If you are going to school to become a civil engineer, you should be aware that you must get either a master's degree or have graduated with honors from an accredited bachelor program. Once you have completed one of these two aspects, you can begin filling out the applications forms and hopefully become a chartered engineer. If you go this route, you will be a graduate member, which does not really mean much, but is an extra title that you can add to your resume when you begin applying for jobs. Membership does look good on a recent graduate's application because a certain level of academic achievement is required in order to be accepted.
Even if your marks were not at the honor's level or you did not get your master's degree, you will still have the opportunity to become chartered. What you must do is begin working at one of the civil engineer jobs in your area and begin working on certain development objectives. As your go through the professional development stage, you will be able to build the skills that the Institution of Civil Engineers is looking for and, therefore, could become chartered as time goes by. If they believe that you have done a good job on your civil engineer jobs, they will ask you to take a written test and that will be good enough for you to become chartered.
As you develop your career and attempt to reach your end goals, you will definitely be glad if you are able to become chartered because it will open up new opportunities for you. This could be the difference between getting a job and being turned down, so it is definitely worth the time it will take to apply. The fact that so many engineers from all over the world are now chartered means that the organization does have some merit, as only engineers with a certain level of proficiency are able to pass the test. Before you apply for your next job, make sure that you take the time to become chartered because it might be the little extra advantage that you need in order to make your career goals attainable.
