Civil Engineering Degree - should I bail out now?

[fivetwenty]

. . . And do something else? I picked it going off a Guidance councillor's advice, and I was good at maths, physics & geography. Didn't really enjoy my first year of it at University, it was pretty much all construction-sided (if I hadn't spent hours researching my current predicament, you'd swear it's a 100% construction based qualification).

Having done first year, I'm upset that even though I'm through my exams with good results, there's so much I don't know about what they seem to expect us to know already - bridge mathematics etc. I know I'd be lost in that department (as well as building site items / materials) and I just don't have the faith in the organisers to do a better job this year.

Even with that said, I don't know if I'd enjoy working as one right now, and reading around the internet, it's depressing ( http://tripleperiod.blogspot.com/200...ing-sucks.html ). Basically it's so broad, I don't know what I'd be doing in five year's time. I'd love to know what you do from 9-5pm, but I don't know how great a guide it'd be as there's not much of a chance that I'll be doing the same as there are so many different aspects to it, What kind of problems do you solve and how long do you spend on a single problem? Is it really something that no one else on the project could fathom? The whole thing just confuses me right now.

If I did stick it through, what are the options at the end if I didn't want to go into engineering work?

All advice is greatly appreciated.

[murfie]

Don't worry about if there is a job waiting for you or not. The biggest point for your consideration is if your going to enjoy being a civil engineer or would you be more excited about something else.
From what your saying you are unsure if you will even like your career direction. Focus on this more than the job availability, as more than likely the jobs will be there in 3-4 years.

i might be wrong but with a year under your belt i believe its not a major thing to transfer to anther course, mechanical could be a good one and it has a broad scope and will allow you to stay in that industry if you want but also move to something unrelated also.

[drunken_munky52]

Just because the arse has fallen out of the construction industry, does not mean that civil engineers will now suddenly stop been in demand... maybe it may not be as big as it used to, but remember that there is a big drop in applications for these courses now, so now you have less competition to worry about. Plus civil engineers are still engineers, and as that will always be needed in many different roles... its just a matter of adapting to the new climate. The green sector is going to really mushroom when things start to pickup again and public utilities will start getting the attention they should have got during the construction boom...

[Turbulent Bill]

The main thing really is whether you enjoy the course or not. 1st year is always tough, but if you handled the exams you're off to a good start. Don't worry about the breadth of the subject - nobody knows everything about everything, and you'll continually learn as a professional.

Engineering is essentially problem-solving, and pardon the cliche but every problem is different. As you go through the course you'll find areas you enjoy working in and others you don't, which will guide your career choices.

[cruizer101]

If you really know that there is something else you want to do then maybe considering dropping out.

However if its just a case of not sure if want to have a career in civil I would be inclined to stick with it. At the end of the day a degree in Engineering is a valuable thing to have even if you don't go into that field. Many of my class went into other jobs ranging from teaching to economics

[hudsonriver]

Hi, Im in nearly the exactly the same situation as you OP,
Just finished a first year civil eng course, got good results, its not that I didnt enjoy 1st, just a bit unsure about how things are going.

Seems to be a lot of negative comments views on the internet so sometimes I get a bit depressed, especially this summer, worrying about doing a *"worthless" degree

If you wana pm go ahead, Id like to chat with someone in the same position, but thats not in my exact year. Im in ucc btw.


* according to a lot of people Iv heard discussing this online, graduates from this year/last year

[Cheeble]

I switched at the end of my first year.

The comments by the other posters are sound guidance. Choose by what you enjoy, not by the job prospects. If you love your subject and can put genuine enthusiasm into it, the jobs will come.

Remember also that the current economic situation is short lived in terms of the career choices you're considering. I made my course change 26 years ago. Since then I've had periods of earning a top salary, and periods of unemployment, both of which were transient.

Don't change solely because you feel behind in just one or two aspects of the course, especially if it's going well overall: work a little harder to catch up in those areas.

I'm not in civils, but it's a fantastic field to work in - just look at some of the projects you could get involved in. If you're not excited by the possibilities, that might be a better reason for deciding on a change of direction now.

Whatever choice you make, be firm about your decision, be happy that you've made the choice, and then get on with fulfilling it.

Cheeble-eers

[godtabh]

If you are ensure about future employment pick subjects that allow you to either work in a different area or subjects that wont have a lot of people working in it in the first place i.e geotech waste management etc

[its baltic]

you've gotten sound advice there, I have a degree in civil and am currently working as a site engineer. since starting work as an engineer i've found you can get the greatest satisfaction from doing your job and then it can get really low from the point of wishing why have i done this, but saying that I would not regret for a minute becoming an engineer. I would deffinately continue to get the degree as once you have this it opens up so many options too you.

dont worry about not knowing what seems like basic enginneering stuff, ive learned the best engineers ask the questions (evan the so called stupid questions) and lots of them.

[Ninja101]

Any monkey can do civils. Do mech/elec. Which would you rather be designing? The latest US air force UAV, or a block wall?

[Eoin D]

Originally Posted by Ninja101

Any monkey can do civils. Do mech/elec. Which would you rather be designing? The latest US air force UAV, or a block wall?

How narrow minded of you

[Cheeble]

Don't take the bait..

[kenco]

Stick with it unless you have any definate plans otherwise.

At the end of the day very few Engineers ever really practice. The construction boom was a bit of an abheration. When I graduated (last time we went through a down turn) most graduates did whatever they could get work in and were usually well regarded as an Engineering graduate was and is still looked upon highly.

In fact one of my best buddies did Civil and then went into Management Consulting as it was the only gig he could get but to him it was a walk in the park as the training you get in Engineering (thought process, etc) is very good and much sought after.

IMO you get the degree and then see what you want to do with it. Too much emphasis is placed on the primary degree. The guy who topped my year (Elec Eng) is now a Guard and loves it!

[cunnins4]

Originally Posted by Ninja101

Any monkey can do civils. Do mech/elec. Which would you rather be designing? The latest US air force UAV, or a block wall?

To the OP: look, I just finished civil and am finding it hard to get a job. That said, things are looking up and I think I'll have one soon. If I were to go back knowing this, I'd still have stuck it out. It's a great course, and a very well respected degree. You may not find yourself in the field you expected, but very few do. Work hard, enjoy college and come out smiling with a great degree that's held in high regard.

Don't worry about finding it difficult: it all comes together in the end!

[DJDC]

Really depends on what you want to do. For me Civil just wasnt challenging enough and didn't have enough mathematical content.