A Career Path in Civil Engineering - Essay Example

 Currently, I am taking into consideration a career path in civil engineering. My key strengths relevant to this career are construction of structures and materials. I also have the ability to organise hydraulics water as well as wastewater. From my coursework at the university, I am able to carry out construction practice and engineering mathematics. This can be proved from my university group assignment, where made a class presentation on the tidal barrages. In this assignment, my chosen area was to discuss the challenges facing the implementation of the tidal barrages, and then prepare a sheet of paper with recommendations. I researched a lot on this topic from the relevant websites so as to come up with the best presentation. I employed my excellent organisational and planning skills to prepare my slide which I finished long before the deadline. My team members were of different backgrounds in terms of personality and subject knowledge. I took advantage of this diversity to a strong managerial backbone as well as acquire a firm foundation of team spirit; as I had an ultimate goal being to produce the best presentation. To achieve this, I gave my suggestions and also accommodated the opinions of every other team member. I was the team leader of planning meetings and positively took the challenges posed by the team members. From the teamwork, we got an excellent grade for this particular assignment (Cherniss 2001: 33). I am proficient in Microsoft Office applications but to enhance my professional drawing, and I need to learn AutoCAD and Access. These are skills which will facilitate taking of my career in civil engineering. AutoCAD and Access will aid in my drawing of houses, clocks and roundabouts. I am planning to achieve this by taking a short course especially in the professional AutoCAD. Having being raised up in a community where helping the ones in need is a virtue, I have developed a special liking of people right from my childhood. From this, I am people-oriented and always take pleasure working with others and impacting positively on people’s lives. This has contributed greatly in my career ambitions. I feel that when I complete my degree in civil engineering, I will be able to go back to my society and help them in the development of infrastructure, especially roads which are in poor conditions. In my career, empathy and compassion are also important values, which I feel I will be able to hold on to whilst on my professional placements. Outside the curricular, I practise other activities such as playing football. For instance, in summer 2007 I persuaded a friend to accompany me in the Cup of our city. However, getting many people in the football team was a challenge since many of them preferred to travel outside the city as a way of relaxation. Travelling has not been one of my hobbies, and I, therefore, preferred to stay back and play for the Cup instead. My strong networking skills, problem-solving and persuasion power enabled me to gather enough people in the team, where we managed to reach the finals though we finally lost. Back in 2010, while, in my final year in the high school, the school head had organised a championship challenge for all class leaders. Each of the leaders was given £ 20 to come up with something which would beat all the other classes. I sat down and strategized on how my class would win this challenge. I, therefore, planned meetings with all my classmates, gave my recommendations and listened to their suggestions. We supported each other well, worked as a team and at the end we scooped the top position, thus winning the price. Another incidence I consider an achievement was when I was working in a bank. While on duty, I came across an agitated customer who was complaining of having being denied an appointment after missing the first one. The rule of the bank was that once a customer misses the first appointment, then he would not be considered on a second visit. I tried explaining to him to understand the situation, but he was very upset. I finally managed to calm him down politely, and he was very appreciative of my support and appeared fully satisfied with the appointment. I also feel that my skills and experience make me well suited for a career in football manager. From my childhood, I have developed a huge interest in current football, which has enabled me gain a proactive approach to planning in football. Verbal and communication and interpersonal skills come in handy in the management of such a team. I have demonstrated these skills in the students’ football team, where we have often emerged winners, motivating me even more. My experience at the school contest Cup provided me with a good insight into the modern football, which I have come to realize it is fast paced, very exciting though a bit stressful. My interest to work in a more creative environment has made me do away with my previous plans of training as a pilot. I like diversity of work where I can exercise my full potential for the benefit of the organisation I am working on and also for my advancement in my career (John Moores University 2014: 9). Based on my strengths, values and abilities as discussed above, I am confident that I can fit well in such a fast-growing and challenging environment where I will be in a position to exercise my abilities fully. My organisational and problem-solving skills are traits desired in the working world, allowing me a proper sailing in my career. My skills outside the classroom will match the requirements for working in the field. This will thereby enable me to unify well my working conditions as per the organisational culture. This is imperative, especially in civil engineering where I will be required to be out in the field most of the times (Cherniss 2001: 34). In conclusion, my desire to work in a challenging environment means I am self-driven and ale to work under minimal supervision. Growth in my career will go hand-in-hand with the growth of the organisation. Bibliography CHERNISS, C. (2001). The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace How to Select For, Measure, and Improve Emotional Intelligence in Individuals, Groups, and Organizations. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=121701userid=^u. JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY, L. (2014). Writing a personal statement. In World Of Work Skills Bronze Handbook (p. 32). Liverpool John Moores University. Read More