Career in Civil Engineering or Surveying?

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  oscargamer on 17/04/2020 - 17:19

  Civ Eng here. I prefer time on site, so if it was me, I'd get the surveying qual.

  You prefer time in the office, so no real point for you I'd suggest.

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    Adam98 on 17/04/2020 - 17:26

    I dont mind a bit of either but i would like a balance. Do you have any recomondation for Civil Engineering? I've researched Surveying and know the process of becoming Registered. I would like to know the process of Becoming an Engineer after receiving a qualification.

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      oscargamer on 17/04/2020 - 18:52

      I'm from the UK. Got my quals there. Sorry but can't comment on the Oz route.

      Good luck anyway.

      PS - you are an Engineer after you graduate. To get Chartered….that's another question.

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  tomlikesbeetroot on 17/04/2020 - 17:24

  Civil engineering is likely to have more office based work, potentially slightly more financially rewarding as well.

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    Adam98 on 17/04/2020 - 17:29

    I've compared jobs in websites like seek and indeed and ive noticed the high paid Civil Engineering jobs are of higher positions. Is there any other qualifications or other processes you have to go through to get to that position?

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      Hazzard on 19/04/2020 - 08:25

      Is there any other qualifications or other processes you have to go through to get to that position?

      Based on the guys in my office at these high positions, they got there with experience. As far as I am aware, they only have a bachelors degree in engineering. Post nominals - NER, CPEng, RPEQ.

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        tomlikesbeetroot on 19/04/2020 - 11:50

        Yeah mainly down to experience.
        Project work and construction tends to pay higher than design/consulting, so if you struggle to find a position you could supplement with additional quals in project management/construction management.

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  Hybroid on 17/04/2020 - 19:03

  Civil Engineering is the preferred (though I'm biased) route. It has a better career progression path as well more open opportunities to get into specialist fields or project management in the future. The pay scale is generally higher for Engineers but highly experienced surveyors can fetch a pretty decent day rate as independent contractor in 20-30 years.

  Getting chartered/registered would be a prerequisite of becoming a Senior Engineer ($120-150k salary) in most reputable companies and is fairly easily achieved within 5-6 years of commencing career.

  Engineers Australia is your organisation of choice and they host many graduate events and development opportunities to achieve your chartership.

  Institution of Civil Engineers based in UK, is the most credible organisation worldwide and something to consider if you have aspirations to move and work abroad in future.

  This may be of interest: How to become a professionally qualified civil engineer

  Happy to answer any further queries.

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    tomlikesbeetroot on 19/04/2020 - 11:54

    Some states place more emphasis on charter-ship than others. The company I work for here in WA doesn't require being chartered, we have a few people from overseas with 3 year degrees earning more than that, but it was a pretty hot market before the covid situation. Even now it hasn't slowed down too much.

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      Hybroid on 19/04/2020 - 14:36

      It's more about companies than states, although it's recognised how challenging convincing people to move to Perth can be. Large projects like Metronet are desperately crying out for resources and will lower barriers to attract people over. In other markets like Sydney/Melbourne with higher competition, it creates a distinction between candidates.

      Chartership status achieves 2 things for a company:-

      1) It allows them to sell your time out at a higher rate to clients thus increase revenue.
      2) Internal processes for technical checking/review competency need some form of accreditation.

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        tomlikesbeetroot on 19/04/2020 - 16:26

        Yes I agree, although also depends if you are working client side or contractor.
        Client side chartership doesn't seem to mean much, unless you are based in Vic or QLD

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    [Deactivated] on 03/05/2020 - 16:32

    Every engineer I come across in forums earn 100k+ within 5 years but why is the average only around 80k whilst teachers max out at 100k after 10 years but average is around the same?

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      Hybroid on 03/05/2020 - 20:38

      Probably quantity. There's usually 3-4 grads for every engineer which brings down the average salary.

      100k within 5 years is good but not great. You should be on the verge of getting chartership by then (5-7 years average) which promotes you into a Senior Engineer role earning up to $150k.

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        [Deactivated] on 03/05/2020 - 22:16

        3-4 grads per engineer sounds like it's going to be a bit of a problem in a few years when everyone is chartered doesn't it, unless there's growth to match. How do you find the job? What were the first few years like?

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          Hybroid on 03/05/2020 - 22:24

          @[Deactivated]: Grads tend to be on rotations between different sub-disciplines and even companies until they find their fit. Majority start off doing basic CAD drawings and design calcs. Not all make it to the next level and it's quite competitive. Plenty drop out to do others things after year or two too.

          There's a huge demand in Sydney right now and Perth is ramping up too. Most of us were transferred from same company's offices abroad to support the infrastructure boom here and train up the local workforce. Our competitors have all done the exact same.

          There's far more British resources in key Engineering roles than local Australians, for good reason. That dynamic will change in next few years as locals get the required experience and knowledge to take it forward.

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        mcbargainmeal on 06/05/2020 - 22:02

        May I ask where you get the figure of up to $150k from for 5-7 years of experience? I myself am chartered with 6+ years of experience, but am nowhere near that (working for a large multinational).

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          Hybroid on 06/05/2020 - 22:12

          @mcbargainmeal: Living it and have direct reports so have visibility of current remuneration packages both here and UK. If you're not on at very least $120k in Sydney with chartered experience as a Senior Engineer, then it's time to jump ship.

          Look around at potential opportunities. Your discipline specialism & experience matters of course… Signalling is much higher rewards than Civils Eng whom are a dime a dozen. Fire Eng is higher demand than Mechanical or Electrical. Complex multi-discipline infrastructure projects in portfolio are favoured over smaller repetitive local projects etc.

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  spychiatrist on 17/04/2020 - 19:07

  +1

  Circle: Surveyors make more money in the start. As you get more experience as Civ Eng, and depending if your field is Design or Construction, you'll start earning more.

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  Presence on 17/04/2020 - 19:31

  How about you do what you enjoy more?

  One consideration is that if you want to change from engineering to surveying it'll be a lot easier than the other way.

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  justaverage on 17/04/2020 - 19:53

  I'm a civil engineer 5 years out of uni working as a project manager in road and bridge construction. Project management isn't the only pathway but the one I chose. I enjoy it as every day is different and you are always problem solving

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    justaverage on 17/04/2020 - 19:54

    Also I am not chartered, work doesn't do much to encourage it so I haven't bothered