Career opportunity for Civil Engineer in Britain??

haulagebasher

I was unsure to post this in here or in Aborad but anyway....
I am a M.Eng qualified Civil Engineer and I was wondering whether a decent career is achievable in the areas of civil, environmental and energy in Britain. I am not all that interested in building construction but I'd rather be involved in civil stuff like water, energy, transport etc. - West Midlands/Wales/Southwest areas would be my preferred location but anywhere really as long as it is not London.
My main worry is that the quality of life in Britain will be shíte - i imagined it would be the same or better that Ireland but reading a thread re QoL here last week it basically said that salaries were lower, taxes and fuel prices higher and then there council tax on top.
From the ICE website it says starting salaries are around £25k. Would that be about right and what, generally, is the rate of increase that can be expected?
What are the best type of companies to target with applications? I've heard that some of the very large Cos. like Arup and Black and Veatch can be absolute cnuts to work for. Is there any truth in this? Would I be better targetting the SME type of set-ups?
If I did go to Britain it would probably be permanent all going well but now I am questioning whether is it worth my while going to Britain because of the stories I have heard re the shíte QoLor should I just skip it and go somewhere else like Canada or Oz and then come back later. Maybe when the construction industy "goes back to normal" I heard one fella saying, as he cried into his pint!!!!

cozzie55

haulagebasher wrote: »

I was unsure to post this in here or in Aborad but anyway....
I am a M.Eng qualified Civil Engineer and I was wondering whether a decent career is achievable in the areas of civil, environmental and energy in Britain. I am not all that interested in building construction but I'd rather be involved in civil stuff like water, energy, transport etc. - West Midlands/Wales/Southwest areas would be my preferred location but anywhere really as long as it is not London.
My main worry is that the quality of life in Britain will be shíte - i imagined it would be the same or better that Ireland but reading a thread re QoL here last week it basically said that salaries were lower, taxes and fuel prices higher and then there council tax on top.
From the ICE website it says starting salaries are around £25k. Would that be about right and what, generally, is the rate of increase that can be expected?
What are the best type of companies to target with applications? I've heard that some of the very large Cos. like Arup and Black and Veatch can be absolute cnuts to work for. Is there any truth in this? Would I be better targetting the SME type of set-ups?
If I did go to Britain it would probably be permanent all going well but now I am questioning whether is it worth my while going to Britain because of the stories I have heard re the shíte QoLor should I just skip it and go somewhere else like Canada or Oz and then come back later. Maybe when the construction industy "goes back to normal" I heard one fella saying, as he cried into his pint!!!!

I would say first off that there are some opportunities in ireland if you try hard enough you'll find them. Like i know two guys who only this week got jobs in civil, one in roads and one in environmental. Granted you sound like you want to go anyway but thats your own decision.

Salary wise 25k sounds like a good offer. If you stay in ireland you'll be looking at somewhere around the €23k mark, so about 7/8k less.

In terms of applying to companies try them all. I've heard the bigger companies like arup are crap aswell, but on saying that you will get the best experience there, from my experience their HR department leaves a lot to be desired i.e. taking 6 months to interview people who applied for jobs, and thats the second experience i've had with them.

I'd say look to private companies as opposed to consultancies. So say like larger multinationals/factories who have there own in house engineering teams, these seam like the better paid and more secure jobs at the moment. Plus you will get very good experience

haulagebasher

Bumping this. If anyone else has made this move maybe you could lend some advise on the best areas to go or how to go about job hunting in Britain. I am open to anywhere that is not London.

PabHill

I think if you contact the company direct you will get a better response, avoid agencies if you can.

handlemaster

haulagebasher wrote: »

I was unsure to post this in here or in Aborad but anyway....
I am a M.Eng qualified Civil Engineer and I was wondering whether a decent career is achievable in the areas of civil, environmental and energy in Britain. I am not all that interested in building construction but I'd rather be involved in civil stuff like water, energy, transport etc. - West Midlands/Wales/Southwest areas would be my preferred location but anywhere really as long as it is not London.
My main worry is that the quality of life in Britain will be shíte - i imagined it would be the same or better that Ireland but reading a thread re QoL here last week it basically said that salaries were lower, taxes and fuel prices higher and then there council tax on top.
From the ICE website it says starting salaries are around £25k. Would that be about right and what, generally, is the rate of increase that can be expected?
What are the best type of companies to target with applications? I've heard that some of the very large Cos. like Arup and Black and Veatch can be absolute cnuts to work for. Is there any truth in this? Would I be better targetting the SME type of set-ups?
If I did go to Britain it would probably be permanent all going well but now I am questioning whether is it worth my while going to Britain because of the stories I have heard re the shíte QoLor should I just skip it and go somewhere else like Canada or Oz and then come back later. Maybe when the construction industy "goes back to normal" I heard one fella saying, as he cried into his pint!!!!

Try perth australia. Leighton or other companies in that group. Lots of jobs

haulagebasher

PabHill wrote: »

I think if you contact the company direct you will get a better response, avoid agencies if you can.

Yeah, I tend to see contacting the companies directly as being a more proactive approach than passing the buck to an agency and asking them to do the work. That will be my main MO for job hunting. Of course I will also use agencies but that will be very much a secondary route.

Try perth australia. Leighton or other companies in that group. Lots of jobs

Thanks, but TBH i want to avoid Oz really. Not into the whole "Paddy goes to Oz and gets pissed" culture.
Britain is my preferred choice by far. Anything happening in the Wales area or West England by any chance?
CVs sent to the HR managers of the following, anyone know anything about them: Bingham Hall Partnership http://www.bhpl.co.uk/http://www.kpaconsulting.co.uk KPA consulting engineersJones Bros http://www.jones-bros.com

handlemaster

haulagebasher wrote: »

Yeah, I tend to see contacting the companies directly as being a more proactive approach than passing the buck to an agency and asking them to do the work. That will be my main MO for job hunting. Of course I will also use agencies but that will be very much a secondary route.
Thanks, but TBH i want to avoid Oz really. Not into the whole "Paddy goes to Oz and gets pissed" culture.
Britain is my preferred choice by far. Anything happening in the Wales area or West England by any chance?
CVs sent to the HR managers of the following, anyone know anything about them: Bingham Hall Partnership http://www.bhpl.co.uk/http://www.kpaconsulting.co.uk KPA consulting engineersJones Bros http://www.jones-bros.com[/QUOTE]

Not everybody does that. Plough your own forrow. I see the following today in the news
Barratt Developments has reported an increase in annual profit to £191.1m - up 41.6% on the same period last year.