From designing and constructing to supervising and maintaining buildings, there is plenty that a civil engineer can do.
Are you interested in becoming a civil engineer? Before venturing into any field it’s important for you to consider the pros and cons of it. Most people assume that if a job has a lot of scope and has a good salary package to go with it— that it’s a good choice. Not necessarily!
Several students frequently complain of how they have chosen subjects that do not really match their interests despite those subjects being very lucrative professionally. This means that in addition to the scope of whatever you are studying, it’s equally important for you to know whether or not you have the aptitude for it as well.
Civil Engineering: The Aptitude
Before thinking about starting your civil engineering studies (and eventually your civil engineering career) it will do you a lot of good to determine if you have what it takes to be a competent civil engineer.
If you have clear mathematical concepts, a sound base of science and technology, a creative streak, and a passion designing various structural buildings then civil engineering the right career choice for you!
General skills like problem-solving, strong communication skills, the ability to think and analyze things critically, conducting research and handling the data, interpreting, etc., are obviously a huge plus.
Civil Engineering Jobs
Once you obtain a degree in civil engineering, there are plenty of fields in which you could be of service. You could work as a building control surveyor, consulting civil engineer, water engineer, nuclear engineer, site engineer, structural engineer, or contracting civil engineer.
Then there are certain jobs for you to explore which may not be directly related to the field of civil engineering, but in which your degree could be useful. For example several civil engineers are working as environmental consultants, suitability consultants, building services engineers, etc.
So as you can see, the scope of civil engineering careers is actually quite vast. However, to land a good position, you need to be a little patient. As a fresh civil engineering graduate your first priority should be to gain as much as practical experience in civil engineering as you can.
So don’t worry if you don’t get that lucky break and immediately snag an amazing civil engineering job just after graduating. You can always start small and work your way up to bigger better civil engineering positions.
As a general rule of thumb, keep checking the websites of various construction firms and companies to see if they announce any job openings so that you may apply immediately. Sign up for various job employment websites online as well. Employers regularly update their job posts with the criteria and skills required for a particular job, deadlines til you can apply for that job, and the salary package being offered for that job.