Civil engineer career options with BEng and PhD but no industry experience

[ilustrius]

As a final year BEng Civil Engineering undergraduate, I currently hold an offer to do a fully funded PhD in Computational Engineering. I should be 23 by time I finish this. Should I opt to not remain in Academia, and with virtually no industrial experience, what sort of decent paid work could I be looking at?

I've thought about a career in finance or banking, but would I still be able to become a Civil Engineer?

 

[fss]

You'd be looking at entry-level Civil Engineering jobs, obviously. With no experience (not even an internship?) the field will not be tilted in your favor.

I've thought about a career in finance or banking, but would I still be able to become a Civil Engineer?

No offense, but the odds of a financial or banking institution hiring a Bachelor's graduate in engineering are exceedingly low... unless you're looking to be a teller.

 

[ilustrius]

You'd be looking at entry-level Civil Engineering jobs, obviously. With no experience (not even an internship?) the field will not be tilted in your favor.


No offense, but the odds of a financial or banking institution hiring a Bachelor's graduate in engineering are exceedingly low... unless you're looking to be a teller.

Perhaps in the US. Not in the UK. Engineering graduates are highly sought after in the financial industry. My concern is whether a PhD Engineering is equally or better regarded.

 

[twofish-quant]

No offense, but the odds of a financial or banking institution hiring a Bachelor's graduate in engineering are exceedingly low... unless you're looking to be a teller.

If the candidate has a Ph.D. in engineering and a lot of computational experience, it's not particularly difficult to get a job in finance.

 

[twofish-quant]

My concern is whether a PhD Engineering is equally or better regarded.

If you do something computationally complicated then yes.

 

[Shaun_W]

As a final year BEng Civil Engineering undergraduate, I currently hold an offer to do a fully funded PhD in Computational Engineering. I should be 23 by time I finish this. Should I opt to not remain in Academia, and with virtually no industrial experience, what sort of decent paid work could I be looking at?

You should be looking at something that requires the advanced knowledge and skills that you gain from your PhD.

I've thought about a career in finance or banking, but would I still be able to become a Civil Engineer?

Of course you can still become an engineer with a BEng in civil engineering and a PhD in computational engineering. But when you see the pay-packets from finance and banking you may be persuaded to change your mind.