Civil / Structural Engineering As A Career

Hi, I'll give you some of my experience since graduating in 2007 (feeling old now!). For background, I spent 4.5 years with a main contractor in the North after graduating, and moved to a different field for a few years and am back contracting again now since the tail end of last year.

1. What are the hours / days work like?

In my current role, its 7.30-5 Monday to Friday, with no weekends bar for planned major works that can't be done during the week. I'm on a roads job at the minute and the tie in's have to be done over weekends. They are few and far between so I can't complain.
Previously it was 7-7 Monday to Friday and at least one Saturday or weekend a month depending. I was in the Uk working and got flights home every 2nd weekend, most of the other weekends were spent working or on the beer!
It's generally project specific. In the summer we might work 7-7 if the deadline is tight, but in general it's a 9.5 hr day

2. What are the job conditions like (Where do you work, inside, outside etc)?
Site work is generally a bit of both. I meet with the foreman every day and go through the plans for the next day. First thing in the morning I make sure everything is in order for the day. I might have to set out a few bits and give a few levels etc. Once that rush is over the rest of the day is on paperwork/supervision, maybe working on another site. It's varied. If you like the outdoors it's a great job. The weather is the weather, but good PPE and your sorted.

3. What is the pay like and how does it progress over time?
When I graduated in NI, the starting salary was £21500, which went to £26500 after the 4.5 years. Considering it was a minimum 60hour week, it wasn't great, but you have to learn the game and build the experience. A Senior site engineer can now expect to earn between €45k-€55k, not sure on graduates.

4. What is career progression like from the start to 5 or 10 years plus in the job?
Someone else can give a more detailed account on this, I have a gap, having being out of the game for a few years, but the company I'm with now are progressive and I hope to get up to Project Manager level in the next year or 2.

5. What are the job opportunities / employability like in Ireland for engineers?

At the minute, there aren't enough engineer's to go around especially on the contracting side of things. Not sure on the consulting end.


6. How would you compare civil vs structural vs other areas of construction engineering?
The big difference is probably in the design/consultancy end. From a contracting point of view, a good bit of what is learned in college can be ignored. I've never had to do a calculation more difficult than interpreting levels or tweaking a drainage design to save on the excavation side of things. A general knowledge is fine, the experience on site will bring you on 10 fold. The more Senior you get, the more the focus shifts to the commercial aspects of contracts, I'm finding now that I'm digging into old lecture notes to refresh the memory!


7. Would you choose this career path again / recommend it as a career to someone starting out?
Would I do it again, yes. It's a great career from a single mans/womans point of view. The hours can be long, my record is 84 hours in 1 week, and no day off for 6 weeks, but that was a long time ago.

Unfortunately with contracting you have to go where the work is, which can be difficult with a young family. I've been lucky that since I have settled down I haven't had to move away. My current company's pipeline is strong and have at least another 3 years work where my commute will be around 40 minutes. But with the boom bust cycle in Ireland you never know how things will play out.

Talk to your lecturers as they will have contacts outside of college that may take you on for the summer to give you a feel for things. As part of my studies I had to do a years placement which really opened my eyes to the world!

Best of luck with it!

OP - to add some notes from the consulting side of things. I'm 8 years working in a consultancy environment, chartered Civil/Geotech Engineer

1. What are the hours / days work like?
Depends on the sort of person you are. The standard working week is 40 hours and many stick to that, but the more senior you get, the more the hours seem to creep up. This year, my working week has approached 65 hours in busier times, I've eased back to the 40 hours when workload permits.

2. What are the job conditions like (Where do you work, inside, outside etc)?
I've had a good mix in my career so far, maybe 70% office, 30% site based. In consultancy, the more senior you become, the less time you spend outside.
3. What is the pay like and how does it progress over time?
Not great. I started on £20k sterling in NI, being lucky enough to get a job in the depths of the last recession. It's doubled since. Someone at senior chartered level could command about €55k in Dublin at the minute. More money and (arguably) better conditions in teaching, Gardai etc.

4. What is career progression like from the start to 5 or 10 years plus in the job?
IMO the rate of progression has a nice pace to it. You're not rushed into Chartership and management like some accountancy practices, moreso given time to develop your technical aptitude before moving into the leadership side of things. Early management roles may sound attractive, but a manager without sound technical knowledge and experience is a disaster waiting to happen.

5. What are the job opportunities / employability like in Ireland for engineers?
Excellent at the minute, but it's VERY cyclical. I finished my degree in 2009 where about 5% of the class got jobs in Ireland. I did a masters to bide my time, many emigrated.

6. How would you compare civil vs structural vs other areas of construction engineering?
This is a personal preference thing, but I wouldn't wish site engineering on my worst enemy. Very pressurised, long hours, poor working conditions for a mediocre premium in salary. Consultancy-wise Civil is a decent path - you tend to develop broad experience, as opposed to structural which can end up very focused.

7. Would you choose this career path again / recommend it as a career to someone starting out?
Unfortunately not. I don't hate my job as-such and it has many rewarding aspects, but if you were to balance stress and working conditions/hours against pay levels, it compares very poorly against other careers.

Ultimately, you really need to love it to judge it as a good career.