BSC, MSc, PgDip or HNC?????? Construction

caniask

Hi all,

I stumbled across this forum and have found it an interesting read, I wondered what everyones opinion my be on my situation;

I too am looking at doing further education and have the following background;

I first qualified as an electrician, did all associated courses (17th, 2391 etc), did a 2D CAD course, completed a foundation degree (FdEng) in Electrical Systems and Installation, completed the APMs introductory certificate and the APMP qualification BUT I feel I need to either carry on to complete my degree, probably in Engineering Management or the PgDip Quantity Surveying.

I have held a position as a contracts manager for an electrical contractor, which included estimating, quantity surveying duties, project management etc due to the small size of the contractor. However, I'm keen to get into a large multi-national contractor and I don't know which qualification would suit me best. I'm not sure if the Engineering Management final year would improve my skills, having gained APM qualifications, although it would enable me to register for IEng status......but the PgDip would further my education and allow me to further my commercial acumen. Project Management is my preferred career choice, but it has a strong focus on cost.

I still feel there is a certain snobbery with large contractors and I may get overlooked having not obtained a full degree or higher qualification.

What to do?!

Mistral001

At the minute Further Education and University building-related courses are very under-subscribed so be aware when talking with those institutions that many will bite your hand off just to get you erolled on one of their courses.

I work in a construction-related job and have seen it change a lot over the years. "Project management" is quite controversal among many people, especially design professionals and now even some clients. As a method of procurement of large building projects it has been around for years, but the term seems to have been adopted by contractors to mean something perhaps a lot different than the original definition. In my experience, a project manager's role working for a contractor can vary greatly depending on the contractor and is really not a strictly defined role like a contract's manager, foreman, quantity surveyor, CDM co-ordinater etc.

Zahra_M

Hi Greg34 and others that were in the initial thread a few years ago..

A few years on, and I am looking in to a career change from a Community Sports background to Surveying.. !

I'd be really interested to know how it ended up for you all?

z

Zahra_M

Hi Greg34 and others that were in the initial thread a few years ago..

A few years on, and I am looking in to a career change from a Community Sports background to Surveying.. !

I'd be really interested to know how it ended up for you all?

z