Coastal and Marine
		This concerns all aspects of coastal development including protection against tidal flooding and erosion, waterfront and marina developments, dredging and the environmental impacts of such works. The skills relevant to this field are statistics, computer literacy and appreciation of environmental issues. There are opportunities for engineering and environmental graduates with the environment agency, local authorities, and specialist consultancies and contractors.
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Environment
		This combines many different disciplines including flood defence, hydrology and waste management. Engineers in this field attempt to minimise the effect of human activity on the environment. Environmental engineers should be able to plan investigations, collect information and communicate their findings to colleagues and external parties. Graduates are likely to work with professionals from other disciplines such as chemists and geologists. The assessment programmes that they undertake often require fieldwork.
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Project Management
		Project managers are responsible for the overall planning, management, co-ordination and financial control of a construction project. They make sure that the client's specifications are met and that the project is completed on time and within budget. Depending on the project, responsibilities can start at the design stage and go right through to completion and handover to the client.
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Geotechnical
		This entails understanding how the ground affects construction. Geotechnical engineers need to be able to think in three dimensions and assess risks so they can design the foundations for construction projects, from commercial buildings to large dams. A familiarity with IT and CAD (Computer Aided Design), coupled with a good analytical ability, is advantageous. There are graduate opportunities with many UK companies including: geotechnical contractors (testing soil samples) and civil engineering consultants (using the results of the investigations to design foundations).
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Highways and Transportation
		The role of contractors, consultants and clients can be blurred as the road network is now being managed through teamwork and partnerships. The emphasis in this area is now on integrated traffic management and enhancing sustainability. Highway engineers should be skilled in project management, highways construction, transport planning, IT and other infrastructure - eg telecoms and power networks.
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Energy
		Energy covers a wide range of projects from wind farms to hydroelectric, nuclear, gas or coal fired power stations. Every country uses energy so projects can be found all over the world. Engineers in this field need plenty of core civil and structural engineering skills such as foundations, concrete and steel. They should also have experience in environmental engineering. This is a specialist area so training is needed although graduates in large firms may have the opportunity to gain experience by working in the energy division, as part of their training.
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Rail
		This encompasses a wide range of activities from the design and construction of new rail links, stations or freight depots, to studies of European railways. A civil engineering degree is highly relevant for this discipline because of strong project management and communication skills training. Graduates will be involved in varied rail projects, with track design or maintenance usually learnt on the job.
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Risk Management
		Risk managers assess both the risks and opportunities in projects including health and safety during construction and the financial and strategic risks. They make use of computer applications to determine when and where problems may occur, and what can be done to prevent them. This usually takes place during the planning phase of a project. Graduates should have some experience of statistics and probability skill, as well as good communication. (visit www.ramprisk.com for more information)
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Structural
		Projects in structural engineering range from commercial buildings costing millions of pounds, to small house extensions. Structural engineers are good communicators and quick learners. There are often opportunities for site visits.
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Tunnelling
		Tunnelling involves working on projects that are very different from ordinary construction and which require specialist skills. There are two types of project: mechanised tunnelling, using tunnel boring machines,, and pipe jacking which is usually done by a machine supervised by an engineer outside the tunnel. Tunnel engineers should have excellent planning and surveying skills and the ability to work within very small margins of error.
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Water and Public Health
		This is the critical task of providing clean drinking water to the public and treating the waste water before releasing it back into the environment. Engineers in this field are committed to providing cleaner beaches, healthy rivers and high quality drinking water. Graduates usually divide their time between the design/management office and the site.
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Waste Management
		Waste management concerns the collection, reprocessing and treatment of solid waste material from households, businesses and the construction industry. As well as protecting public health, engineers play a key role in ensuring that value is extracted from waste either through recycling or its conversion into energy. There are numerous roles in waste management but relevant skills include project management, an appreciation of environmental issues, and geotechnical engineering. Anyone entering the sector will need excellent communication skills.
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