Civil engineering, geomatics and construction

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

Civil engineering and construction

• Building services engineer
• Civil engineer - Consulting
• Civil engineer - Contracting
• Engineering geologist
• Estimator
• Site engineer
• Structural engineer
• Water engineer

Geomatics

• Land/Geomatics surveyor
• Cartographer
• Geographical information systems officer
• Geological mapper
• Hydrographic surveyor

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

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
• 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
• the ability to work in multi-disciplinary teams

Starting salaries for graduate jobs in this sector can vary depending on the position.

To get an idea of typical starting salaries use the following resources:

• our Discover your Earning Potential Pathway offers access to The Pay Index. This shows you how salaries vary across different roles, industries and locations
• job profiles, such as those listed on Prospects or targetjobs
• vacancy sites such as Glassdoor and LinkedIn

For information about how to negotiate a salary, visit Handling job offers.

• browse our Work Experience and Graduate Employment directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed
• use LinkedIn’s Alumni tool to find out what Newcastle graduates are doing now. You could ask to connect with them, to gain advice and insights into their career. See Newcastle Alumni on LinkedIn to help you get started or watch our quick tutorial on Getting inspiration from others [3:13]
• attend alumni events, such as Newcastle Develop, to hear directly from our graduates
• sign up for mentoring support with Graduate Mentor and The 1 Hour Project. These aim to match students with industry professionals who can provide invaluable insights. Register to be connected for a one-hour meeting
• attend recruitment events and employer and sector insights. Hear about graduate jobs, placement schemes, build your network and ask questions

Searching for reviews online can be a useful way to get an idea of what to expect from certain roles or employers. Reviews are written by employees with different opinions about what makes a good employer.

Use the following review sites for inspiration and insight into the recruitment process:

• RateMyPlacement - placement year reviews written by students.
• The Job Crowd – graduate job reviews
• Glassdoor – company reviews from employees

Read career guides for this sector, such as:

• Prospects: Property and Construction
• Prospects: Road and railway careers
• targetjobs: Engineering
• targetjobs: Construction and property

Use online magazines and journals to follow news from your industry. Reading about trends and developments is important for applications and interviews.

Examples include:

• Construction News - news and commentary from the construction industry
• Building - online magazine for the UK construction industry
• New Civil Engineer - news and features from the UK civil engineering industry
• The Structural Engineer - IStructE's bi-monthly journal
• Bridge Design and Engineering - covers built crossings of all kinds

Attend events to hear directly from professionals in the industry. Find events at ICE: North East branch events.

See also our recruitment events and employer & sector insights.

Join specific student societies. Examples include the Civil Engineering And Geospatial Society and the Engineering Projects Society. These societies are a great way to learn new skills and network.

Use social media to find industry insights

Join sector-specific groups on LinkedIn to keep up to date. Posts often include news, events and opportunities. You can also find useful insights on careers on Twitter and TikTok. Treat these with caution, as not all content may be accurate.

Find out more about how to use social media for your career and subscribe to our sector Twitter list.

Consider joining a relevant professional body/industry network

Professional bodies often:

• run networking events
• have specialist groups you could join
• post vacancies on behalf of their members
• have member directories, useful for speculative applications

Key organisations include:

Construction

• Construction Industry Council (CIC)
• The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) - includes careers information
• The Association of Women in Property
• CITB: Go Construct
• Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB)

Engineering

• Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)
• Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) - includes becoming a structural engineer
• Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE). This includes advice on getting into the field
• Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE)
• Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) includes information on careers in engineering construction

Geomatics

• RICS: Geomatics - includes pathway guides to professional accreditation
• Geological Society - information, events and publications
• Society of Exploration Geophysicists
• Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management
• International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing

Cartography

• British Cartographic Society - includes career information and vacancies

Research councils and research centres

• Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
• Science and Technology Facilities Council
• British Geological Survey

Finding professional bodies worldwide

GoinGlobal’s country guides include details of professional bodies. Find them under ‘Professional and Personal Networking’ on each individual country guide.

Apply for advertised opportunities as early as possible.

UK applications typically open early in the academic year from September or October. Some close as early as November-December. Many employers close applications as soon as their places are filled.

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 Sector and Industry Insights for more information.

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

Use our resources to get started:

• MyCareer - search for internships and placements in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts
• Internships, placements & shadowing - links to vacancy sites
• Global work experience - for internships or placements abroad

Search the following external sites:

• 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
• CareerStructure.com - specialist recruitment site with a dedicated Graduate Zone

The Careers Service runs flexible term-time and summer internships with local employers and on campus. NCL internships are aimed at all students, from any stage.

Search for these under Vacancies on MyCareer. Type in ‘NCL internship’ into the text search box.

You can find these advertised throughout the academic year. Full-time summer opportunities are advertised from around March.

Access GoinGlobal for internships in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:

• additional vacancy websites
• CV, application and interview advice
• advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world

If you’re looking for inspiration, try searching our NU Work Experience Directory. You can see where our students have had internships and placements in the last five years. To see all results in a search category, keep the search field blank.

The resources in this section advertise both graduate jobs and graduate schemes. See our graduate jobs page to understand the difference between them.

For graduate schemes, apply as early as possible.

UK applications typically open early in the academic year from September or October. Some close as early as October-November. Many employers close applications as soon as their places are filled.

Graduate jobs tend to be immediate start positions which can be available all year round. You are more likely to apply for these towards the end of your studies.

Use our resources to get started:

• MyCareer - search for graduate schemes and graduate jobs in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts
• Graduate Jobs – lists graduate vacancy sites

Search the external sites below:

• Gradcracker - Careers for STEM Students
• Student Ladder
• RICS Recruit
• CareerStructure.com - specialist recruitment site
• Building 4 Jobs
• Energy Jobline - includes jobs in geoscience and civil and structural engineering
• icerecruit.com - official jobs site of the Institution of Civil Engineers
• Earthworks-jobs

Geomatics specifics

• gis-jobs.co.uk
• The Survey Association (TSA): Jobs
• UK Hydrographic Office - vacancies at UKHO

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP). This is a three-way partnership. It involves a business, a graduate and an academic institution. Graduates work on research projects while gaining industrial experience with an employer. Projects are competitively paid. There is funding for personal development, and typically last 1-3 years. View current opportunities

See International jobs for details of overseas vacancy sites.

Access GoinGlobal for job adverts in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:

• additional vacancy websites
• CV, application and interview advice
• advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world

Start by identifying organisations you are interested in. Our guide to finding organisations below can help. Then use the following steps to approach them speculatively about possible opportunities:

1. Identify a contact name to address your cover letter to. Call or email to find out who handles recruitment within the organisation. Or, find a key contact in the department you want to work in.
2. Send them a tailored CV and cover letter. Express your enthusiasm for the sector. Show that you have researched the company.
3. Follow up your speculative application with a phone call, or email, around a week later. This shows you are serious and motivated.
4. If your application was unsuccessful, ask for feedback or advice, and keep trying!

You can use this approach at any point in the year. We recommend that you:

• start your research as early as possible to gather relevant contacts
• contact organisations around three months before you want the opportunity to begin

• find organisations on MyCareer. Select ‘search' then 'organisations’
• use the business directories and databases on our Researching employers page
• search for companies on LinkedIn. The Find Alumni tool shows you where Newcastle graduates are currently working
• browse our Work Experience and Graduate Employment directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed

Use the resources below to find organisations in the North East, UK and worldwide.

• targetjobs - search employers by sector, eg software engineering or technology
• TARGETjobs - list engineering companies offering internships and placements and employer hubs
• Findanengineer.com – directory of structural engineering companies in the UK
• ICE Members’ Directory
• Student Ladder - lists companies that organise summer internships in the construction industry
• RICS Find a Surveyor – search for firms by specialism, including geomatics
• CECA - civil engineering contractor members list
• CIBSE - building service engineer employer listings

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

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

Professional body websites sometimes include member directories, which are helpful for finding employers.

Search GoinGlobal's employer directory for company information in 196 countries. Their country guides list professional bodies around the world.