inquiry #6

Introduction

The aim of this inquiry is to prepare us for the career pathway we are interested in. The main thing is to understand the steps we should take to become prepared for this career. For this inquiry I have decided to investigate the pathway for civil engineering. Civil engineering is very low staffed in New Zealand in the past couple of years.

What do civil engineers do?

civil engineering involves construction, designing and overseeing construction. In civil engineering, you’ll be required to travel around for the job, usually you only travel locally but on special occasions you may be required to travel around the country. As a senior civil engineer you can be asked to work in many different countries.

What qualifications do you need to become a civil engineer?

To become a civil engineer, you have to have passed NCEA level 3, to enter tertiary training. Also a bachelor's degree with honours to become a qualified civil engineer. If you don't have a driver's license, then the job will become heaps harder having to catch rides with mates or catching the bus to work everyday. Also it’s a lot harder to be hired as a civil engineer if you don't have a license.

What are employers looking for when hiring civil engineers?

When employers are hiring civil engineers they are wanting, people who can communicate with others. This is because the job includes working with big groups of people up to around 150 people on and off the construction site. Also problem solving is essential for the job because if something doesn't go to plan, you can improvise and solve the problem. Another essential quality is to be persevering. This is essential because sometimes as a civil engineer you are required to work hard jobs and work with people you don't get along with. Your employer is most likely looking for work experience. If you have experience in civil engineering, you have a good shot at getting a full time job as a civil engineer.

What qualities and knowledge do I need to acquire these qualifications?

To acquire the qualifications needed to become a civil engineer, you need to have the right knowledge and qualities. An easy and accessible way of gaining knowledge needed for a job is to take specific subjects. For civil engineering, the most useful subjects to gain the knowledge needed are, English, maths, chemistry and physics. Depending on what career you are heading into, the needed knowledge and qualities is going to vary. For example if you're wanting to work as an actor, you will need to have many different skills than a civil engineer.

Expert interview.

For my expert in this inquiry, I interviewed Andrew Thorp. Andrew is a mechanical engineer, even though he specialises in a different field of engineering, he gave me loads of information to help me out. Andrew worked for a worldwide engineering company called ‘BECA’, as a full time engineer. While working for beca, he travelled around the world for the job. Most of the time, the projects he worked on were in groups of 50 to 150 other people. These projects cost up to 200 million dollars. He explained to me how a ‘project’ happened in 6 stages. Stage 1: what is the project? So having to find a company or a person and finding out what they want done. Stage 2: cost. A critical part of the project is figuring out how much money it's going to cost. Also keeping inside the budget. For example, a team of 150 engineers are working on building a massive bridge, connecting two islands for easier access. The budget was 100 million dollars and it worked out to cost 104 million dollars. You would have to change something to shave off 4 million dollars. Stage 3: approval. You would need approval from your boss and the bank to spend the money on the project. Stage 4: design. Designing the project is crucial in the process because if one little thing in the design is messed up, the whole project could fall apart. Stage 5: finding the right people for the job. Stage 6: commission. This is the most crucial part of the project because if the building doesn't get done, then the project isn't going to get done.

Conclusion.

In conclusion, it is critical you understand the deliberate acts you have to take to gain the right knowledge and the right skills to suit your career. Having the right knowledge and skills will make you stand out from the other applicants when applying for the job.