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Have a look at and 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

Geomatics

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  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  or 
• vacancy sites such as  and 

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

• Browse our NCL Graduate Employment and Work Experience directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed.
• Use LinkedIn’s  to find out what Ãå±±½ûµØ graduates are doing now. You could ask to connect with them, to gain advice and insights into their career. ³§±ð±ð Ãå±±½ûµØ Alumni on LinkedIn to help you get started or watch our quick tutorial on  [3:13±Õ. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
• Attend alumni events, such as Ãå±±½ûµØ Develop, to hear directly from our graduates.  
• Sign up for mentoring support with  a²Ô»å . These aim to match students with industry professionals who can provide invaluable insights. Register to be connected for a one-hour meeting. 
• Attend events such as 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:

•  - placement year reviews written by students.
• – graduate job reviews
• – company reviews from employees

Read career guides for this sector, such as:

• Prospects:

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

Examples include:

• - news and commentary from the construction industry
• - online magazine for the UK construction industry
• - news and features from the UK civil engineering industry
• - IStructE's bi-monthly journal
• - covers built crossings of all kinds

Attend events to hear directly from professionals in the industry. Find events at

See also our recruitment events and employer and sector insights.

Join specific student societies. Examples include the and the . These societies are a great way to learn new skills and network.

Use social media to find industry insights

Join on LinkedIn to keep up to date. Posts often include news, events and opportunities. 

Find out more about Social Media 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

• - includes information

Engineering

• - includes
• . This includes
•  includes information on

Geomatics

• - includes pathway guides to professional accreditation
• - information, events and publications

Cartography

• - includes career information and vacancies

Research councils and research centres

Finding professional bodies worldwide

³Ò´Ç¾±²Ô³Ò±ô´Ç²ú²¹±ô’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 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 .

Use our resources to get started:

• - 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 and shadowing - links to vacancy sites
• Global work experience - for internships or placements abroad

Search the following external sites:

• - includes work placement search facility
• - opportunities in the technology, science and engineering sectors
• eight to 12-week technical summer placements overseas open to undergraduates in the second year and above
• - summer internship for undergraduate science or engineering students to research in Germany
• - specialist recruitment site with a dedicated

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

Search for these under Vacancies on . 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 directories. 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
• Find graduate employment  – lists graduate vacancy sites

Search the external sites below:

• - specialist recruitment site
• - includes jobs in geoscience and civil and structural engineering
• - official jobs site of the Institution of Civil Engineers

Geomatics

• - vacancies at UKHO

. 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

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 employer.

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

Send them a tailored CV and cover letter. Express your enthusiasm for the sector. Show that you have researched the employer.

• find organisations on . Select ‘search' then 'organisations’
• use the business directories and databases on our Researching employers page
• search for companies on the linkedIn alumni tool shows you where Ãå±±½ûµØ graduates are currently working
• browse our What do graduates do? 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.

• - search employers by sector, eg software engineering or technology
• - offering internships and placements and
• – directory of structural engineering companies in the UK
• - lists companies that organise summer internships in the construction industry
• – search for firms by specialism, including geomatics
• - civil engineering contractor members list
• - building service engineer employer listings

You can also search for members in the directories. This includes the and the .

Check out LinkedIn alumni  to see which companies Ãå±±½ûµØ graduates are working in

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

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