Engineering - a good choice???

kev1

HI,
I am a Leaving Cert student - well I'm just after finishing the Leaving Cert and I have to fill out CAO in next few days and I need some real help in choosing what to put down.
I have Civil Engineering in NUIG down as first choice at the minute but I'm still not sure if that is what I want to do????
I have always been stuck between some sort of Engineering and Commerce/Accounting etc. and i still am to be honest. My best subjects are Maths, Tech Drawing and Accounting nd Business. So you can see why I am in this predicament.
I went for 2 days Work Experience last October with Civil Engineer working in the Roads with Co. Council and I liked it when I was there but when I thought about it, I wasnt sure if I would like working at that as my career - any suggestions????

Also, as regards Civil, I have always had this thing at the back of my mind that the "Construction Boom" will finally collapse and that there will be surplus Civil Engineers and not enough work for them all, and that is sort of putting me off the Civil Engineering.

Then I'm wondering as regards Salaries etc. in Civil and Engineering in general,would they be better or at a par with Accountants etc.??? I know money isnt everything, but you still dont want to be in a very low-paid job when you could be a much better paid job , granted you like both the same.

Sorry for such a long post, but sort of have to make up my mind in next week or so, any sort of help will be much appreciated.

cargrouch

If you want to an idea of engineering salaries:
http://www.cpl.ie/pdf/techskills_salaryguide.pdf

I'm an electronic engineer so I can't help you with the civ eng or the accounting. If you don't find any helpful civ engers here maybe you could try the Biz-Work/Jobs forum?
I don't think you'll be short of cash either way to be honest.

a_ominous

You may have seen or heard about a Forfás report on salaries yesterday. See Entemp
This has nothing to do with the recent announcement that the government is to invest in R&D for STI (Science Technology and Innovation), of course

I graduated with electronics engineering degree in 1990, but have been in software since then, mostly in areas un-related to engineering. I'm doing a masters at the moment, first year is the same as MBA (master of Business Administration). I also did Accounting, Business Org and Physics for LC.

Stick with the engineering: it gives you a great foundation for any other job. Engineers can learn business skills more easily than business students convert to engineering. A lot of the skills are soft skills anyhow. One of the people often referred to in business courses, Michael E Porter, qualified as an engineer. He worked on Ronald Reagan's Commission of Industrial Competitiveness in the early 1980s.

Back in the 1980s, there was a poor jobs market for all graduates, not just engineers. IIRC, civil engineering was the reputed to have lowest pay, but I can't say for certain: there was no civil in NIHE (aka DCU). A lot of my peers are not doing engineering work directly, modelling, designing, etc. They are managers of engineers. Don't forget your working career will likely be 40+years, so there's plenty of time to consider other paths _after_ you've graduated with the engineering degree.

issy1

Have you considered a course in Trinity called Manufacturing Engineering with Management Science? It would cover your interest in business/accounting but it is still primarily an engineering course.

kev1

Hi,
Thanks for your help so far.
I have taken a look at the salaries etc. and I found it helpful but really, the salary thing is not going to make up my decision totally, it is really only a part.

I had a look at the "Manufacturing Engineering with Management Science" in Trinity, it seems too broad of a course and I doubt the job opportunties are that great, but thanks anyways.

If there are any Civil Eng out there, please help. I am getting really concerned that this "Construction Boom" is going to burst and with the huge amount of people that have being going into Civil Eng recently, I really think that the whole thing is over-subscribed and there will prob going to be surplus of Civil Eng and not enough work for them.

If there are any Civil Eng reading this, do you know if the Civil Engineering course in NUIG is a good one?

issy1

Actually most engineering courses are very broad and share a lot of subjects in first and second years. It is only in the latter years that you tend to specialise. The course I mentioned above is slightly less broad than most in that you choose what type of engineering you wish to do from first year. And jobwise it is just fine, as are most types of engineering courses as far as I can see. Trying to predict the economy of the future and whether or not there will still be a boom in a particular sector is a waste of time. Just stay with what you like and choose a reasonable course based on that.

Giruilla

Don't pick engineering unless you have a genuine interest in it! It's not a course everybody enjoys, most people just go through the motions so to speak to get by. The people in the class who are best at the course, really love the course and always knew they'd pick it.the plus points are that its a broad course, which opens many window, and job opportunitys are definitely good.
If you're unsure which area to pick, although you seem quite keen on civil, i'd advise you do a broad engineering degree, where you study all four parts for the first year or two. you'll do **** all in first year and pretty much the same in second year anyway no matter which course you do, (ie. if you pick civil from first year), so at least with a broad engineering course you have the power to change your mind for two years. this is what i did, i changed my mind during second year, and i'm glad i wasn't doing that subject from first year because i'd be stuck with it now! I think its a really really hard time trying to pick your cao form courses, but don't rush it whatever you do.
Also if you do engineering and after first year realise you don't like it, don't be afraid to drop out straight away, because it doesn't get any better!! I know a lot of peole who said 'ah sure it'll get better in second year', then 'it'll get better in third year', me included! it hasn't imo. one of my firends has realised he's not suited to engineering and he's currently going into fourth year ffs!
the main thing about engineering which i hate is you don't have a lot of choice in which subjects you can pick, so you get stuck doing crappy subjects for the whole year! whatever you do, don't just look at first year subjects for the course your interested in. look down the line to 2nd, 3rd and 4th year subjects so you know what your in for! civil is a good course, but you will get stuck with some ultra boring subjects come 3rd year, eg soil mechanics!