How to become a civil engineer (Author: Georg Denninger) The term civil engineer covers the professions of architect and engineering consultant. They work on a freelance basis on the basis of a state-issued licence in engineering or scientific fields. In order to be admitted to the civil engineer examination, a relevant university or university of applied sciences degree programme with a Master's degree must be completed (e.g. diploma degree in a technical, scientific or mining field of study). The exact award and admission requirements are described in detail in the Civil Engineers Act 2019. After graduation, 3 years of practical experience must be gained, of which at least 1 year must be spent on practical work on construction sites for graduates in architecture and on boundary surveying, additions and depreciation for graduates in surveying. If you can provide evidence of this practical experience in the form of relevant certificates and documents, you can apply to the chamber in your federal state of residence for admission to the civil engineering examination. If you have studied at a foreign university, a nostrification is required; other certificates of qualification must also be recognised. When examining the application, in addition to the aforementioned required certificates of competence, it is also checked whether there are any reasons for exclusion, such as pending bankruptcy, opening of insolvency proceedings or lack of the required reliability. After a positive examination, you will be notified of your admission to the civil engineering examination. The oral examination for architects comprises 4 subjects: - Austrian administrative law - Business administration - Legal and technical regulations for the specialism - Professional and ethical law. Applicants for the authorisation of an engineering consultant for surveying must also prove their knowledge in other examination subjects. If examinations 1, 2 and 4 were passed during the degree programme, these can be taken into account, provided they were not taken more than 10 years ago. The examination can be repeated a maximum of two times. To prepare for the examination, the Chamber offers a two-week preparation course twice a year. After successfully passing the ZT exam, you can then apply for authorisation from the responsible ministry (Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs). This will be granted by means of a decision. After this, all that remains is to take the professional oath before the respective provincial governor in order to be able to work independently as a civil engineer. If you do not wish to do so, you have the option of suspending your licence with the relevant chamber.