Civil Eng Masters - advice needed

Eng102

Hi,

This is going to be quite long so I'd really appreciate anyone who takes the time to read and reply.

I'm currently searching for a civil engineering (taught) masters next year and was hoping I could get some input/advice here.

From what I've seen so far, most taught civil eng masters can be split broadly into two categories:

1. "MSc in Civil Engineering" - these courses seem to be quite general in nature and seem more like an extension of an undergrad course.

2. "Msc in *specific*" - focuses on a specific area which is really what I thought a masters was all about.

I've pretty much decided that I'd like to work in a bridges department and I have some work experience to this end. From what I've seen so far, that doesn't leave me many options for postgrad except ones in structural engineering which is a shame because by comparison, there seems to be a lot more variety in water/geotech based masters (for example). Unfortunately I don't have much interest in, or aptitude for, these areas.

With that in mind, I have this course in Imperial College London earmarked:

http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/structuralengineering/msccourses/general

much more info here:

https://www8.imperial.ac.uk/content/dav/ad/workspaces/civilengineering/MSc%20General%20Structural%20Engineering%20Oct%202009.pdf

It's a very, very highly regarded college as far as I can tell. Any opinions on the course? I must admit that it looks quite intimidating to me even though I'm sure I could get through it.

I found this course in UCL which in my opinion is the best of the "MSc in Civil Engineering" bunch so far:

http://www.cege.ucl.ac.uk/teaching/postgraduate/civil_engineering

This one seems heavily project based even though it's billed as a taught masters.

Can anyone give me an idea of how these courses are perceived by employers? i.e. as a graduate (new employee) is it better to specialise or to have a shallower understanding of many different areas?

When applying for a job, can I apply for a specific department within a company? I ask this because I would really prefer to work in bridges as opposed to structures which just doesn't really "excite" me as much.

Finally, there are many courses being offered in renewable/sustainable energy. This is an area that interests me and I believe it's perceived to be an area of massive growth in the near future (yes/no?) but it seems to me that any development in this area will be massively stifled by beaurocracy, debate etc. and I have a bad feeling that all I'd be doing would be compiling feasibility reports, never seeing any end results. Any thoughts on this area?

Any advice on any of the above would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

John368

Eng102

I know that Imperial College has a very very good reputation with UK and Irish firms of consulting engineers.

It tends to be the postgrad university of choice for Oxbridge graduates in engineering or it was about 15 to 20 years ago when I was working in a large UK based firm of consulting engineers.

John