Employment Opportunities for CEng. in United Kingdom

Kiran,

I am not in the petrochemical industry but have some knowledge of it through contacts.

The first problem at the current time is that it is very much an employers market as there are far more candidates than positions available. Many employers will give a preference to candidates who have a proven track record of first hand experience in the industry rather than just on the basis of CEng or no CEng. Some employers will value a CEng but others may consider it irrelevant (or even a handicap as they may think the CEng candidate will expect a higher salary and therefore give preference to a "cheaper" non-CEng candidate).

The best way to deal with this is to look at the positions advertised and look to see what the job requirements and the expectations of what successful candidates are likely to have. If an employer does not mention CEng or Chartered or Registered then perhaps they do not consider it important.

There is also the problem that if you do not already have the right to work in the UK, either through nationality or a valid visa, then employers are required to give preference to any other suitable candidates who already do have the right to work rather than sponsor a foreign national for a Visa. Please note I do not know your nationality but I guess from the timing of your posts that you are currently based in Asia.

A good place to start is probably looking through the vacancies advertised through the IET as these are likely to give more value to professional registration but beyond that I don't have much to suggest.

Best wishes for succesful job hunting,

Alasdair Anderson

Kiran,

I am not in the petrochemical industry but have some knowledge of it through contacts.

The first problem at the current time is that it is very much an employers market as there are far more candidates than positions available. Many employers will give a preference to candidates who have a proven track record of first hand experience in the industry rather than just on the basis of CEng or no CEng. Some employers will value a CEng but others may consider it irrelevant (or even a handicap as they may think the CEng candidate will expect a higher salary and therefore give preference to a "cheaper" non-CEng candidate).

The best way to deal with this is to look at the positions advertised and look to see what the job requirements and the expectations of what successful candidates are likely to have. If an employer does not mention CEng or Chartered or Registered then perhaps they do not consider it important.

There is also the problem that if you do not already have the right to work in the UK, either through nationality or a valid visa, then employers are required to give preference to any other suitable candidates who already do have the right to work rather than sponsor a foreign national for a Visa. Please note I do not know your nationality but I guess from the timing of your posts that you are currently based in Asia.

A good place to start is probably looking through the vacancies advertised through the IET as these are likely to give more value to professional registration but beyond that I don't have much to suggest.

Best wishes for succesful job hunting,

Alasdair Anderson