UK

United Kingdom · Technology and data · Mid-Level (2-5 years)

Robotics Engineer

Here is the whole job, in plain words. What it is, what you decide, how you're judged, how people get here and where they go next. Then the part no course gives you: twelve AI tutors who learn your work.

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One email: what AI is changing in this job, and where to start free. With a link back here. Nothing else follows unless you confirm your address.

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  • Experience bandMid-Level (2-5 years)
  • Direct reportsNo direct reports
  • Reports toSenior Robotics Engineer or Lead Robotics Engineer
  • UK framework levelUsually a coordinator, or early in a professional job

Also advertised as Automation Engineer · Mechatronics Engineer · Robot Software Developer

Built on 43,079 real UK job descriptions we analysed · grounded in qualifications employers recognise

Two short quizzes about you

1From this job to a course

The qualifications matched to this job

EAL Level 3 NVQ Extended Diploma in Engineering Technical Support Excellence, Achievement & Learning Limited · Level 3 · covers 3 of 6 standards
EAL Level 4 NVQ Extended Diploma in Engineering Manufacture Excellence, Achievement & Learning Limited · Level 4 · covers 2 of 6 standards
EAL Level 3 NVQ Extended Diploma in Mechanical Manufacturing Engineering Excellence, Achievement & Learning Limited · Level 3 · covers 2 of 6 standards
Gateway Qualifications Level 3 Certificate in Software Development Gateway Qualifications Limited · Level 3 · covers 2 of 6 standards
Gateway Qualifications Level 3 Diploma in Software Development Gateway Qualifications Limited · Level 3 · covers 2 of 6 standards

Matched from the standards this job is measured against: a suggestion, not an official ruling.

The units you would start with

Preparing and using industrial robots EAL Level 3 NVQ Extended Diploma in Engineering Technical Support
Automation Systems and Industrial Robotics ETCAL Diploma in Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering (Development Technical Knowledge)
Robot Technology Gateway Qualifications Level 3 Certificate in Software Development

The future skills this job leans on

AI Fluency working with AI as a thinking partner
Data Fluency turning numbers into a decision
Automation Fluency building AI into how work runs
Sustainability Fluency building care for people and planet into the work
Frontier Fluency the next wave, beyond mainstream AI
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Your Plan Illustration

Built for Robotics Engineer

3 units that map to this job, from the qualifications that cover it.

  1. Preparing and using industrial robots Excellence, Achievement & Learning Limited · covers 3 of 6 standards Level 3
  2. Automation Systems and Industrial Robotics ETC Awards Limited · covers 2 of 6 standards Level 3
  3. Robot Technology Gateway Qualifications Limited · covers 2 of 6 standards Level 3
These are the real units behind this job, in the order they rank for it. Nothing here is marked done, because this plan has not been started by anyone yet. Yours would fill in as you go.

2AI and this work

Will AI change your work as a Robotics Engineer?

Nobody can say exactly how. Here is what this job is being asked for next, and where to start.

The new skills this role is being asked for

  • AI-Driven Robot Learning (RL)
  • Digital Twin & Simulation Integration
Why each one is rising

The future skills this job leans on

We'll only ever tell you what we can actually back up. No hype, no scare tactics.

What happens when you start

Next, a free account. We build your Robotics Engineer plan as you set up, starting with a Future Fluency module on using AI in your job. No card.

Your first Future Fluency module is free. After that, your AI tutor is £70 a month.

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3What this role really is

A Robotics Engineer builds and refines the systems that power automated machines, from grippers to mobile robots.

4What you'd actually use

The tools this job runs on, and how well you'd need to know each one.

ROS/ROS 2 (Robotics Middleware) Intermediate

You'll be using existing ROS/ROS 2 packages, launching nodes, debugging topics and services, and understanding the overall node graph architecture. You'll be building new nodes for specific functionalities.

Python Intermediate

Writing control scripts, developing sensor interfaces, creating utility nodes, and scripting test procedures. You'll be comfortable with common libraries like NumPy and SciPy.

C++ Basic

Reading and modifying existing C++ code for performance-critical nodes, understanding memory management, and debugging low-level hardware interactions. You won't be building huge C++ applications from scratch, but you'll be able to work within them.

Gazebo (Simulation Environment) Intermediate

Setting up existing worlds, spawning robot models, and running basic simulations to test your algorithms before deploying to physical hardware. You'll be comfortable with URDFs (Unified Robot Description Format) for robot models.

SolidWorks/Fusion 360 (CAD) Basic

Opening, inspecting, and taking measurements from existing CAD models. You might design simple brackets or mounts to integrate new sensors or components onto a robot.

Git (Version Control) Intermediate

Using standard workflows like branching, committing, pushing, and creating pull requests. You'll be able to resolve simple merge conflicts and understand our team's branching strategy.

5What you get to decide, and how that grows

Power in a job isn't your title. It's what you're allowed to decide. Here's how it grows as you move up.

The choiceComing in Where you are nowThe step above
Technical Approach for a Subsystem Follows prescribed approach; asks for detailed guidance on alternatives. Proposes and implements technical approach for owned subsystem; consults Lead on major architectural shifts. Defines and approves technical approach for entire workstream; influences broader architectural decisions.
Bug Fix Prioritisation Escalates all bugs for prioritisation; fixes assigned bugs. Prioritises and fixes routine bugs within owned modules; escalates critical or cross-module bugs for team prioritisation. Defines bug prioritisation framework for their workstream; makes real-time decisions on critical bug fixes.
Hardware Component Selection (Minor) Suggests components from a pre-approved list; requires approval for any purchase. Researches and recommends minor hardware components (e.g., specific sensor model, connector type) within a budget of up to £1,000; requires manager approval for purchase. Evaluates and selects major hardware components or subsystems (e.g., new robot arm, LiDAR unit) within a budget of up to £5,000; makes recommendations to leadership for larger investments.

6How you'll be judged

The scoreboard, and what is not on it. The hard targets, how often each is actually looked at, and the quiet signals that never reach a dashboard.

Component Uptime
The percentage of time your specific robot subsystem (e.g., perception module, navigation stack) is operational without requiring manual intervention.
Target · >98.5% uptime for owned components

If your gripper control module runs for 160 hours in a week and only has 2 hours of downtime due to a bug you introduced, that's 98.75% uptime. We're aiming for that consistently.

Bug Resolution Rate
How quickly you fix bugs reported in the components you own, especially critical ones.
Target · Critical bugs resolved within 24 hours; High priority within 3 days

A 'robot can't pick up part X' bug comes in on Monday morning; it's fixed and deployed by Tuesday afternoon. That's what we're after.

Task Completion Rate (Sprint Points)
The number of story points you successfully complete within a sprint, reflecting your ability to deliver planned work.
Target · Consistently complete 8-10 story points per sprint

If you commit to 9 points and deliver all 9, that's a good sprint. We're looking for reliable velocity, not just burning the midnight oil once a month.

Code Review Feedback Cycle Time
The average time it takes for your pull requests to be reviewed, approved, and merged, indicating code quality and clarity.
Target · Average MTTM (Mean Time To Merge) < 2 days

You submit a pull request on Monday, it's reviewed and merged by Wednesday. If it's sitting there for a week, it usually means it's too complex or needs more explanation.

Systematic Troubleshooting
Your ability to methodically diagnose and fix issues in complex robotic systems, rather than just guessing. This means you're breaking down problems, testing hypotheses, and documenting what you find.
  • You'll be able to clearly explain your debugging process when a robot goes down. We'll see detailed bug reports and root cause analyses. Other engineers will ask for your help because they know you'll get to the bottom of it.
Code Quality & Maintainability
The clarity, readability, and robustness of the code you write. It's about writing code that other engineers can easily understand, modify, and extend without introducing new bugs.
  • Fewer comments on your pull requests about unclear logic or missing tests. Your code will follow our style guides. When someone else needs to pick up your module, they won't groan. Honestly, that's a huge win.
Proactive Problem Identification
You're not just fixing what's broken; you're spotting potential issues before they become critical failures. This might involve noticing unusual sensor readings or anticipating hardware wear and tear.
  • You'll raise concerns in stand-ups about potential future issues. You might suggest preventative maintenance or software improvements based on observed trends, not just reactive fixes. The operations team will tell us you're good at spotting things early.
Documentation Clarity
The quality and completeness of the technical documentation for the components you own. This is about making it easy for others (and future you!) to understand how your systems work.
  • New team members can get up to speed on your modules without constantly asking you questions. Your READMEs are actually useful. We won't have to chase you for diagrams or explanations of your API endpoints.

7Would you like it

Both sides. What people enjoy, and what grinds them down.

What people enjoy
Seeing Your Code Move & Interact

You'll get a real kick out of deploying your software to a physical robot and watching it perform the task you designed. That moment when the arm moves exactly as intended, or the mobile robot navigates perfectly, is what drives you.

Spending an afternoon tuning a PID loop until the robot arm picks up a delicate item smoothly, then watching it repeat that task flawlessly for hours.

Solving Tangible, Physical Problems

You're driven by the challenge of bridging the gap between abstract code and the messy, unpredictable physical world. You enjoy debugging a sensor that's giving inconsistent readings or optimising a motion path to avoid collisions in a tight space.

Figuring out why a robot's perception system is failing in certain lighting conditions and implementing a robust solution that works reliably.

Continuous Learning & Mastery

The field of robotics is always moving, and you're excited by that. You'll spend time learning about new algorithms, experimenting with different hardware, and generally pushing your own technical boundaries.

Taking the initiative to learn a new ROS 2 package or a different path planning algorithm to improve a robot's performance, even if it wasn't explicitly assigned.

What frustrates people
  • The 'sim-to-real gap': Your beautiful algorithm works perfectly in simulation, then fails instantly on the physical robot.
  • Hardware is hard: Losing a day of software development because of a loose pin, an unstable power supply, or a burned-out motor driver.
  • Intermittent gremlins: That one-in-a-thousand bug that crashes the system but is impossible to reproduce consistently.
  • Legacy integration: Having to automate a process using ancient machinery with proprietary protocols and no documentation.
  • Underestimation by stakeholders: Explaining for the fifth time why 'just adding machine vision' isn't a weekend job.
  • Network & IT hurdles: Battling corporate IT to get a static IP, open a firewall port, or install a necessary library.
  • Scope creep: The project starts as 'pick up the box' and slowly morphs into 'pick up the box, inspect it, read the barcode, and stack it differently if it's a Tuesday.'
What this role does not give you
  • A purely theoretical or academic environment – this is about getting things to work in the physical world.
  • A predictable 9-to-5 schedule every single day – sometimes a robot breaks, and you'll need to be there to fix it.
  • Complete isolation from hardware challenges – you'll be working closely with physical systems, which means getting your hands dirty sometimes.
  • A role where you only write greenfield code – you'll be debugging and improving existing systems too.

8Who you work with

Your work directly influences the reliability and performance of our automated processes. A well-built robot subsystem means fewer errors, faster operations, and a safer working environment. Get it wrong, and you're looking at production delays, increased maintenance costs, and potentially even safety incidents. Essentially, you're building the foundations for our future operational efficiency.

Inside the business
  • Your immediate team (other Robotics Engineers, Senior Engineers)
  • Mechanical and Electrical Engineers (you'll need to work closely with them to integrate hardware)
  • Product Managers (they'll tell you what the robot needs to do)
  • Operations Team (they're the ones using the robots day-to-day, so their feedback is crucial)
Outside the business
  • Hardware Vendors (sometimes you'll need to talk to them about sensor or motor issues)
  • Software Library Maintainers (occasionally, you'll be debugging open-source tools)

9What you need before you start

Not a wish list. The things you would be expected to already have.

  • A Bachelor's degree in Robotics, Mechatronics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a closely related field (or equivalent practical experience).
  • Roughly 2-5 years of hands-on experience in robotics development, ideally with a focus on software, but with a good understanding of hardware.
  • Demonstrable experience with at least one major robotics framework (e.g., ROS, ROS 2) and strong programming skills in Python or C++.
  • A portfolio or project examples that showcase your ability to build and debug robotic systems, even if they're personal projects.
  • A solid grasp of fundamental mathematics and physics relevant to robotics (e.g., linear algebra, calculus, mechanics).

10What to practise next

Where the job is going, and what to do about it starting this week.

Advanced C++ for Real-time Systems

While Python is great for rapid prototyping, for truly performance-critical robot control and perception, C++ remains king. As our robots get more complex and demand faster response times, a deeper understanding of C++ for real-time applications, memory management, and multi-threading will become essential.

Memory management (smart pointers, custom allocato · Concurrency and parallelism (threads, mutexes, ato · Real-time operating systems (RTOS) concepts · Performance profiling and optimisation techniques · Modern C++ features (C++17, C++20) for cleaner, sa

  • This quarter: Dedicate time to a modern C++ course focused on performance and concurrency.
  • Next 3 months: Refactor a performance-critical Python node into C++ and benchmark the improvements.
  • Next 6 months: Deepen your understanding of ROS 2's C++ client library (rclcpp) and its executor models.
  • Next 9 months: Explore integrating a real-time kernel into a test embedded system for a specific control task.

Quick win: Start reading 'Effective C++' by Scott Meyers or 'C++ Concurrency in Action' by Anthony Williams. Even just a chapter a week will help.

Advanced Sensor Fusion & State Estimation

As robots operate in more dynamic and unstructured environments, relying on a single sensor becomes risky. Fusing data from multiple, diverse sensors (e.g., LiDAR, cameras, IMUs, GPS, encoders) using advanced filters (like Kalman Filters or Particle Filters) will be critical for robust and accurate state estimation (knowing exactly where the robot is and how it's moving).

Extended Kalman Filters (EKF) and Unscented Kalman · Particle Filters (Monte Carlo Localisation) · Graph-based SLAM techniques · Probabilistic robotics fundamentals · Sensor calibration and synchronisation

  • This quarter: Study the theory behind Kalman Filters and Particle Filters.
  • Next 3 months: Implement an EKF or UKF for a simple mobile robot in simulation, fusing IMU and encoder data.
  • Next 6 months: Experiment with a ROS package for sensor fusion (e.g., robot_localization) and integrate it with a real robot.
  • Next 9 months: Investigate how to handle outliers and unreliable sensor data in your fusion algorithms.

Quick win: Grab a copy of 'Probabilistic Robotics' by Thrun, Burgard, and Fox and start working through the first few chapters. It's a classic for a reason.

11Staying current once you are in

What people here do to keep up
  • Actively participate in robotics communities (online forums, local meetups).
  • Contribute to open-source robotics projects (even small bug fixes or documentation improvements).
  • Attend industry conferences or workshops on new robotics technologies (e.g., ROSCon, ICRA, IROS).
  • Dedicate time each week to learning new programming techniques or algorithms relevant to robotics.
  • Build personal robotics projects to experiment with new hardware or software in a low-pressure environment.

12The rising capability

The rising capability

Zavmo analysis

What's rising in its place

This is where the work is heading, and the higher pay with it. Get fluent here and the shift stops being a threat and starts being your edge.

AI-Driven Robot Learning (RL)

Traditional robotics often relies on explicit programming for every task. Reinforcement Learning (RL) allows robots to learn complex behaviours through trial and error, which is becoming crucial for tasks that are too complex or variable to hard-code. Competitors are already using this for tricky manipulation tasks.

  • Reward functions and state-action spaces
  • Policy gradients and Q-learning
  • Sim-to-real transfer for RL policies
  • Safe exploration strategies
  • Offline reinforcement learning

Digital Twin & Simulation Integration

We're moving towards creating highly accurate 'digital twins' of our robots and entire operational environments. This lets us test, optimise, and even predict failures in a virtual world before anything happens physically, massively reducing development time and risk. It's about reducing that 'sim-to-real gap' before you even deploy.

  • Real-time data synchronisation between physical an
  • Physics-based simulation engines (e.g., NVIDIA Isa
  • Closed-loop simulation for testing control policie
  • Data generation from simulation for AI training
  • Cloud-based simulation orchestration

13What you’ll use

What you’ll use

Skills this role draws on

Technical

  • Kinematics & Dynamics
  • Control Theory (PID)
  • Perception & Sensor Fusion (Basics)
  • Motion Planning (Basic Pathfinding)
  • Systems Integration & Mechatronics

14The pathway

The pathway

How you actually get there, here

How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.

  1. 1

    Junior Robotics Engineer / Graduate Scheme

    2-3 years

    Skills to master

    • Mastering the core tech stack (ROS/ROS 2, Python/C++, Git), understanding basic kinematics and control, and learning our internal coding standards and deployment processes.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Consistently delivering assigned tasks on time and with high quality.
    • Proactively identifying and resolving routine bugs without constant supervision.
    • Demonstrating a solid understanding of the robot systems you're working on.
    • Successfully integrating new, simple hardware components into existing systems.
  2. 2

    Mechatronics Technician / Automation Specialist

    3-4 years (with additional software training)

    Skills to master

    • Transitioning from a hardware-centric role to more software development. This means picking up strong programming skills, learning robotics middleware, and understanding how software controls physical systems.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Successfully completed personal projects involving robot programming.
    • Demonstrable ability to write clean, functional code in Python or C++.
    • Solid understanding of software development principles (version control, testing).
    • Experience with basic sensor integration and data processing.
  3. 3

    Software Developer (with Robotics Interest)

    2-3 years (with robotics domain learning)

    Skills to master

    • Applying existing strong software development skills to the unique challenges of robotics. This involves learning about real-time systems, hardware constraints, control theory, and the specific robotics frameworks we use.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Quickly picking up ROS/ROS 2 concepts and applying them.
    • Demonstrating an understanding of the physical world constraints on software.
    • Successfully contributing to robotics-specific software modules.
    • Showing a genuine passion for robotics beyond pure software.

15Where this role leads

The long view: This work can lead to a Staff Robotics Engineer role focused on complex system design. It can also lead to a Robotics Engineering Manager role leading a team, or a Principal Robotics Engineer role setting technical strategy across a domain.

16Pay and demand

Pay & demand

Typical pay £48,776 a year Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 (provisional), under the Open Government Licence v3.0

The figure is the median for full-time employees in the ONS occupation this job title codes to (Engineering professionals n.e.c.), from the April 2025 survey, about six months old when published, as ASHE always is. It is that occupation's middle, not this role's. Half earn more.

The ten Future Fluencies

Zavmo analysis

The credential is what you can do today. These are what keep you valuable.

A qualification proves you can do the job as it's defined today. These ten are what decide whether you're still the obvious person for it in five years. They're the capabilities employers are now writing into senior roles faster than people are learning them. Zavmo weaves them through whatever you study, so you come out with both: the credential and the fluency.

The highlighted ones are the Fluencies your role leans on hardest, from how Robotics Engineer is actually changing.

Where it leads

Roles this leads to

How you would learn this

One to one, on the work you already do

A tutor sets the task against your own job and marks the reasoning, at your pace. There is no cohort to fall behind.

A lesson from Preparing and using industrial robots, worked against Robotics Engineer.

Preparing and using industrial robots Level 3

Applied to your work in Robotics Engineer

This unit aims to provide learners with the skills and knowledge to prepare and use industrial robots effectively. Learners will be able to set up robots, implement safety measures, and operate them to perform specified tasks while adhering to operational guidelines and quality standards.

How the thinking builds
  1. 1 Remember
  2. 2 Understand
  3. 3 Apply
  4. 4 Analyse
  5. 5 Evaluate
  6. 6 Create
An illustration of a Zavmo lesson, built from this role’s own route. The unit, its objective and every criterion above are the awarding body’s own words, not an example.

It is £70 a month, billed monthly. Your free first module is Future Fluency, and you can cancel any time.

Start my Robotics Engineer plan, free
See Your Progress Grow Illustration
Robotics Engineer
  • Kinematics & Dynamics
  • Control Theory (PID)
  • Perception & Sensor Fusion (Basics)
  • Motion Planning (Basic Pathfinding)
  • Systems Integration & Mechatronics
This is your Mind Palace on learn.zavmo.ai. Every skill above comes from this role's own record, not an example borrowed from another job. A node lights up when you evidence it, and what you build stays yours between jobs. That is the part a course cannot do.

17The detail, folded away

Everything else the record holds

The career branches in full, how AI is already showing up in the day-to-day, and the questions people ask about this job. Here when you want them, out of the way while you decide.

Where it leads next, rung by rung

Where it leads

The career path, and where it branches

Robotics Engineer is a start, not a ceiling. Each step below asks for new skills and hands back more autonomy.

  1. Senior Robotics Engineer (Level 003)

    3-5 years in this role

    You'll move from owning components to owning entire workstreams or significant features. You'll also start mentoring junior engineers and making more impactful technical decisions.

    • Advanced Control Theory (e.g., state-space methods, Kalman filters).
    • Complex Motion Planning (e.g., sampling-based planners, trajectory optimisation).
    • Advanced Systems Integration (making disparate complex systems work together).
    • Mentoring & Code Review Leadership Guiding others to write better code.
Working with AI on the job

Working with AI

Where AI is starting to help

Let's be real, a lot of robotics engineering can be repetitive, time-consuming, or just plain tedious. Imagine if you could offload those tasks to an AI, freeing you up to focus on the really interesting, complex problems. That's not science fiction anymore; it's happening right now.

We're not talking about AI taking over your job, but rather giving you superpowers. Think of AI as your incredibly fast, tireless assistant for everything from writing boilerplate code to sifting through mountains of sensor data. It'll help you get more done, debug faster, and spend more time on innovation. Here's how it'll actually look day-to-day:

Code Automation & Generation

Use tools like GitHub Copilot to instantly generate standard ROS 2 nodes, message definitions, launch files, and C++ class skeletons. It'll even suggest code completions and help you refactor existing logic, saving you hours of boilerplate typing and reducing silly syntax errors. Honestly, it's like having a coding buddy who never sleeps.

Anomaly Detection in Sensor Logs

Instead of manually poring over terabytes of robot sensor log data (motor currents, temperatures, IMU readings) when something goes wrong, feed it into an AI model. It'll automatically flag anomalies that predict imminent hardware failure or subtle performance degradations. You'll catch issues before they become critical, saving huge amounts of debugging time.

Accelerated Research & Development

Need to quickly get up to speed on a new control theory concept or a specific path planning algorithm? Use an LLM to summarise the last five years of academic papers on 'visual servoing for deformable objects' or to translate a complex equation into Python pseudocode. It's like having a research assistant who can read and summarise a library in minutes.

Automated System Documentation

Point an AI tool at your ROS codebase, and it can automatically generate system architecture diagrams (node graphs), parameter documentation, and API guides for other teams. This drastically reduces the tedious, but essential, task of keeping documentation up-to-date, making your work more understandable and maintainable for everyone.

Common questions

Common questions

How do you become a Robotics Engineer?

Common routes in include Junior Robotics Engineer / Graduate Scheme (2-3 years), Mechatronics Technician / Automation Specialist (3-4 years (with additional software training)) and Software Developer (with Robotics Interest) (2-3 years (with robotics domain learning)). Times vary with prior experience.

Where can a Robotics Engineer progress to?

This role can lead on to Senior Robotics Engineer (3-5 years in this role), depending on the skills you build.

What new skills matter most for a Robotics Engineer?

Increasingly, AI-Driven Robot Learning (RL) and Digital Twin & Simulation Integration. These are the skills our record of this role lists as growing.

Free tools

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Three free tools, no account needed. Each one ends with a role, a level and a way in.

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18Where to go from here

Other roles at Level 3

Same depth of qualification, different job. Useful if the work appeals but this particular role does not.

 More jobs in technology and data

Stay in the field you know and move sideways rather than up.
If you leave this industry

The skills involved transfer well to other fields. They can lead to R&D roles in areas such as autonomous vehicles or medical robotics, consultancy in industrial automation, or broader software engineering roles involving real-time systems and hardware.

This role profile is © 2026 Growth Engineering Technologies Ltd. Built from UK occupational standards and regulated qualification data, and written for Zavmo.

You're not behind. You're right on time. The shift is only just beginning. Your role won't look the same in two years. Be the one who leads the change, not the one it happens to. Start my Robotics Engineer plan, free What happens next: a free account, then we build your plan as you set up. No card. Build your plan, see your roadmap and meet the twelve tutors matched to you. All free. When you're ready to start learning, it's £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.