wrxsti said:
hi, these questions are pretty pointless, but i would like to know....
1. what sort of companies do civil engineers work for? (examples will be great)
2. what sort of attire do they wear?
3. can someone tell me a typical day that a civil engineer does, from start to finish each day...not going really into depth (eg calling managers etc etc)
lastly, can someone studying engineering at uws have a chance to transfer to UNSW or UTS (if so...how hard would it be..saying they got a uai of 65)....also can they also apply for cadetships?
plzzzz...anyhelp will be much much appreciated
1. Big range some examples (broken into the 5 areas of Civil):
- Structural Engineers - tend to work in design offices. Can be small consultants of a few staff up to 1000's
- Construction Project Managers - work in construction companies - tend to be based on one construction site in the early years and then will end up in an office overseeing several sites with regular visits to each. These companies are the ones you see named on the banners of the buildings/bridges/tunnels under construction.
- Geotechnical Engineers - specialists in ground engineering. Tend to work in smaller consultancies giving advice to above. Work is both outside gathering data and in the office doing analysis and designing. Mainly outdoor work to start with and getting more office work with time.
- Water Engineers - again mainly specialists in smaller consulting companies. Companies may be involved with a specific area such as water treatment, hydrology/dam design, water supply, river and coastal management.
- Transport Engineers - small consultancies and government departments.
Civil Engineers can also work for local councils overseeing all public works. They may also be employed in state or federal government in small design offices or in policy positions. Most design jobs have been removed from the public service and have been replaced with consultants. Many IT companies, banks etc also hire Civil Engineers for their problem solving and management skills.
For examples of companies you can look in the yellow pages or try the Uni Websites. UNSW has a new site that shows some sponsoring companies and also their Industry Committee which will give you some names:
http://www.civeng.unsw.edu.au/alumni/
2. On site is often a company uniform which will likely incorporate safety gear. Other times it will be pants and a collared shirt plus safety boots.
Most engineers in offices wear pants and collared shirts. Some companies require ties or suits but many don't. Often ties and suits are reserved for meetings with clients and other professionals, interviews etc.
3. Difficult to say exactly as it depends on which area you go into. You may be in the field collecting data on soil, water, air etc. You may be in the office analysing field data. You may be using the results of the analysis to design something. If you are on a construction site then you will be project managing the site determining when and how things should be done and then making sure they happen. If you have designed something in the office then when it is being built you may have to go out to site to make sure it is constructed as per the design.
