Construction and Project Management

thenashlegend

Hey guys!
Just wondering what ye can tell me about the Construction and Project Management course? Any help at all would be appreciated?!:D

syncosised

One of my housemates in first year was doing that, he seemed to get on pretty well with it. It's similar to the engineering courses, but not as difficult on the maths side of things. I don't know much more since he didn't go to too many of his lectures!

thenashlegend

Thanks.....thats pretty much what I was hoping for!:D I did OL maths for the LC and got a B1.......I'm split between Computer Science and Con. and Project management?! basically because neither need a language or HL maths!:rolleyes: Any other help still appreciated?

syncosised

Does Computer Science exist as a course or is that just IT? The maths and physics for IT is quite similar to that for engineering courses, more difficult than Project and Construction Management anyway.

Carsinian Thau

ATi wrote: »

Does Computer Science exist as a course or is that just IT? The maths and physics for IT is quite similar to that for engineering courses, more difficult than Project and Construction Management anyway.

I think they only have IT. But there may be a difference between Arts IT and Science IT?

nobbo

A good friend of mine does this course, and he just describes it as an engineering degree combined with a business degree.

He does a maths module(not sure which one, will come back to you), surveying, management and other such business/engineering degree.

Might be able to get him to post up a run down of the course.

AFAIK theres only 6 in the course this year and they all get on really well and its a good course if ya want to do it.

thenashlegend

Thanks guys!
According to the new prospectus the course is Computer Science and I.T! But that's neither here nor there! Hmmm?.......engineering and business?......sounds like thats for me!! If you could get him to post a piece about it that would be great but dont worry!!:) Thanks for all the help!

kevcos

Hey, I hope to be starting an undergraduate program next September in NUIG, and as such have researched a lot of the courses available to Undergraduates there.
I am currently, and having for many years, been involved in the construction industry also, so I may be able to shed some light on your query.
I will not make any reference to the current state of employment within the construction industry!

My personnel opinion, would be not to advise someone to enter into the Project and Const. Management Degree course. I feel that if somebody had a desire to someday be involved in the planning, construction and management of large scale construction project's, a Degree in Civil Engineering http://www.nuigalway.ie/courses/undergraduate-courses/civil-engineering.html
would be the route to take. A degree in C Eng, will give you the technical skills and knowledge on witch all structures are designed and constructed. After obtaining a Civil Eng Deg, you could then go on to do a post grad in Const. Management, or indeed any management post grad.

The planning, design, and construction of infrastructure, and all small to large scale structures in the built environment is, and will increasingly be, a highly technical demanding area. And as such Engineering graduates, will have the knowledge on witch all these structures are conceived and built.

From what I can gather about the Bachelor of Science (Project and Construction Management) from the on-line prospectus, and I am open to correction, students of this course will not graduate with a Engineering degree(Are graduates eligible for membership to the Institute of Engineering of Ireland? http://www.iei.ie/ I would doubt so). Nor will they graduate with a commerces degree. And therefore I would envisage that progression, to the upper levels of career advancement, would be limited; In my opinion these graduates would know a bit about engineering practices, and a little about management practices. But not enough about either discipline.

In summery I will leave you with this piece of advise. A career in the construction industry can be interesting and challenging. Quite a large amount of your time will be spent resolving various issues of a technical nature, or at least in most instances, problems arising from technical issues.
You will be, at various times, regardless of your position, involved in discussions, negotiations and arguments to resolve these arising problems. Those members of the construction team whom have a background in engineering, and the academic degree's and technical knowledge associated with this, will be the people who's opinion will be listened to. These people will be making the decision's on how the structure progresses and is constructed.
In my opinion the Bachelor of Science (Project and Construction Management) will not give you the footing in the technical expertise required.

I would think an engineering graduate could progress to any management position open to the graduates of Bachelor of Science (Project and Construction Management), with the addition of a post graduate course and the relevant work experience.
However the inverse would be impossible.

Hope this helps your decision.
Just ask if you need me to clarify any of the above points.

thenashlegend

Hey thanks for your very informative reply! I can certainly see where your coming from!! A jack of all trades and master of none!!:rolleyes: Unfortunately I'm unable to do the Civil Eng. course thanks to our wonderful education system in Ireland and their view on points and college places!!:mad: Sadly I'm limited to I.T or this program in NUIG! I have 375 points from my leaving cert so do you think I'd be better to go to another Institute to follow a Level 7 Civil Eng. route, maybe GMIT or Sligo IT?? Or would this course out run the Intitutes of Technology??
Cheers for the help!

kevcos

thenashlegend wrote: »

Or would this course out run the Intitutes of Technology??
Cheers for the help!

I am not sure if you are asking if the Civil Eng course at GMIT isn't up to the same standard as that of the NUIG course?? I think that the degree courses taught in the IT's would be well recognised from a academic perspective. I would also think that the courses taught in the IT's would be more weighted towards teaching the practical skills associated with engineering such as surveying, measurements etc. (I have often seen, what I am guessing to be Eng students taking level's all along the Dublin road and around the GMIT campus. I haven't seen this taking place around the NUIG, not to say they don't.)
Additionally in GMIT, as in most of the IT's there is work placement in third year, I don't think this available in NUIG.
I am unsure what implications the difference in the NQAI levels would mean for you, the admissions staff in either collage would be better in answering this.

It seems from your posts that you are restricting your choice of course to those available in NUIG? I would strongly advise you to sit down and spent sometime thinking about what it is that you really want to follow as a career. You don't want to find after 4 years of study that you have graduated with a degree in a field of industry that you have no interest in, all because you pigeon-holed yourself by disregarding any course that wasn't being taught at NUIG.

Granted GMIT seems like a bit of a dump but NUIG isn't the Ritz's either! And if the 'supposed' prestige of a University over a IT, that some people seem to believe exists, dictates what you are going to follow as a career I would be worried that your choice of study may not be truly what you want.

To be honest it is very difficult to single out any particular path to choose when it comes to entering third level. I reckon an awful lot of students country wide, are doing courses that are completely not what they were expecting/or just not what they like.
Have you considered the undenominated engineering degree courses they would give you a bit of leeway if you are undecided about which specific area to follow.

the-island-man

thenashlegend wrote: »

Thanks.....thats pretty much what I was hoping for!:D I did OL maths for the LC and got a B1.......I'm split between Computer Science and Con. and Project management?! basically because neither need a language or HL maths!:rolleyes: Any other help still appreciated?

Hello,
I am in final year of an Engineering course which is a mix of I.T subjects and Electronics and my first piece of advise is that I think you should go away and think about what you're going to do some more. I think that while the courses you have mentioned, Construction & project management and computer science are quite similar in general terms in the way that they both involve a lot of problem solving but at the end of your degree you are going to be working in completely different sectors and thats something you should think about.
The second piece of advise is that I don't think you should limit yourself to these degree's, if you really want to do Civil Engineering you could take this test:
http://www.nuigalway.ie/engineering/specialmaths.html
If you pass it will exempt you from the maths requirements.
With points for civil Engineering on the slide you may just sneak a place. You could also try to get a place in the undenominated Engineering course which had entry points of 405 last year and is also on the slide which would get you into civil engineering after a year.
The undenominated course will also allow you to get into a course called Electronic & Computer Engineering which is associated with the I.T department and provides you with good knowledge on the I.T and Electronics sector.
regards,
The-Island_Man

thenashlegend

Hey thanks for all the replies......This started out as an inquiry about the Construction and Project Management course......Someone recommended that I would study Civil Eng. instead to get a better knowledge of one particular area! I have nothing against either GMIT or NUIG.......I know NUIG run a Level 8 four year Civil Eng. and GMIT have a level 7 three year course! I'm not bothered where I study as long as I'm happy with what I'm doing!:rolleyes:

Information Seeker

Construction management degrees give an all round insight into the industry.
The level 8 degree graduates usually find work with main contractors/subcontractors or suppliers, doing estimating, tendering and managing works.

The B.Eng in Civil Engineering is aimed at designers in my opinion, with very little management content.

Traditionally construction managers came from trade backgrounds. Over the past decade construction management degrees have brought business together with construction, and some IT. A lot of these degrees give a wide view of the industry as many of the lecturers on the degrees come from various disciplines and trades.

My advice would be for graduates entering Construction Management, would be to work on site, get technical and practical experience there, then go for a construction management degree. Entering construction management without experience puts a student at a big disadvantage.

I do not see Construction Management as a lead on from Civil Eng. There are many more routs into the industry then just B.Eng in Civil Engineering.

I have expertise in house building, and a lot of people with civil engineering degrees are lost when it comes to basic practical knowledge of house building and technology.

My advice for anyone going down the route of a B.Eng or B.Sc is to get some practical experience first. Talk to as many people as you can, graduates from these courses for example.

There are some really good B.Eng courses out there. But make sure the courses has a good technical content, as I have been told stories of graduates going into work in private practices and not having the ability to produce required drawings.

Ficheall

As you can surely tell from the pile of unfinished building-work around the campus, at a cost of many green areas and no doubt a substantial sum of money - NUIG hasn't got the first clue about Construction and Project management, and it's a bit cheeky of them to offer a course on it.

abcde123

Ficheall wrote: »

As you can surely tell from the pile of unfinished building-work around the campus, at a cost of many green areas and no doubt a substantial sum of money - NUIG hasn't got the first clue about Construction and Project management, and it's a bit cheeky of them to offer a course on it.

More like you havent a clue what your talking about.:rolleyes:

Information Seeker

thenashlegend wrote: »

Hey thanks for your very informative reply! I can certainly see where your coming from!! A jack of all trades and master of none!!:rolleyes: Unfortunately I'm unable to do the Civil Eng. course thanks to our wonderful education system in Ireland and their view on points and college places!!:mad: Sadly I'm limited to I.T or this program in NUIG! I have 375 points from my leaving cert so do you think I'd be better to go to another Institute to follow a Level 7 Civil Eng. route, maybe GMIT or Sligo IT?? Or would this course out run the Intitutes of Technology??
Cheers for the help!

It may be a bit late to say this, but construction management graduates get a broader feel for the industry, and end up working in specific areas of the industry such as site management, estimating & tendering, or construction planning. Some go on to do postgraduate studies such as MSc in either Quantity Surveying or Construction Management, or other related areas.

Civil Engineering is not the only route into the industry, and neither is Construction Management. Have a look at Quantity Surveying if you want to take the college route.