Growing career horizons in civil engineering and the need for world-class education

By Manoj Anaokar

According to recent survey results, the unemployment rate is falling rapidly. The same trend is seen in the country’s second largest employment sector, the construction industry, which offers about 6 million job opportunities. It has been predicted that by the end of this year, the construction industry with a 9% share in the national economy will be the largest job-providing sector and will provide 7.6 million employment opportunities. direct or indirect jobs. Because the construction sector and in particular the infrastructure sector of industry is now open to foreign direct investment. This paved the way for the global infrastructure leaders and multinational corporations that we now see in many multimodal corridors, metro projects and tunnel projects as consultants and contractors. Around Rs 2,000 crore has been allocated in the Union budget this year to expand the national road network across the country and 25,000 km of new road projects have been planned this year. Due to the government’s emphasis on these key growth drivers, the civil engineering career will be more lucrative and successful.

Myths and truths about civil engineering:

The biggest and most important misconception about civil engineering among students and their parents is that a civil engineer is a person who has to stand in place to bear the sunburn, wind and rain with very low and unworthy emoluments. Also, as civil engineering is a traditional branch of engineering, it is not tech-savvy and hence the job is not a challenge but a bore. However, this is just a myth. So what is the truth? Let’s see what it is.

Now with the entry of multinationals in the various projects, not only from these employers you get good salary packages, but even to face tough competitions with them, the local players in the industry of construction are also obliged to offer similar packages to retain qualified and experienced people. engineers. One can be a structural or geotechnical consultant sitting in an air-conditioned office offering creative and challenging designs for structures to withstand adverse climatic and load conditions while maintaining the balance between safety and economy. Today, civil engineers must work hand in hand with mechanical, electronic and computer engineers with the main knowledge and information on these sectors. Therefore, to tap into these brilliant career opportunities, gaining admission into an excellent educational institution that offers world-class education with an industry-ready curriculum is essential.

Civil Engineering Job Opportunities:

Besides the traditional job opportunities for site engineers, there are several other respectable and financially rewarding job opportunities. You can be a transportation engineer and provide the solutions to traffic jams and plan new routes serving as better logistics solutions boosting economic growth. You can be an environmental engineer and solve water, wastewater and solid waste management issues or you can provide an “environmental impact assessment report” before starting any new project . You can be a project manager controlling the project activities, thus completing the projects on time. These are all office jobs with moderate site visits, if necessary, and you earn a lot of respect and good guard compensation. Even though at the beginning of your career, you can shoot 5-6 lacs per year, however, with your experience and efficiency, you can get annual earnings of up to 15-18 lacs.

Business Opportunities in Civil Engineering:

In other engineering sectors like heavy industry and IT sector, either you have to invest very large capital to start a business or you have to face tough competition with multinationals. However, in civil engineering, you have many business opportunities with affordable investment options. To name a few, for the design of safe foundations of high-rise and multi-storey buildings as well as infrastructure projects, there is a huge demand for soil testing laboratories. You can start this business with an investment of 15 to 20 lac rupees for the equipment. Similarly, you can create water and wastewater analysis laboratories. You can also set up a construction chemicals agency or start manufacturing construction components such as concrete blocks used for building walls or concrete jalis, ready made door and window frames or pavers for sidewalks. You can also act as an appraiser who decides the value of a property while providing loans through financial institutions or in court cases.

Need for excellent educational institutions offering world-class education:

If you want to open the treasury of the best career and job opportunities, you need to make sure that you get admitted into the reputable and excellent educational institutions with good track records, probably nationally or internationally accredited. Also, make sure that the curriculum taught in the institute is equivalent to that of leading national and international universities and that the curriculum offered is acceptable worldwide in order to grab the best job opportunities in multinational companies.

Ultimately, today’s era is one of tough competition and to survive it, you need to prove how you are different from others to receive the big salaries and perks and reach new heights in your professional career. This can be achieved not only through hard work, but requires a foundation of quality education.

The author is Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management & Engineering (MPSTME), NMIMS Mumbai.

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