Transport Management (or similar) degrees

[MidnightFlyer]

I'm aware that there are a lot of university students (past and present on this site) so I'm hoping some can help.

Has anyone on here done a transport-related degree (Transportation, Transport Management, Transport Planning, Transport & Logistics etc)? If so, where was it and what sort of content did it contain? Was it enjoyable, and did it help you afterwards to get a job in the rail / other transport industry? Also, would you say gaining such a degree is any better than one in a more mainstream, non-transport topic if going for more on the ground jobs, like a driver?

Sorry for all the questions, I just need all the guidance I can get! If you'd prefer to PM me instead of giving away too much in public, that's fine too

Thanks all!

 

[burns20]

I did Transport & Logistics Mgt at Huddersfield. Was extremely enjoyable and am now in the bus industry from day one of leaving. Strangely after my sandwich yr i couldn't wait to start work. Modules covered all modes of transport, languages and transport law.

 

[trentside]

I did look into one of these degrees myself, but ended up doing a teaching course - I've still ended up working on the railways though. If you're looking at management positions or getting onto a graduate training scheme then I think a transport based degree will give you an edge over other candidates.

As I understand it, quite a few managers in the bus industry have done one of these courses - I think that Alex Hornby at TrentBarton is a graduate of a transport management course, and a number of Stagecoach graduate trainees are also. I'm not sure about the railway side of things, I'm afraid.

 

[RJ]

I'm aware that there are a lot of university students (past and present on this site) so I'm hoping some can help.

Has anyone on here done a transport-related degree (Transportation, Transport Management, Transport Planning, Transport & Logistics etc)? If so, where was it and what sort of content did it contain? Was it enjoyable, and did it help you afterwards to get a job in the rail / other transport industry? Also, would you say gaining such a degree is any better than one in a more mainstream, non-transport topic if going for more on the ground jobs, like a driver?

Sorry for all the questions, I just need all the guidance I can get! If you'd prefer to PM me instead of giving away too much in public, that's fine too

Thanks all!

I'm doing one. Just started Year 2 this week. My course contains quite a bit of economics, statistics and finance, combined with more technical operational matters. I also do Spanish. University is absolutely fantastic. It's an awesome experience and I'd recommend it to anyone who is considering it.

There's a method to everything I do. I took work on the railways so that I could build up a network of contacts. I always did my job properly, but was seen to be a bit controversial at times which worked as I earnt acclaim from some higher up managers which then fed down through to those I worked with. I was offered promotion twice but couldn't accept due to studies, plus I was working weekends only anyway.

I'm currently focused on the bus industry. I wanted to gain an insight into the inner workings. Being a bus driver has been a real eye opener. Some of the things I suggested to local management were dismissed. The next thing I know, higher up management were championing the very same ideas and within weeks, created and advertised several vacancies for a new position on that basis!

It can be difficult to make a breakthrough at my age, but I'm not afraid to be creative, nor am I afraid to challenge existing practices which could be improved for everyone's benefit. As for antics on board trains, they aren't necessarily counter productive!

 

[sprinterguy]

As I understand it, quite a few managers in the bus industry have done one of these courses - I think that Alex Hornby at TrentBarton is a graduate of a transport management course, and a number of Stagecoach graduate trainees are also. I'm not sure about the railway side of things, I'm afraid.

That certainly seems to be the case: Simon Mathieson of National Express bus, whom I worked for for a short while, had undertaken the same Transport Management degree as myself at Aston University (Birmingham), only a few years previously! I was constantly frustrated throughout my Transport Management degree, particularly in my most critical final year, with the great extent to which the Transport degree had been allied with the far larger Logistics one in order to save on staffing and funding for what was most certainly a small but dedicated group of students (There were sixteen of us on the Transport Management course when I started in my first year, a number which had halved by the time I entered final year!). This meant that there was comparatively little time dedicated to the public transport related subjects that I would have preferred to see, and that little time incorporated one lecturer in particular doggedly turning out what was essentially the same module in each year of study!

Mind you, the course being arranged in this way did mean that I picked up a far wider range of skills applicable to the transport industry, some of the most valuable of which I feel to have been the practical experience gained working with database systems such as Access as well as other transport specific network modelling software. It was that sort of experience which certainly helped me pin down my first few positions that I have held in the transport and logistics industry during my time in University. My course included a year working in industry, and I feel that the most valuable asset that my degree has rewarded me with was the opportunity to build up a range of practical experience working in a few different roles in public transport and in logistics even before I left University, that has given me the competitive advantage to go straight into a job in the rail industry (For the time being!) directly from University.

Finally, having a good degree qualification in a relevant subject does seem to impress those selecting candidates for interview at the initial stage of selecting the best CVs, and I have applied to several positions recently where a good degree grade in a relevant subject has been stated as a preferred requirement.

 

[Beveridges]

Also, would you say gaining such a degree is any better than one in a more mainstream, non-transport topic if going for more on the ground jobs, like a driver?

Degree isnt required to become a Driver, I think even a few years of working as a Postman (for example) would help more towards becoming a Driver than doing a Degree!
Degrees are only much help with management positions.

 

[bluenoxid]

Certainly. In my old supermarket, it was a bit of an in joke that the railways used Morrisons to recruit. In customer facing roles, it is the ability to work rubbish shifts and work with customers that they are looking for. Something that retail will help more with than a degree.

Don't close your mind to any door just yet. Just because you haven't driven a bus or a train, does not mean you cannot get the job you love.