Civil Engineering

Civil engineers are in demand for their technical and subject-specific knowledge and understanding. With a sound grasp of science, maths and technology you can design, create and build structures efficiently, making best use of available resources and techniques. Through realistic construction-based group projects, you gain practical experience of applying your engineering judgement and working successfully with others

Over the course of your degree you develop a wide mix of subject-specific and technical skills, you should consider these skills developed on your course as well as through your other activities, such as paid work, volunteering, family responsibilities, sport, membership of societies, leadership roles, etc. Think about how these can be used as evidence of your skills and personal attributes. Then you can start to market and sell who you really are, identify what you may be lacking and consider how to improve your profile.

Working as a Civil Engineer

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Prospects

When the construction industry is strong, employment prospects for civil engineers are excellent. The market has been buoyant for several years. A 2010 HESA destination survey of 2009 graduates showed that six months after graduating, over 60% of civil engineer graduates had entered employment, almost all of them taking roles as civil engineering professionals. Other areas which attract civil engineering graduates are IT, design and development and technical or professional occupations such as surveying, town and transport planning and other engineering sectors.

With strong numeracy and analytical skills, civil engineers are also valued in commercial and corporate sectors such as finance, banking and accountancy. Many roles which would make the most of your skills and abilities are available in both engineering organisations and other industries. Your degree would be of great value in operational management, supply chain management, procurement, intellectual property, logistics and after-sales management.

Where are the jobs?

Civil and structural engineering covers several specialised sectors including: buildings of all kinds; transport and communications infrastructure; and production, storage and distribution of electricity, gas and water. Civil engineers are employed by a wide range of contractors and consultancies and also work in-house for a variety of large organisations. There are many opportunities in the public sector, with local authorities, government departments and environmental organisations, where engineers are often involved in setting project specifications and drafting tender documents.  The key employment areas for civil engineers are construction and engineering.

Jobs directly related to your degree

Civil engineers are involved with the design, development and construction of a huge range of projects in the built and natural environment. Their role is central to ensuring the safe, timely and well-resourced completion of projects in many areas, including highways construction, waste management, coastal development and geotechnical engineering.

There are two main types of civil engineer:

• Consulting civil engineer
• Contracting civil engineer

You may wish to explore both options further to see which would suit you best.

Jobs where your degree would be useful

• Building control surveyor
• Building services engineer
• Engineering geologist
• Environmental engineer
• Geotechnical engineer
• Hydrologist
• Site engineer
• Structural engineer
• Traffic/highways engineer
• Water engineer

Although some of the jobs listed here might not be first jobs for many graduates, they are among the many realistic possibilities with your degree, provided you can demonstrate you have the attributes employers are looking for. Bear in mind that it's not just your degree discipline that determines your options. Remember that many graduate vacancies don't specify particular degree disciplines, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

You can find more about the skills you develop during your course, the jobs listed above, plus case studies and where to find these jobs at Prospects.

Included with the permission of AGCAS. For the latest version of this publication, see www.prospects.ac.uk. For permission to reproduce, contact copyright@agcas.org.uk