When was the last time you took a train, or drove anywhere?
We rely on good transport links to do everything from the
daily commute to the weekly shop, and, whether or not we’re aware of it, we also
depend on a team of expert transport engineers and planners to keep us
connected. These engineers are responsible for fixing our bridges, building new
links between our towns and cities, and helping us travel smarter: they are the
unsung heroes of the engineering sector.
Walking the line between town planning, civil engineering and even architecture, working
in transport makes for an exciting career. With demand for new engineers rising
all the time and hundreds of new projects on the horizon, it’s also a sector
that needs fresh talent to help build the future. It’s therefore the perfect
time to get involved in a job that will let you have a real impact on other
people’s lives.
Here’s why transport engineering should be your next career
move.
It’s always in demand
The engineering sector is extremely profitable, and it’s also
growing. Engineering projects generate 23%
of the UK’s total turnover, whilst 27% of companies in the UK are
engineering-related. That’s a lot of business, and yet there’s also a shortage
of candidates with the right engineering skills around the country.
There’s a reason for this heightened demand: in addition to
upgrading the UK’s ageing infrastructure, many of the biggest upcoming
engineering projects in the UK require transport engineers, such as HS2, or the
Cambridge to Huntingdon Improvement Scheme. Aiming to upgrade
21 miles of the A14 and construct new road networks and bridges within the
area, to a cost of £1.5bn, this Improvement Scheme is a massive project that is
certainly having a knock-on effect in the job market. Indeed, the demand for
transport engineers is expected
to increase by 20% in the next decade, making now the perfect time to make
the most of these new opportunities.
It’s challenging
There’s no such thing as a stereotypical ‘transport
engineer’. This sector actually contains a huge range of different jobs, all of
which will let you test yourself and develop your skills in new environments. You
can be a transport planner, working to improve and
manage transport systems around the UK, or you can collaborate
with local councils to design new transport facilities for schools, railways
and more. Alternatively, you might be working with local authorities to deliver sustainable solutions. With sustainability regulations becoming a growing trend in the global transportation industry, factoring in green initiatives will become all the more important. Smita, Delivery Head of Design Transformation at Atkins in India, has enjoyed the challenges that the industry offers and encourages more women to consider a job in transportation.
Regardless of what you choose to do, it’s a challenging job.
A large part of your responsibilities as a transport engineer will revolve
around problem-solving: can you find the right way to improve the roads around
a certain town, in a way that complies with environmental regulations and
improves the quality of life for the people using it? You’ll be combining your
analytical mind with your knowledge of town planning and engineering to create
unique solutions that will help other people, often juggling multiple projects
at the same time.
It’s cutting edge
When it comes to new technologies, there’s no more exciting
place to be than transport engineering. One of the biggest pieces of software
to impact the industry so far is Building Information Modelling, or BIM. This intelligent modelling process allows analysts
to create intelligent, accurate, to-scale 3D renderings of new designs, online.
They can be designed to incorporate stress points, plumbing and electricity
systems, and even measure how extreme temperatures will affect the materials
used. With 70% of
engineers having already adopted it within the workplace, it’s clearly a
valuable digital tool in a sector that is always looking for ways to optimise
performance and maximise efficiency.
However, it’s not just the construction process that is
undergoing somewhat of a revolution. The ongoing trend towards greater
connectivity, culminating in the ‘Internet of Things’, points to a future with
‘smart’ roads that can alert local councils to potholes, thinning tarmac or
even generate electricity using solar panels embedded into surfaces. Driverless
cars are also on the horizon: the UK government wants to bring
them into commercial use by 2021, and with the industry estimated to be
worth £28bn by 2035, this enthusiastic embrace of the future is bound to have
an effect on the role of the transport engineer. Indeed, city roads- and even
our transport network- will likely have to be drastically reworked to suit this
new, algorithm-driven method of travel, especially as some are speculating that
they may be better
suited to freight transport than inner-city travel.
Technological expertise is what companies are looking for in today's engineers and with so much
happening within transport, the sector remains full of
possibilities for the future. For anybody wanting to make a start in
engineering, there’s no more exciting place to be.
It’s varied
Transport engineering is a dynamic and exciting place to work,
whatever your interests are. Whether you enjoy problem-solving or directing
operations from the ground as an engineering contractor, there are plenty of career
paths for you to pursue. If you want to make sure that new developments are
carried out in a sustainable way, you may choose to go down an environment-specific path. In Canada, for example, clean energy is shaping engineering and transforming the industry.
There are also plenty of opportunities to work your way up
the career ladder all over the world. As a transport planner, for instance, you can complete a
professional qualification from the Transport
Planning Society or the Chartered
Institute of Logistics and Transport and become a project manager or leader;
still others choose to specialise in more software-oriented roles such transport modelling and become experts in their field. Whatever
you want to do, transport engineering has the right role for you.
Start on the path to
success with Atkins, a member of the AtkinsRéalis group.
Transport engineering is growing, and we want you to be a
part of it. Find out more about what it means to work at one of the biggest and
most dynamic engineering consultancies in the world at #InsideAtkins, and take
the first step on your career journey with us by searching our vacancies in Transport Engineering.
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