Civil Engineering

Civil engineering is arguably the most practical of the disciplines and has, therefore, had the most recruitment problems after the Engineering Council UK's bid to improve academic standards. Strangely, civil engineers seem to be held in rather low regard in the UK, despite the fact that they are essential to our daily life. We'd be in a right pickle without them. But at least you'll be pretty much guaranteed a job, possibly with consulting or contracting engineering companies or local authorities, central government or in banking, law, or in the City. You'll he a numerate problem-solver, and those are valuable assets.

As a civil engineer, you'd be responsible for the design, building and maintenance of bridges, roads, railway lines, water supply, or sewage systems - facing up to the practical challenges that make up the creation and use of the infra-structure of a modern country. As well as the practical, it also offers opportunities in design, management, the environment and buildings and bridges of all shapes and sizes.

You will be involved in studying structural mechanics, geology, surveying, fluid mechanics and maths - lots of maths (maths and physics A-levels are essential and a humanities subject is also useful).