Singapore’s on the rise – literally, our skyline is growing taller and taller every day.
We’ve already got more than 4,300 high-rises, and almost 240 buildings over 100m, with more coming up almost every month. Just look out your window, chances are you’ll see our new national bird – the construction crane.
Don’t worry, it’s all part of nation-building – one that requires manpower in the form of architects, engineers and planners.
It’s good news for civil engineers: they make up 1/3 of all skilled manpower in the building sector in Singapore, with official estimates alone saying we will need at least 400 new engineers annually just to keep pace with those that are retiring – not to mention any new hiring that’s happening, which is frankly inevitable given the pace of development in Singapore.
Building Services Engineers and Railway Engineers will be TWO of the 11 hottest jobs in Singapore by 2020 – not surprising given the expansion of the MRT network, the new Singapore-Malaysia MRT, and the dozens of other high-profile projects lined up in the coming years.
And Singapore is just the start. With huge investments in infrastructure by bodies like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, mega projects can happen literally everywhere from India to China.
So, if you’re a skilled civil engineer you’ll be like a rock star in Singapore and beyond. Suddenly engineering sounds a bit sexier, right?
What it takes to be a civil engineer
Before you can become a civil engineer, you’ll need a particular set of skills.
These include aspects of water engineering (digging an MRT tunnel?), and the actual building of stuff – like designing with concrete and steel if you’re creating a skyscraper, or laying high-speed train tracks.
Then there’s sight surveying, costing, feasibility and eco-sustainability if you’re planning major projects like housing blocks, office buildings or even entire planets.
Where do you learn such crafts? If you’re good at maths, then you’re halfway there.
Locally-Available Degrees
Generally, a BA in building and civil engineering-related fields from a reputable school would be required to land a top job in the industry. And unlike many other fields, a postgrad degree (like an M.A. or PhD.) isn’t required to advance to the highest levels.
The University of Newcastle, Australia (UON) offer various degrees in the areas of Engineering and Built Environment in Singapore. The newly-launched full-time degree in Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) is ranked in the Top 100 in the world for Civil Engineering according to QS World University Rankings by Subject 2016, with 89% of the graduates finding work within 4 months or less.
To be among builders of the world, the industry is always seeking building surveyors, project managers and quantity surveyors, just to name a few, and the UON Bachelor of Construction Management (Building) – available as full-time and part-time mode – is a good stepping stone for those interested in taking up leadership roles in the construction industry.
As there are no shortcuts to environmental health with Occupational Health and Safety in buildings and workplaces, you can assume professional roles in the management and practice of environmental and occupational health and safety by applying knowledge acquired in the Bachelor of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, a degree specifically developed for Singapore, and has been the University’s flagship programme for more than a decade.
Who knew that being an engineering rock star had so many pathways?
Learn more and be among the world’s best with UON degrees in Singapore.
