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No surprise that the bright shun industry
00:00 21 Aug 2001
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Sir,
I read the article 'Lack of graduates blamed on system' (CJ 8 August)and felt it worth addinga different dimension to the argument.
My deliberately provocative observation would be: is it really surprising that bright graduates are not attracted to civil engineering when the pay and conditions are so poor and the chances for early promotion so limited?
What other industry would expect bright graduates to operate for four to six years at engineer/supervisor level before promotion?
The Armed Forces produce 'leaders' in a fraction of that time who have to function in very demanding and high risk situations; technology industries just cannot wait years for talent to emerge; even accountants produce well-rewarded managers more quickly.
When the average starting salary for graduates is quoted as between £16,000 and £26,000 depending on the sector, why choose civil engineering where capable graduates with six years experience can still be found in the South East earning around £20,000 a year? Accountants with that much experience would expect to earn at least £10,000 more than that.
The average office-based graduate can expect to work a 35- to 40-hour week in a warm or air-conditioned environment with a regular journey to work. The average civil engineer can often be expected to work much longer hours, including Saturday mornings, often travelling considerable distances to and from work; or staying in local digs, making a stable home life difficult to establish. In order to earn a comparable salary to similar graduates, some civil engineers must rely on overtime payments!
The real challenge to civil engineering is to take a positive attitude towards the accelerated development of graduate trainees that ensures that they can progress in parallel with other professions and take on early responsibility that produces the justified rewards.
The article suggests that many of the best and brightest graduates opt out of the profession to take softer, more lucrative roles in other sectors. Inevitably, this means that many of those that remain are the less able, who will take longer to develop thereby perpetuating the view that it takes many years to develop a good civil engineer!
Clive Dow
Director
MRI Worldwide
I read the article 'Lack of graduates blamed on system' (CJ 8 August)and felt it worth addinga different dimension to the argument.
My deliberately provocative observation would be: is it really surprising that bright graduates are not attracted to civil engineering when the pay and conditions are so poor and the chances for early promotion so limited?
What other industry would expect bright graduates to operate for four to six years at engineer/supervisor level before promotion?
The Armed Forces produce 'leaders' in a fraction of that time who have to function in very demanding and high risk situations; technology industries just cannot wait years for talent to emerge; even accountants produce well-rewarded managers more quickly.
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When the average starting salary for graduates is quoted as between £16,000 and £26,000 depending on the sector, why choose civil engineering where capable graduates with six years experience can still be found in the South East earning around £20,000 a year? Accountants with that much experience would expect to earn at least £10,000 more than that.
The average office-based graduate can expect to work a 35- to 40-hour week in a warm or air-conditioned environment with a regular journey to work. The average civil engineer can often be expected to work much longer hours, including Saturday mornings, often travelling considerable distances to and from work; or staying in local digs, making a stable home life difficult to establish. In order to earn a comparable salary to similar graduates, some civil engineers must rely on overtime payments!
The real challenge to civil engineering is to take a positive attitude towards the accelerated development of graduate trainees that ensures that they can progress in parallel with other professions and take on early responsibility that produces the justified rewards.
The article suggests that many of the best and brightest graduates opt out of the profession to take softer, more lucrative roles in other sectors. Inevitably, this means that many of those that remain are the less able, who will take longer to develop thereby perpetuating the view that it takes many years to develop a good civil engineer!
Clive Dow
Director
MRI Worldwide
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