Opportunities for a UK civil engineer to work in North America?

Question

I'm currently studying civil engineering in the UK and part of what attracted me to the field is the diversity of the work and the opportunity for travel. I would like to work abroad at somepoint in the future, particulaly the US or Canada. Would British professional memberships (Chartered ICE/IstructE) be valid in North America or would I have to do further professional training for the specific country/state/province/etc before being allowed to work?

Also, could anyone give any information on the state of general civil/structural engineering career opportunities in the US and Canada?

Cheers

Answer 1

Yes, in the future I am convinced there will be strong demand for civil/structural in the US based on our population growth and since not many US students want to waste 5 years becoming an engineer when they could spend 5 years to be a MBA and make ten times as much.  So, until the NCEES gets their *(idiotic) way and makes the MS mandatory in the US to become a structural engineer, you shouldn't face any real obstacles if you're chartered.  You want "license by comity" and you can try a few states and ask them for the forms.

If you can't get license by comity you might still be able to sit immediately for the exam, (at least until 2010) but be aware, all states vary depending on who's in charge that week, their mood, the lunar phase, their lunacy level and so on.  It's a real game of chance.  Some days you're gold. Some days you're lead.  California is the least likely to let you just plop down and start working as a licensed engineer straight out.  (they're touchy about earthquakes).  Try Illinois/ Kentucky, but I'm blindly guessing.

Cheers.