Need Help finding a job Abroad Civil Engineer

stevie1122

I have recently completed a level 7 degree in Civil Engineering and I am now looking to go abroad for work in this field I don't care if it's the UK, Africa, The Middle east or Canada etc.

So I was just wondering if anyone can advise me on where to look for work online I have already looked for jobs on a few sites for Canada and UAE almost every job has the usual annoying requirement of a certain number of years of experience which if you can't get a job in the first place how are you suppose to get the required experience?

I am not prepared to work for a company for free in order to gain experience because I am up to my eyeballs in debt thanks to college and not getting a grant.

I also have no plans to go on and do a level 8 because I don't have much money after college and a level 8 degree will be another 2years in college which I simply cannot afford.

So anyway it would be great if somebody could help because it's gets really frustrating when you look at job after job and every one requires at least a minimum of 3 years experience.

Also has anyone gone away or is away at the moment working that has any advice on the Do's or don't's.

stevie1122

Bump

Most of the population are immigrating and nobody can offer any advice???

Procrastastudy

stevie1122 wrote: »

almost every job has the usual annoying requirement of a certain number of years of experience which if you can't get a job in the first place how are you suppose to get the required experience?

I am not prepared to work for a company for free in order to gain experience because I am up to my eyeballs in debt thanks to college and not getting a grant.

What do you expect in a in the midst of a global recession? You've three choices.

(i) Start your own business
(ii) Get the required experience any way you can - which includes working for free.
(iii) Do something else. Work your way up in Tesco or something.

Perhaps if your post didn't scream 'sense of entitlement' people would have been more forth coming in their advice.

I was under the impression the RAF where alway looking for senior NCO air crew.

annfield1978

Where are you based in Ireland, and what are you looking to do, ie civil structural etc?

stevie1122

Procrastastudy wrote: »

What do you expect in a in the midst of a global recession? You've three choices.

(i) Start your own business
(ii) Get the required experience any way you can - which includes working for free.
(iii) Do something else. Work your way up in Tesco or something.

Perhaps if your post didn't scream 'sense of entitlement' people would have been more forth coming in their advice.

I was under the impression the RAF where alway looking for senior NCO air crew.

Their is no recession in Australian and plenty of work in Canada I am not looking for a job in Ireland because I know that's not possible.

I am not "screaming sense of entitlement" I am just looking for advice on getting work abroad I am not prepared to be exploited by some employer I didn't spend 3 years in college working hard for a degree to go out and work for free.

Would you go out and work for 3 or 4 years for free spending money on transport, lunches ect..? I don't think you would.

The funny thing is even if I wanted to do unpaid work experience it's very difficult to get.

I wasn't as lucky as most other students I didn't get a grant or hand outs from my parents I paid for everything myself and I am now in debt because of this which is why I need a paying job.

If I wanted to work in Tesco I would have done that instead of going to college.

As for your other comments you didn't read my first post I am looking for work abroad I have no interest in working in Ireland.



@ annfield1978 I am living in Dublin I am just looking for any sort of Civil engineering work.

Tefral

Here is one for my company Mott MacDonald in the US

Job Position US Engineer-Graduate Program
Job Ref 5634BR

Job Category
Aviation
Bridges
Geotechnical
Highways
Railways
Tunnels
Water
Waste Water
Electrical

Job Profile
Hatch Mott MacDonald (HMM) is an award-winning consulting engineering firm with major success in the fields of rail and transit; highways and bridges; water and water resources; wastewater; tunnels; environment; municipal engineering; aviation; ports and harbors; architectural services; and pipeline services. We have earned a reputation for technical excellence on some of the world’s most prominent and challenging projects. HMM is a rapidly growing firm with 54 offices throughout North America, providing a full range of engineering services, from planning and design through construction management. We are seeking highly motivated individuals to join our dynamic team of professionals in locations throughout the US and Canada.
Job Description HMM is seeking Junior Engineers/New Graduates applicants for various offices throughout the western United States. Engineer will be an integral part of a design team made up of primarily Professional Engineers in a project office. The engineer will be directly involved with a variety of infrastructure design projects; project work could include rail, tunnel, highway, bridge or other type of infrastructure projects.

Candidate Specification
Engineer candidates should have a Bachelors degree in Civil, Structural, Electrical, Mechanical or other related engineering field; EIT certified would be ideal. Candidate should possess a strong academic record and related work experience would be a plus. Candidate should be willing to relocate.

Contract Type Regular (US only)
Work Pattern Full-Time
Country United States
Position Location Multiple Locations-West Coast
Recruiter Contact www.mottmac.com

Procrastastudy

stevie1122 wrote: »

Would you go out and work for 3 or 4 years for free spending money on transport, lunches ect..? I don't think you would.

The funny thing is even if I wanted to do unpaid work experience it's very difficult to get.

I will have to work for significantly longer than that before getting paid properly (2 years completely unpaid) + I will have to pay massive professional fees for the privilege. I'm already building my experience base while at college.

stevie1122 wrote: »

I wasn't as lucky as most other students I didn't get a grant or hand outs from my parents I paid for everything myself and I am now in debt because of this which is why I need a paying job.

If I wanted to work in Tesco I would have done that instead of going to college.

Neither did I I had to work my ass off until I could afford it!

stevie1122 wrote: »

As for your other comments you didn't read my first post I am looking for work abroad I have no interest in working in Ireland.

@ annfield1978 I am living in Dublin I am just looking for any sort of Civil engineering work.

I read your post very carefully - I always do when I think someone needs a kick in the behind. A degree is worth very little when everyone has one. You need to up skill some how. If that means get yourself a job in Tesco while you do a masters so be it.

Worked hard in college - so did everyone else!

Tefral

Another job here http://www.irishjobs.ie/Jobs/GRADUATE-CIVIL-ENGINEER-Water-Wastewater-6877875.aspx

OP i agree with the other posters, all of us worked hard in college, i have an honours degree, 6+ years in the industry and im commuting back and forth to London all the while trying to keep up a relationship with my Fiancee back home in Dublin

In the real world no-one will have sympathy for you, everyone has their own problems to contend with. Jobs are won not given anymore.

I commend you coming on asking here, however you seem unwilling to try alot of things. Flexability is what you need.

annfield1978

I work a Civil Engineering consultancy in Dublin and we are hiring, PM me your CV and i will put it forward for consideration

https://careers.halcrow.com/OA_HTML/RF.jsp?function_id=14296&resp_id=23350&resp_appl_id=800&security_group_id=0&lang_code=US&params=D.pTwxQgoYJOpw1r1Rer9Sw-xe.ERroNth66UoxIli4x0Lx0Lp2YGqkDZFttxBJs&oas=FLEgygbwqQuV7J5XMZEfyw..

Site Staff ads at the minute, but grad positions coming on stream shortly

JB Barrys and Partners also looking for graduates

stevie1122

cronin_j wrote: »

Another job here http://www.irishjobs.ie/Jobs/GRADUATE-CIVIL-ENGINEER-Water-Wastewater-6877875.aspx

OP i agree with the other posters, all of us worked hard in college, i have an honours degree, 6+ years in the industry and im commuting back and forth to London all the while trying to keep up a relationship with my Fiancee back home in Dublin

In the real world no-one will have sympathy for you, everyone has their own problems to contend with. Jobs are won not given anymore.

I commend you coming on asking here, however you seem unwilling to try alot of things. Flexability is what you need.

Fair enough but I don't think it's unreasonable that I won't work for free.

The part of the country I am in now it's near impossible to get any sort of part time or full time job on minimum wage believe me I have been trying since I finished my last exam in May, I don't get any social welfare so I literally have no source of income so going back to college is not an option.

I am not looking for people to have sympathy for me but I said in the first post that I am looking for advice on working abroad from people who have already done it.




Thanks to everybody that has posted about jobs I am in the middle of making up my new CV and will send it as soon as it's finished.

Procrastastudy

stevie1122 wrote: »

Fair enough but I don't think it's unreasonable that I won't work for free.

I actually agree with you. I suppose my overall point can be summarised as - just make sure you're trying everything you can - it's a very competitive market.

Good Luck OP!

stevie1122

Cheers

Jim2007

stevie1122 wrote: »

The part of the country I am in now it's near impossible to get any sort of part time or full time job on minimum wage believe me I have been trying since I finished my last exam in May, I don't get any social welfare so I literally have no source of income so going back to college is not an option.

I don't know anything about engineering, but one observation I would make is that it takes money to move abroad, so step one should be to build up some savings - you'll need it for flights, deposits, living costs until you get your first pay cheque and so on...

stevie1122

Jim2007 wrote: »

I don't know anything about engineering, but one observation I would make is that it takes money to move abroad, so step one should be to build up some savings - you'll need it for flights, deposits, living costs until you get your first pay cheque and so on...

I already have money saved for flights then a couple of grand for when I get over to where ever I am going from a few years ago because I worked full time for a couple of years before going to college and I am not touching it for any reason other than going away. I could put it towards doing another year in college or paying off my debts etc.. but then I would have no way of immigrating. Like if I went on and did a level 8 or a masters I would be in this exact same position a year or two from now except I wouldn't have a penny to go away.

Jim2007

stevie1122 wrote: »

I already have money saved for flights then a couple of grand for when I get over to where ever I am going from a few years ago because I worked full time for a couple of years before going to college and I am not touching it for any reason other than going away. I could put it towards doing another year in college or paying off my debts etc.. but then I would have no way of immigrating. Like if I went on and did a level 8 or a masters I would be in this exact same position a year or two from now except I wouldn't have a penny to go away.

Here is something that might interest you: a Grad program

stevie1122

Jim2007 wrote: »

Here is something that might interest you: a Grad program

That does look very interesting thanks

stevie1122

cronin_j wrote: »

Here is one for my company Mott MacDonald in the US

Job Position US Engineer-Graduate Program
Job Ref 5634BR

Job Category
Aviation
Bridges
Geotechnical
Highways
Railways
Tunnels
Water
Waste Water
Electrical

Job Profile
Hatch Mott MacDonald (HMM) is an award-winning consulting engineering firm with major success in the fields of rail and transit; highways and bridges; water and water resources; wastewater; tunnels; environment; municipal engineering; aviation; ports and harbors; architectural services; and pipeline services. We have earned a reputation for technical excellence on some of the world’s most prominent and challenging projects. HMM is a rapidly growing firm with 54 offices throughout North America, providing a full range of engineering services, from planning and design through construction management. We are seeking highly motivated individuals to join our dynamic team of professionals in locations throughout the US and Canada.
Job Description HMM is seeking Junior Engineers/New Graduates applicants for various offices throughout the western United States. Engineer will be an integral part of a design team made up of primarily Professional Engineers in a project office. The engineer will be directly involved with a variety of infrastructure design projects; project work could include rail, tunnel, highway, bridge or other type of infrastructure projects.

Candidate Specification
Engineer candidates should have a Bachelors degree in Civil, Structural, Electrical, Mechanical or other related engineering field; EIT certified would be ideal. Candidate should possess a strong academic record and related work experience would be a plus. Candidate should be willing to relocate.

Contract Type Regular (US only)
Work Pattern Full-Time
Country United States
Position Location Multiple Locations-West Coast
Recruiter Contact www.mottmac.com

How do I apply for this job I can't see anything on the website about this?

Thanks

PabHill

The company I represent deal all over Europe, they have recently moved into area in and around Russia also.

tomgaa

im a civil engineer myself, i went back to uni 2010-2011 after workin 1 year out of the 2 when i graduated in 2008, i havnt found civil wrk since... iv an interview for one of those fas internships coming up for a civil engineer, i dnt want to work for free but its the only way il prob get wrk in the future if i build up my cv......... just on a side note i went to england for uni in 2010 cost me 15-17k to now applying to work for extra 50€ on top of dole..... unfortunately for graduate to exp now your going to have to grind!!!!

stevie1122

To be honest I would rather go abroad and work in a shop then work for free. Id even work on minimum wage. I don't even get the dole so count yourself lucky in that respect.

That 50 on top your dole thing is ridiculous exploitation pure and simple companies like Tesco etc were doing that at Xmas and their profit margin would be in the billions each year.

BY working for a civil engineer your helping them to profit yet your not entitled to wage?

PabHill wrote: »

The company I represent deal all over Europe, they have recently moved into area in and around Russia also.

Whats the name of the company?

tomgaa

stevie1122 wrote: »

To be honest I would rather go abroad and work in a shop then work for free. Id even work on minimum wage. I don't even get the dole so count yourself lucky in that respect.

That 50 on top your dole thing is ridiculous exploitation pure and simple companies like Tesco etc were doing that at Xmas and their profit margin would be in the billions each year.

BY working for a civil engineer your helping them to profit yet your not entitled to wage?

yes i totally agree in my opinion you should only be aloud offer an internship if you know there will be a vacancy for the intern after they they've completed the internship,just on the other side its the only way of gaining work experience at the minute, im 25 and still lookin for graduate work its not where i taught id be when in graduated in 2008

J_b1986

In all honesty I'd get my level 8 degree if I was you. I am a senior engineer John Sisk and I only have a level 7 degree but I have 8 years experience and with that my degree level shudnt hurt me much but I know if u go into a consultancy u will never rise above draughtsman or technician with the bigger firms , Arup wouldn't even look at ur cv if u only had level 7... The larger contractors like sisk would also look down ther nose at a level 7 now as they are moving into an elitist company to impress clients more in pre qualification tenders , chartership is strongly pushed and u will have to wait ten years to be chartered with a level 7as opposed to four with a level 8

I have checked myself , there are no night courses in civil to get ur level 8 in Ireland currently so to get ur 8 u will need to go back full time in a few years...


If I were u I'd finish my college now, not having a level 8 sill piss u off down the line and it will affect ur opportunities as a graduate because u have no experience , ur only reference Is ur level of degree!

BERmad

I agree with the poster above unless you have a level 8 degree you will have a very slim chance of even getting any of the unpaid internships.

There are a lot of new graduates with a level 8 degree and some with a masters going for the same jobs that you will be applying for so it will be hard to stand out with the level 7. Unfortunately it seems now unless you have at least a level 8 degree you will not be considered unless you have 5 or 6 years experience.

J_b1986

tomgaa wrote: »

yes i totally agree in my opinion you should only be aloud offer an internship if you know there will be a vacancy for the intern after they they've completed the internship,just on the other side its the only way of gaining work experience at the minute, im 25 and still lookin for graduate work its not where i taught id be when in graduated in 2008

If you go work in a shop u mite as well forget about ever using ur degree , if u apply for a job in 4 yrs time n u haven't worked since college ull be overlooked...


And also I agree it's exploitation to employ people on 50 more than dole but it's supply and demand... All levels of engineer are struggling the same , I'm after moving up 3 ranks since 2007 and am now at senior level but my wage hasn't changed(even tho I work 70 hours a week)..

U also go on about grants as tho everyone got them , most of us didn't get them and when I was at college 10 yrs ago a full grant was 2100 a yr , a large help but not enough for u to speak about the industry with such a sense of entitlement... U need to do a bit of growing up , go onto a site or an office with that attitude and experienced professionals will destroy u!

stevie1122

J_b1986 wrote: »

In all honesty I'd get my level 8 degree if I was you. I am a senior engineer John Sisk and I only have a level 7 degree but I have 8 years experience and with that my degree level shudnt hurt me much but I know if u go into a consultancy u will never rise above draughtsman or technician with the bigger firms , Arup wouldn't even look at ur cv if u only had level 7... The larger contractors like sisk would also look down ther nose at a level 7 now as they are moving into an elitist company to impress clients more in pre qualification tenders , chartership is strongly pushed and u will have to wait ten years to be chartered with a level 7as opposed to four with a level 8

I have checked myself , there are no night courses in civil to get ur level 8 in Ireland currently so to get ur 8 u will need to go back full time in a few years...


If I were u I'd finish my college now, not having a level 8 sill piss u off down the line and it will affect ur opportunities as a graduate because u have no experience , ur only reference Is ur level of degree!

I'm still thinking about the level 8 I already did one year of it and only failed one subject by 2% which I have to repeat to get into the final year. Very annoying though having to wait a full year for the sake of 2%.

BERmad wrote: »

I agree with the poster above unless you have a level 8 degree you will have a very slim chance of even getting any of the unpaid internships.

There are a lot of new graduates with a level 8 degree and some with a masters going for the same jobs that you will be applying for so it will be hard to stand out with the level 7. Unfortunately it seems now unless you have at least a level 8 degree you will not be considered unless you have 5 or 6 years experience.

Even if you have the level 8 you won't even be looked at without at least 2 or 3 years work experience.

J_b1986 wrote: »

U also go on about grants as tho everyone got them , most of us didn't get them and when I was at college 10 yrs ago a full grant was 2100 a yr , a large help but not enough for u to speak about the industry with such a sense of entitlement... U need to do a bit of growing up , go onto a site or an office with that attitude and experienced professionals will destroy u!

Hardly anything to do with growing up I had friends in college who got everything from their parents and still got grants while I was struggling and wasn't entitled to a penny it may not have bothered you but when you experience it first hand it's a different story. After studying something as difficult as Civil Engineering for 4 or 5 years I don't think getting well paid when you finish is too much to ask for.


Anyway I have relative now working as an engineer abroad who said he can sort me out with an engineering position which is great I honestly feel sorry for anyone in first or second year now of a civil degree as most of them haven't a hope of getting any sort of work in this country or abroad I would advice anyone thinking of studying civil engineering to stay well away. At the end of the day it's just like most other things it's all about who you know.

breadmonkey

stevie1122 wrote: »

I'm still thinking about the level 8 I already did one year of it and only failed one subject by 2% which I have to repeat to get into the final year. Very annoying though having to wait a full year for the sake of 2%.

Even if you have the level 8 you won't even be looked at without at least 2 or 3 years work experience.

Anyway I have relative now working as an engineer abroad who said he can sort me out with an engineering position which is great I honestly feel sorry for anyone in first or second year now of a civil degree as most of them haven't a hope of getting any sort of work in this country or abroad I would advice anyone thinking of studying civil engineering to stay well away. At the end of the day it's just like most other things it's all about who you know.

Sorry Stevie but you appear to have no awareness whatsoever of the industry. How can you seriously think there is no work for graduates anywhere in the world? What jobs are you looking at exactly? What graduate programmes did you apply for last January?

You need to wake up and see where you stand in the market. As another poster mentioned, you are competing directly with hoards of others who have level 8+. What sets you apart from these people? It looks like doing the level 8 will be a struggle for you financially and so you're looking for reasons to dismiss this option as pointless.

J_b1986

There are jobs all over the world so I agree with the poster above who said u clearly haven't a clue about the industry , graduate jobs are hard come by in Ireland due to the downturn but elsewhere they are alive and kicking if u call Irish recruitment agencies that recruit for worldwide such as www.icds.ie

Also u need to read ur posts before putting them up , experienced guys wud go out on a limb to give a young lad advice or a leg up where possible but will I please stop goin Oma's though ur the only one who had to work hard through college, who didn't have money.

This " I experienced it first hand" comment u made regarding other students having it all is the most ridiculous comment I've ever heard. We all had mates in college who didn't have to work through college coz of mam n dad but so what , your only concern I'd urself.

Personally with ur attitude I wouldn't want to work with u , are you going to go crying if ur on a smaller project where there are less staff so the hours are longer than the guys workin for the same company on the big project down the road? Are u going to go crying when u get caught to work a Saturday coz thers a rush on a concrete pour in ur section while other engineers are off? Engineering isn't a walk in the park so if ur complaining before u get started ur on a hiding to nothing, u certainly Wudnt cut it in Ireland right now where I can assure u it is an extremely tough job due to tight budgets!

U mitent like what I've said but if u don't rid urself of all this complaining ur doing u will not succeed because life as an engineering professional isn't fair and it's bloody hard work if u wana be a good one!

ifeelill

J_b1986 wrote: »

u will have to wait ten years to be chartered with a level 7as opposed to four with a level 8

It's a level 9 now people need to apply to be a CEng with EI, the requirements were just changed a few days ago

J_b1986

ifeelill wrote: »

It's a level 9 now people need to apply to be a CEng with EI, the requirements were just changed a few days ago

http://issuu.com/thinkmedia/docs/regs1?e=1242192/4945963
Young need a level 9 if u started ur degree programme from 2012 on. If u have a level 7 even you can apply for chartered eng after 10 or more years experience in the industry!

ifeelill

J_b1986 wrote: »

http://issuu.com/thinkmedia/docs/regs1?e=1242192/4945963
Young need a level 9 if u started ur degree programme from 2012 on. If u have a level 7 even you can apply for chartered eng after 10 or more years experience in the industry!

Good deal. Has anyone got more links to recurtment agencies who are based in Ireland who recruit people to go abroad. I I'm having trouble finding them

Mrs OBumble

Mod-note:

Please do not use txt speak on boards.ie.


I'm not going to clean up all the existing posts, but any more with "u" instead of "you" etc will be deleted.