Once you’ve officially become a civil engineer, there is no doubt you’d be quite excited to start your career. We will now take a look at a couple of tips that will help you if you’re struggling and ensure you have the best possible start in your new career.

1. Do Research

If you are studying or have just graduated, then it can be difficult to decide on which area to pursue, simply because this is quite a broad field. As a result, you need to do a great deal of research and make full use of any resources that are available. So, be sure to check out alumni career services and your university to see which resources they have that might help. The more that you learn about the different fields within civil engineering, the better chances you’ll have of success.

2. Get Experience

The more experience you have, the better your CV will be and you will learn much more about civil engineering. As a result, you should look for any opportunities to gain work experience as well as a volunteer if possible. Many civil engineers chose to volunteer abroad and if you’re interested in doing so, then you should check out the RedR or VSO that is available for UK citizens.

You should note that getting experience in different areas will not go to waste. Time spent learning something new should never be regretted and you’ll often find yourself wishing that you had more time to learn more.

3. Expand Your Network And Get A Mentor

There are many ways that you can find a great mentor and this person can be someone that you’ve met in university, an alumni member, a lecturer, a family member, someone you’ve worked with etc. You should always strive to learn as much as you can from your mentor and never be fearful to ask as many questions as you can about their experiences and knowledge. You should find out the positive and negative aspects of the field or fields they’ve personally worked in since this can give you a better idea of the fields you may be interested in yourself.

You should try to get as many mentors as you can and this will be a great way to get much information possible. By having multiple mentors, you can simultaneously pick each one of their brains and gain a great deal of insight into your field. You should look into finding mentors through social media and reach out to them, even if they seem to be quite busy. In most cases, they would be happy to give you advice and even if they don’t, there’s nothing for you to lose by simply asking.

4. The Benefits Of Casting A Large Net

It can be quite difficult to enter this field and to get your “foot in the door”. There are many other young professionals who you’ll have to compete with in order to get a job in your desired field. As a result, it may be best to be much more flexible in how you approach this problem and this may mean being open to work in another region. If you’re ready to move to another state or country this can literally open up your opportunities. Here are a list of jobs from PSR to look through when you get to this stage.

5. Don’t Commit To One Particular Discipline At The Beginning Of Your Career

Many people often commit to a one discipline when they begin their civil engineering career, however, we advise that you don’t. Instead, you should gain experience in a variety of disciplines and by doing so, you will naturally find the discipline that you truly like and want to solely pursue.

6. Keep On Learning

Even if you’re not in a specific engineering job, you can still work towards initial personal development (IPD) in your ICE membership. You can do so by studying when you have some spare time as well as going to various ICE events and lectures. You should keep on learning as much as you can and this will help you to meet people who can help you to move along in your career. After you have a job, there’s a high probability that you can receive training through the company you’ve been employed by and ICE. So, be sure that you continue to pursue your studies and always look for any learning opportunities that may be offered to you.