Finding A Work Environment That`s The Best Fit For You

As a graduate engineer the choices you need to make before entering the workplace can be daunting. Do I want to work as a design engineer, or in construction and project management, or even in an engineering role at all? How do I find a company that will be a fit with my priorities and values?

Where to start in answering these questions? You should apply the same critical thinking and analytical skills that you have developed during your study to your job search. There are a number of ways you can make a more informed decision.

Engineering or something else?

An engineering degree can lead to a fulfilling engineering career, but It can lead to other places as well. The skills learnt in an engineering degree analytical thinking, problem solving are sought after by employers in many adjacent (or even unrelated) industries. Indeed of engineering graduates in 2016-17, 62% graduated to engineering occupations while 38% ended up in non-engineering related employment.

If you are approaching graduation and are unsure about a career in engineering it is still wise to explore your options and look for a suitable engineering role it may be best to take a try it and see approach - you can always move into another industry at a later date. You may find it more difficult to come back to an engineering role after working in an unrelated field.

What type of engineering role would suit me?

The content below is written from a civil engineering perspective, but will be somewhat applicable to other engineering fields.

So you ve decided to pursue a civil engineering role after your university studies. At a broad level, you have a choice between working on the design side or construction side of the industry. This divide isn t completely clear cut large construction companies can work on design and build contracts in which case they may employ in house design staff.

This choice, design or construction, tends to be one of the easier ones for graduates to make. Did you enjoy the technical design projects in your latter years of university? Does the thought of creating analytical models and preparing design reports and calculations excite you or fill you with dread? Can you see yourself in a design office for 30-40 hours a week? Or do you want to see things built, be in the fresh air and be a part of a team bringing a project to life on site?

A design engineer may have an opportunity to be seconded onto a worksite for a construction company, and a construction engineer may have opportunities to try their hand at design. So choosing to be a design engineer doesn t mean you ll be in an office 40 hours a week (hopefully) and choosing to be a construction engineer doesn t mean you ll never need to create or interrogate a structural design.

What type of company should I look for?

There are a lot of employers within the engineering sector, so its useful to narrow your search criteria. One way to do this is to decide what you want to prioritise:

Technical excellence

You enjoyed the analytical subjects at university and always strived to get 100%. You want to work on cutting edge and award-winning projects.

Supportive environment

You want a workplace where a priority is placed on staff retention and development. You want to maintain a good work life balance and have fun at work.

Diverse opportunity

You want to have the opportunity to explore a variety of projects within the one company, and maybe an opportunity to travel with your work.

Having decided which one of these aspects to prioritise, you can then search for information and create a list of companies that excel in the aspect most important to you.