Civil Engineering

I am really interested about studying civil engineering field and getting a job as a civil engineer, but I just want to know if it is really an in demand job in the future or no? If not, what other fields of engineering could you suggest?

Btw, i am still in Grade 11 high school but I just want to plan ahead :smile:

Reply 1

MiladA

I'm a 2nd year Civil Engineering (MEng) student at the University of Surrey and I would say go for it! It's a lot of work but in the end it's a very rewarding degree as the UK/the world is in need of civil engineers.

As for getting a job, yes it's hard to find one but should you show your commitment through your application then you will have no problem.

Reply 2

MMarìc

Original post by MiladAhmed

Oh wow! That is so great!
So how's civil engineering in terms of academic? Also do you guys do co-ops too? I am really scared that I won't be able to go to the university that I am planning to go.
Do you have any recommendations that i can do to be more prepared? Especially when in terms Academics

Reply 3

MiladA

Background reading can be a good start. You say you're in 11th grade so don't focus TOO much on background reading, just here and there to fill your mind with a positive vision for your future. What exactly do you mean by co-ops? Also which universities are you thinking about applying to? (when the time arrives)

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 4

MMarìc

Original post by MiladAhmed

I always think of positive stuff about my future before i go to sleep and sometimes it makes me so pressured lol.
What i mean about co-ops are the cooperative works where you can work on a certain company while getting your degree, so you have these accads knowledge and knowledge you can gain from experience.
I'm living here in Canada, and two of the Great school to study civil engineering is in Toronto University (st. George) and Waterloo University. Waterloo is really known for math and sciences. I would love to study in Europe, since curriculum in Europe is really nice but it will be too hard for me. Like I am not sure if I have the ability, but yea those two universities also requires a competitive applications.

Reply 5

MiladA

I mean I do have a professional training year next year. So I'm taking a year out before my third year working for a company of my choice. But it is REALLY competitive. The university has its own professional training portal for students to look for possible placements which benefits students (according to what my lecturer said today) because your application is up against classmates 😀 instead of everyone else's if you were to apply directly through a company website. The placement is taken after second year so you can prepare for further years (the experience from the placement greatly helps in dissertation, group projects etc)

There's a guy in my class from Canada too. Oakville to be precise.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 6

MMarìc

Original post by MiladAhmed

Oh so in your school when you do the training it will be a year off? So, would that be like 5 years in total before you graduate university? And I totally agree about the benefits of placement! In high school we have something like that, and I am planning to do it on summer so I'll see how it goes. I really appreciate how you explain stuff to me and I will surely keep them in mind!

Oh cool, Oakville is actually not so far away from my place.

Reply 7

Vikingninja

Original post by MiladAhmed

Oh wow we're on the same course (taekwondo is the clue to who I am).

Original post by MMarìc

Civ eng is definitely a high demand job though the demand in a country fluctuates with what is currently going on. I was on a scholarship placement during my first summer holiday and the office I was in had a entire floor dedicated to HS2. There'll be many smaller projects but the larger projects last very long amounts of time and require a lot of manpower. Also some engineers will travel abroad for work available, one of the engineers where I worked left to go to an office in Indonesia though whether you do that depends on how career focused you are.

Original post by MMarìc

As said in my quote above I am on a scholarship placement (Surrey) and I'll be working at my partner company for 2 summer holidays and a placement year. There is also the possibility of getting into external scholarship schemes like the ICE quest scheme (not sure about how it works with international students). Though generally you will normally just do a placement year if your uni offers it, definitely go for it because a university grade doesn't do much to differentiate students now since a lot get 1st or 2:1 now but experience is what employers want and sets you apart from your peers. It really gives an idea of what you should expect during your career. My summer placement was incredibly hard in the second week but I got the hang of it later on in it and I won't have that problem when I go into my placement year or even graduate now as I know how to deal with the problems I had now.

Original post by MMarìc

I wouldn't really say to do much in preparation this early. I would just do general reading now just to get an idea of what to expect from it and to also show an interest in it. A good early read in my opinion would be: Civil Engineering: A Very Short Introduction, also there's sometimes some interesting shows on TV like Impossible Engineering on Yesterday, with that I would recommend the episodes for the Shanghai Tower, The Shard, Three Gorges Dam and Millau Viaduct. Also do some reading on case studies online like on the ICE website.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 8

MMarìc

Original post by Vikingninja

Yea, the only reason why i do preparations early is because i just want to make sure how much desire i have to take civil engineering, and with that i need to take the prerequisite courses in my senior years (which is now).
I will look up those shows you mentioned! And I will keep in mind everything that I am learning so far from here. (:

Also, since when are you doing Taekwondo?