Erm...

I have been in this line for almost 4 years as an M&E consultant engineer and these are my 2 cents.

In the context of CONSTRUCTION, if u want to remain in the construction line for the time being, what other forumers mentioned is nevertheless true. Consultant, theory. Project engineer, hands on. But look on the other side, u can't possibly solve problems without having certain amount of design knowledge. Most experienced project engineers or what we usually call contractors solve problems based on experience, but when u ask them on their basis to the solution, they can't simply answer u. My advice, if u really want to stay in construction, firstly brush up ur design skills, i would say a minimum of 3 years, before joining contractor firms, say for another 3 years, then only u join a developer as a project manager. By then u would have obtained enough knowledge of both design and practical, not to mention age, which can play a convincing role. As for Ir, it relaly depends on ur path of life. Ir is actually more for consultantcy, for contractor and developer, its less of practical use but instead a status in this field and ppl would somehow respect u. Money wise, in an ascending manner, consultant, contractor, developer. with a basic increase of 20% per jump (just a guideline).

Once in a century opportunity, even better than strike 4D.

In my personal opinion, if u r from the civil background, i would say, there are many more things other than buildings and structures. Maybe u can try out hydro power plant, bridge building, some firms like ARUP are good firms, did u heard that they got the opportunity to participate in the 100 storey building design process?

Well, I would say both in office and site have different experiences. If u cannot sit still, then site is better lo. If u are a couch potato, office then. Well, on site, yes, sub con can give u every excuse and reson under the moon and stars, but u must not be gullible enough to buy their excuses. Site walk is definitely tiring especially when the lift is not complete and no one dares to take the shaky construction lift.

In office, u would be considered lucky to handle BQs, calculations, designs and stuff. If u have a terrible senior, who is selfish enough, u would be handling progress claim, material approval, data entry after receiving tender replies and O&M, which i term these stuffs as less productive work.

For now, I'm actually more curious at the future of construction industry.