to end up. The Safety and Control Systems course will give you a more detailed appreciation of application of safety in the railway environment. This will enable you to focus more on safety and assurance roles.

The systems engineering and appreciation course will give you an appreciation of the whole railway system. This would be useful for multidisciplinary roles and getting an appreciation of the different areas that make up the industry.

The railway is a pretty nuanced place as you no doubt have seen in your career. What this course will enable you to do is to broaden your view of the whole railway system and understand where your part fits in to that. I found it particularly useful for understanding the constraints facing other fields and how to overcome these challenges together.

As far as I’m aware there is no dedicated course for purely the rail superstructure. This tends to be collected under the generalities of Civil Engineering for things like bridges, tunnels and earth management. The Rail Systems course will go into some detail on the track form but not on the detailed design of the supporting superstructure.

For me, the best thing about my course is the quality of the lectures and the flexibility of the course. I have really taken a lot away even from subjects I am really familiar with, which has really helped with some of the things I have been doing outside of the university.

I am doing my course part time, which means I have my work commitments in between the time I am at the University of Birmingham. The University staff and academics are really understanding of one’s situations and circumstances, and they work with you in order to help you progress.

One of the highlights of my time at the University of Birmingham has been meeting and mixing with other like minded individuals. The course brings together students from a range of backgrounds in different areas of the same industry which helps put new perspective on ideas and concepts.

Other highlights include module dinners, where we have industry experts come in to discuss their respective fields, great staff working behind the scenes for the module and most importantly being away from the office and doing something new and exciting.

I work at SNC-Lavalin Rail and Transit so it will be back to work for me. I aim to use my new found broad appreciation of railway systems to enhance the projects I am working on such as Crossrail 2 and HS2 in order to make the industry a more efficient and effective place.

For me, choosing the right course meant that it had to be convenient, it had to be relevant and it had to be good. The University of Birmingham has an excellent reputation and was offering the right level of teaching with an amount of flexibility that suited my work needs.

I’m studying for the MSc in Railway Systems Engineering and Integration. It’s quite a bespoke degree with equivalents not offered at many other universities. Despite the bespoke nature, the course quality is excellent; the course is everything I’d hoped for and has met all my expectations.

Interestingly, I never planned on joining the railway industry hence why I did a degree in Aerospace Engineering. However, the longer I’ve been here the more I’ve enjoyed it and developed within my role. Engineering is a very transferable subject which has enabled me to take the same skills and knowledge I’ve acquired and use them in my role as a systems integrator.

The main reason I have decided to undertake this course at the University of Birmingham is to broaden my understanding around a specialist subject. With the skills and knowledge that this course will give me I would be able to use it as a stepping stone to further develop my career.

The railway is a fascinating and diverse industry. The Railway Systems Engineering and Integration course give students a broad appreciation of the major elements and constraints throughout the 8 modules, preparing for a future in Railway Systems Engineering. The management of risk and safety is critical in a mass public transportation industry. The Risk and Safety Management programme gives students a high level appreciation of the structure of the railway industry leading into he management and control of safety and risks.

Hi,

With your specific background added to the accreditation this course will give you, your experience will put you ahead of most candidates at your level in the UK. The course will give a general appreciation of the UK rail industry structure, technologies and operations, enabling you to relate your experience to the requirements of a different railway.

Hope this helps.

If you are an international, non-EU student you will need to look for companies that sponsor work visas (Tier 2) as part of their recruitment process. Not every company does this so you will need to do your research however a significant number of companies (mine included) do. Network Rail for example take over 150 graduates a year and sponsor work visas. The UK market is competitive in general, whether you are a UK citizen or a foreign national. More often than not, when we are looking for potential recruits, what’s important is a good grasp of the English language, a cultural fit and sound technical knowledge. These things will set you apart from the competition.

I really enjoyed the MSc and have found the broad knowledge and skill base that it gives you both useful for me and my career. Systems Engineering and more specifically Systems Thinking is becoming a key part of the way we work in our industry and this degree will put you on the leading edge of this transition.

With regards to class size, that really depends on the amount of students enrolled in the course in a full time or part time capacity. When I was there it would typically be around 30.

The main difference between the MSc and the MRes is the way in which knowledge is gained. The MSc is based on taught modules with a dissertation at the end whilst the MRes focuses on the research project which makes up two thirds of the course, with a few taught modules. You should decide on where you want to go with your degree after and that may help you decide between the two courses.