u/Specific-Bobcat6780

I want to hear from engineers who have moved around the world for work. I'm Australian and while we've been lucky to have big projects like Sydney Metro, Cross River Rail etc., it seems like we'll be entering a bit of downturn in tunnelling infrastructure projects.

For those that have moved to different countries like Hong Kong, UK, Singapore etc. how long did you keep doing that for? Did you eventually decide to settle down in one country/city, and how did it impact your family life?

Keen to hear your stories!

Any expat civil engineers here? I'm an Australian engineer who works for head contractors on metro/subway tunnelling projects. I have about 5 years experience post qualifications. Given the boom and bust nature of tunnelling projects, it's often common to move around. I love the idea of working on 1-2 projects overseas and my preferred locations are Switzerland, UK, Middle East, Hong Kong and Singapore. I'm currently at about a B2 level French and working towards improving this.

I'd love to hear from others who have done this. What's your story and how did it work out? Did you get sick of moving around after a while?

Tier 1 construction leaders on major infrastructure projects (CPB, John Holland etc.), what's your salary progression like at that level? And bonuses etc.? Is the juice worth the squeeze?

I'm a Project Engineer with around 5 years' experience. I've worked on major infrastructure and tunnelling projects with tier 1 contractors in both Sydney and Melbourne. While the long hours and stress can get to me at time, I can honestly say I love my job. I love the variety of people you get to work with, the interesting nature of the work, the friendships you make and the general satisfaction you get from building something.

I plan to continue in this path for another ~10-12ish years, moving around the country or even overseas to work on similar projects. However, I know at some point I'll need to settle down. I'm early 30s M and married. My wife and I are planning to have kids, and we're both happy to be a little 'mobile' while the kids are young.

I want to hear from senior engineers and project managers who have done this (or others who perhaps have friends/family who have): How did it all turn out in your 40s and 50s? Did you pivot to a different kind of role (client side/consulting/tendering)? Start your own business? Was it worth it in the end financially and personally?

Edit: I should add, I have an interest in tunnelling, so I tend to move to wherever the big tunnelling jobs are. I'm also not opposed to working on smaller scale projects like pipejacking/micro tunnelling from time to time if there's no big projects like Sydney Metro where I'm based.