Careers Service Occupations

Civil Engineering, Geomatics & Construction

Civil Engineering, Geomatics and Construction

About

This sector offers a variety of opportunities - from technical roles to those in management or engineering.

Careers advice

Industry news

Professional bodies

These represent people working in the sector, providing training and networking opportunities. They often provide careers support for students and graduates. 

They also provide development for people already working in the sector. Follow them and sector skills bodies on LinkedIn, or visit their websites news, contacts, work experience and vacancies.

Professional societies/institutes

Civil engineering and construction
Surveying
Geomatics
Cartography

Research councils and research centres

Sector skills councils/industry associations

Find professional bodies outside the UK on GoinGlobal by selecting ‘Professional and Personal Networking’ on each of the individual country guides. 

Making contacts

Talking to people working in the sector can give you an insight into roles. It can be useful for networking and making speculative applications.

You could start with:

Social media, particularly LinkedIn and Twitter, is useful for making contacts, finding employers and opportunities. Find out more about how to use social media for your career and subscribe to our Civil Engineering Twitter list.

Events

Recruitment fairs, open days, talks and events give insights and opportunities to make contacts. Regular events for this sector include:

Related sectors

You may also be interested in Engineering, Energy and Utilities or Property & Surveying.

Or see our other Explore Occupations pages for more options.

Roles & Skills

Have a look at the job profiles in this sector on Prospects and targetjobs to find out more about what these roles involve and how to get into them. These are just some of the profiles available:

Civil engineering and construction

Geomatics

For roles relating to building and property surveying, see Property & Surveying.

Skills employers look for

Employers in this sector look for skills including:

  • excellent problem-solving, maths and IT skills
  • strong technical knowledge and skill with specialist software
  • good communication skills and the ability to convey complex information to non-technical colleagues
  • the ability to plan, prioritise and manage projects
  • a commitment to keeping up-to-date with new developments and relevant legislation
  • leadership skills and the ability to work in multi-disciplinary teams

Gaining Experience

Finding a job in civil engineering and the construction industry is competitive.

Relevant work experience is invaluable in developing expertise. It also demonstrates your commitment to this area of work.

Large recruiters, such as Arup and Balfour Beatty, advertise summer or year placements. These are usually aimed at students in and above their second year of study. Applications open early in autumn and closing dates are usually between December and February.

The Environment Agency offer geomatics placements to undergraduate students in their penultimate year.

Work experience opportunities with smaller companies are not always advertised. You may need to contact the employer with a speculative approach.

Professional bodies and research councils also advertise opportunities. See About for a list of organisations.

Read TARGETjobs Construction work experience: what you need and how to get it.

Internships and placements

  • Search for vacancies on MyCareer
  • Internships, placements & shadowing
  • Gradcracker - includes work placement search facility
  • Year in Industry (YINI) - opportunities in the technology, science and engineering sectors
  • IAESTE - eight to 12-week technical summer placements overseas open to undergraduates in the second year and above
  • RISE - summer internship for undergraduate science or engineering students to research in Germany

Finding companies

Find companies that interest you and get in touch with a named contact. Be specific about why you are writing to them and what you’re looking for. 

Show your enthusiasm for the sector and highlight any relevant skills. Don’t give up if you don’t get a reply – follow up with a phone call or email to show that you’re keen.

Other ways to gain experience

All work experience is valuable. If you can't find an internship or placement, why not try some of these alternative ideas:

See targetjobs: Construction work experience: how to get it and what if you don't for more advice.

Finding Jobs

Many large civil engineering and construction companies offer graduate training programmes.

Professional bodies and research councils also advertise opportunities. See About for a list of organisations.

Find jobs and additional vacancy source websites outside the UK on GoinGlobal.

Vacancy sites (general)

See also Graduate Jobs.

Vacancy sites (civil engineering and construction)

Vacancy sites (geomatics)

Specialist recruitment agencies

To find more recruitment agencies and for advice on using them, see Recruitment Agencies.

Finding companies

Find companies that interest you and get in touch directly – ideally with a named contact. Be specific about why you are writing to them and what you’re looking for.

Show your enthusiasm for the sector and highlight any relevant skills. Don’t give up if you don’t get a reply – follow up with a phone call or email to show that you’re keen.

You can also search for members in the directories of The Survey Assocation and the British Cartography Society.

Check out LinkedIn: Find Alumni to see which companies Newcastle graduates are working in.

You can also find relevant vacancies in Engineering, Energy and Utilities or Property and Surveying.