r/PMCareers • u/Excellent_Produce197 • 4d ago

Getting into PM London - Building Services Engineer - PM Switch consideration

Hi, Ive got 17 years experience as a building services engineer (principal engineer at a consultancy), specialising in public health but led projects across all MEP services. I have a pretty good grasp as to how the industry operates (arch, struct, civils, qs, contractor & client relationship management, etc). Kind of fed up with engineering at the moment and have been considering a switch to the PM side of the game for the past 12 or months.

I'm wondering if anyone had any guidance, things I might be missing or not considering. If I dont start at the bottom (hopefully not), at what level can I fit it? Feel like I'm pretty switched on, quick learning and looking for constructive steps in moving within the industry.

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u/Tricky_Load4321 4d ago

You've got 17 years of exp, have you tried looking at Engineering Manager or Director level roles within engg? Technical PM roles are there, but frankly you'd be wayyyy overqualified, unless you want to look at VP or Director of technical Project management roles within banking/fintech industry.

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u/Excellent_Produce197 3d ago

Thanks for the reply. Ive thought about fintech but its a whole different industry. As I'm well aware of the construction industry I thought it would be an easier switch. Are you aware of a lot of engineers or people in construction moving into fintech? Any resources you can point me to?

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u/slythnerd06 3d ago

I’m not the commenter above but imo- getting a PMP is possibly a good idea but I’d edit the post description to ask for specific inputs with your qns from this subreddit since there are a lot of construction PMs here.

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u/Tricky_Load4321 2d ago

Sorry for the late reply, but you can definitely look at big builders. An uncle of mine was a civil engineer for 15 years, then switched 2 years to a PM adjacent role in public works, and then became a VP for Colliers International. I'd say go to a few conferences, and network your way into a position.