career your
How to grow
For budding engineers, there are myriad routes into the building services industry. Our visual guide to the huge number of exciting roles and opportunities shows how you can build a fl ourishing career in this dynamic and forward- looking industry. By Roxane McMeeken
D
id you know that buildings consume 42% of all electricity worldwide? That’s not even including the masses of energy used to make
them and their myriad components. So, if you care about the environment, joining
the construction industry will put you on the front line of the battle to save the planet. Building services engineers are uniquely positioned to lower the carbon footprint of the built environment. But that’s just one reason people choose a career as a building services engineer. Building services engineers design, advise on,
install and maintain everything in a building that makes it work, from lighting and plumbing to lifts and air conditioning. This means that, arguably, when it comes to making buildings greener, no one has a more critical role. Angela Ringguth, head of careers promotion
at CIBSE, says: ‘There is a growing realisation that we must use less energy and more renewable energy, and that means increasing demand for people who can deliver this.’ While the construction industry has been
focused on how to make buildings use less energy once they’re up and running, the focus of the battle to emit less carbon is now shifting. This is another trend that’s giving building services engineers a starring role. The industry is increasingly looking at the energy-intensive processes used to make
8 CIBSE Journal January 2013 Bringing buildings to life
Building services are everything that makes a building habitable against global climate change
❧ Managing the environmental performance of buildings throughout their lifecycles, known as the ‘cradle to grave’ approach
❧ Collaborating with world-leading clients, architects, interior designers, structural engineers and more
❧ Opportunities to work all over the planet ❧ A role at the heart of construction projects, and becoming even more integral because of the growing importance of energy effi ciency
❧ On the frontline of the ongoing battle
The heart of construction All the areas that building
services cover
❧ Energy supply – gas, electricity and renewable sources
❧ Heating and ventilating ❧ Water, drainage and plumbing ❧ Lighting – natural and artifi cial ❧ Escalators and lifts ❧ Harnessing renewable energy, such as solar power ❧ Communications, telephones and IT networks ❧ Security and alarm systems ❧ Fire detection and protection ❧ Air conditioning and refrigeration ❧ Facade engineering ❧ Public health engineering ❧ Control systems
Nourishing growth Once in the industry, the levels of professional qualifi cation you can pursue with CIBSE are: chartered engineer (CEng), incorporated engineer (IEng) or engineering technician (Eng Tech). Achieving these makes you an expert in your fi eld and brings you letters after your name to prove it – these are recognised worldwide.
www.cibsejournal.com
❧ Exciting projects, such as Olympic stadiums, skyscrapers, science laboratories, music venues, schools in developing countries, headquarters of multi-national companies, hospitals, art galleries and museums.
❧ Working with cutting edge and rapidly changing technology, including Building Information Modelling
❧ Membership of a highly respected and agenda-setting professional body: CIBSE
Dorte Rich Jorgensen sustainability manager, Atkins
Led the delivery of the London 2012 Olympics’ sustainability objectives for a number of elements, including structures, bridges and parkland. Passionate about cutting carbon.
SHUTTERSTOCK / SHCHIPKOVA ELENA
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