You might be surprised to hear that the construction industry has laboratories, but concrete, aggregates and asphalt all need to be tested to make sure they’re fit for purpose and in line with the required standards.
Tests are carried out in the laboratory and onsite and research examines how materials can be improved to make them stronger, more adaptable and to reduce their environmental impact. You could be the technician that ensures we have safe, strong and environmentally-sound buildings and roads.
You could progress from being a Concrete Technician to a Lab Manager.
With lots of experience behind you, you might become a Materials Engineer.
There’s no perfect career path or ideal way into your dream job.
But if you’re interested in education and training options that could be relevant to this role, you might want to consider:
Options available after GCSEs:
More options available after that:
Schools and colleges each have their own career guidance plan and can provide detailed information, advice, and guidance on options and next steps.
As well as running checks on materials, you’ll be responsible for calibrating machines and analysing statistics. A lot of your work will also be onsite, where you’ll be part of the team helping to build essential infrastructure and exciting new buildings.
This role can also be known by some other job titles including:
Laboratory Technician
Materials Technician
The owners of residential and commercial properties are looking for ways to be energy efficient and to reduce the cost of their energy bills. One option for them could be installing solar panels, which collect solar power and convert it into renewable energy.
Solar energy technicians are responsible for installing solar panels on roofs and structures on land, maintaining the panels, and ensuring wiring systems are safe and efficient. You could be the technician who helps homes and businesses to have independent, renewable energy resources that bring their costs of operation down and protect the planet in the process.
You could work in a specialist solar panel installation business that’s dedicated to either domestic or commercial installations. Once you’ve gained experience, you could lead a team of technicians and take on bigger projects.
There are also opportunities working in construction businesses that want to make new homes and commercial environments as energy efficient as possible. Alternatively, you might choose to be a freelance solar energy technician, offering your specialist skills to a range of different companies.
There’s no perfect career path or ideal way into your dream job.
But if you’re interested in education and training options that could be relevant to this role, you might want to consider:
Options available after GCSEs:
Schools and colleges each have their own career guidance plan and can provide detailed information, advice, and guidance on options and next steps.
If enough solar energy is collected, whole homes and businesses can operate independently without any energy coming from the national grid. As a solar energy technician, you’ll be helping them to have clean power every day of the year that is pollution free and causes no greenhouse gases to be emitted after installation.
This role can also be known by some other job titles including:
Solar Panel Installer
Solar Panel Engineer
People, products, and services are constantly on the move and depend on public transport, roads, and infrastructure to get them to where they need to go. The challenge of climate change means there’s a big emphasis on creating efficient, low emission transport.
Detailed planning is required before any investment is made in new or improved transport systems. You could be the technician who plans how and where new things should go and makes our transport, infrastructure and lives much greener.
This role will give you opportunities to work in lots of different environments – in local and central government departments, within an architecture, construction or project management consultancy, or in a university or research organisation.
The scale and complexity of projects you work on will increase over time and you may decide to specialise in a particular form of transport or infrastructure.
There’s no perfect career path or ideal way into your dream job.
But if you’re interested in education and training options that could be relevant to this role, you might want to consider:
Options available after GCSEs:
Schools and colleges each have their own career guidance plan and can provide detailed information, advice, and guidance on options and next steps.
In this role you’ll use data analysis and digital technologies to model and forecast levels of travel, the demand for different kinds of transport and to influence behaviours. You’ll liaise with colleagues involved in land planning, environmental assessment, engineering and construction to determine which plans are most feasible.
This role can also be known by some other job titles including:
Assistant Planner
Assistant Technician
Assistant Transport Planner
Transport Planning Assistant
Transport Planning Technician
Wind turbines are becoming an increasingly common feature on land and at sea as we focus more on renewable energy sources to help combat climate change.
These tall machines reach up to 90 metres and need to be monitored and maintained to ensure they run as reliably and efficiently as possible, generating a reliable source of energy for businesses and homes. You could be the technician that supports a renewable energy supply and our ambition to be net zero carbon by 2050.
Experience in this role will enable you to diagnose and repair different parts of the turbines and work at greater heights.
Over time you could be leading a team, training others on the systems and technologies involved, or leading health and safety across a business. Your skills will be valued all over the world, enabling you to travel and work overseas.
There’s no perfect career path or ideal way into your dream job.
But if you’re interested in education and training options that could be relevant to this role, you might want to consider:
Options available after GCSEs:
Schools and colleges each have their own career guidance plan and can provide detailed information, advice, and guidance on options and next steps.
You’ll be working at the forefront of a vital technology that is helping to solve one of the world’s biggest challenges – climate change. Whether you work on land or at sea, you’ll be required to complete complex tasks at great heights. You’ll be trained in the systems and tools required to monitor and repair the wind turbines and the equipment you need to keep you safe.
This role can also be known by some other job titles including:
Wind Farm Technician
Every time people flush toilets or use sinks, dirty water needs cleaning before it goes back into nature. Water Process Technicians help make sure this happens.
They help maintain the equipment that removes rubbish, germs and harmful chemicals from wastewater, so it is safe for our rivers and seas. This protects fish and plants and keeps beaches and drinking water sources cleaner. Their work also helps communities stay healthy and supports a cleaner future for everyone.
With experience, you could become a senior technician or team leader. Some people move into managing whole treatment sites. Others train in areas like water quality, environmental protection or engineering. You could also work on new green technologies that help reuse water and reduce pollution.
There’s no perfect career path or ideal way into your dream job.
But if you’re interested in education and training options that could be relevant to this role, you might want to consider:
Options available after GCSEs:
More options available after that:
Schools and colleges each have their own career guidance plan and can provide detailed information, advice, and guidance on options and next steps.
No two days are the same in this job. You might be testing water one day and helping solve a big problem the next. You get to see real results from your work when cleaner water flows back into rivers. The job mixes science, teamwork and practical skills. You are doing something that really matters for people and the planet. It is a role where you can learn on the job and build a long term career.
You might also see this role listed under different job titles, including:
Wastewater Treatment Technician
Sewage Works Technician
Water Treatment Operative
Process Plant Technician
Environmental Water Technician
Surveying Technicians support architects, engineers and planners, by collecting data about buildings and land.
They use state of the art technology, like laser scanners, 360° cameras and drones, to collect measurements about a location.
This data helps to make sure buildings, roads and other structures are built safely, in the right place, and stay on budget.
You could be the technician who helps to keep a complex construction project on track.
With experience, you could become a surveyor, site engineer or project manager. You might specialise in areas like land surveying, building surveying or mapping. Further training could lead to senior roles or professional qualifications.
There’s no perfect career path or ideal way into your dream job.
But if you’re interested in education and training options that could be relevant to this role, you might want to consider:
Options available after GCSEs:
Schools and colleges each have their own career guidance plan and can provide detailed information, advice, and guidance on options and next steps.
This role offers a mix of outdoor and office based work.
As a Surveying Technician, you could work on all kinds of buildings and structures, from 38 storey office blocks, bridges, sports arenas, wind turbines, or a new development of 200 homes.
You get to use modern equipment like drones and 3D scanning tools. It is a great way to see how big construction projects come together from the ground up. You also work with a range of people, from engineers to architects, making it a varied job.
Building Surveying Technician
Commercial Property Surveying Technician
Consultant Project Management Technician
Consultant Quantity Surveying Technician
Engineering Survey Technician
Geomatics Technician
Geospatial Technician
Land Survey Technician
Residential Property Surveying Technician
Site Survey Technician
Survey Assistant
Valuation Surveying Technician
Have you ever wondered how filmmakers create snow when they need it, produce an explosion that looks real, have tea pots that talk, or show hundreds of imaginary creatures flying through the sky? These sorts of magical moments are achieved through the work of highly skilled technicians who know how to add visual, physical, and explosive special effects to films.
While some special effects are filmed live, in front of the camera, others can be added in later using digital techniques such as animation and CGI. Physical special effects involve the creation of props, mechanical tricks and models. You could be the technician who helps to create blockbuster films everyone loves because the special effects are amazing!
Once you’ve gained general experience in a broad range of special effects, you can start to focus on those you like most and are best at. There are specialist courses you can take to add to your skills.
After about ten years in the industry, you could become a senior technician, and after a few more you could be promoted to the role of special effects supervisor. Beyond that, you might decide to set up your own special effects company.
There’s no perfect career path or ideal way into your dream job.
But if you’re interested in education and training options that could be relevant to this role, you might want to consider:
Options available after GCSEs:
More options available after that:
Schools and colleges each have their own career guidance plan and can provide detailed information, advice, and guidance on options and next steps.
You could work in a special effects studio that supplies lots of different films, or could spend time on a film set, dedicated to one particular film. You’ll learn how to use a range of specialist tools and work with diverse materials including rubber, wood, and metal. Best of all, when films are launched, you’ll be able to see your creativity and hard work come to life on the big screen.
Nowadays, homes are often full of complex technology with audio, video, home cinema, security systems, blinds, heating and ventilation all connecting to the internet and being controllable through apps.
When these smart systems and appliances are installed, they need to be configured and connected to the network without disrupting any other item’s performance. You could be the technician who ensures simple, secure and reliable technology experiences that let people enjoy and manage their lives.
Initially you’ll be working with senior colleagues at different sites, supporting installations and the maintenance of systems.
As your experience grows, you may specialise in a specific technology, lead a team or design the networks that others install.
There’s no perfect career path or ideal way into your dream job.
But if you’re interested in education and training options that could be relevant to this role, you might want to consider:
Options available after GCSEs:
Schools and colleges each have their own career guidance plan and can provide detailed information, advice, and guidance on options and next steps.
You’ll create integrated systems using a variety of equipment and services from a range of suppliers, and deliver projects that vary in size and scale. You could be on a construction site one day connecting multiple homes, on another you might be connecting equipment on a luxury yacht, or installing the very latest digital appliances in a mansion.
This role can also be known by some other job titles including:
Smart Home Installation Technician
Residential Network Installer
Audio/Video Installer
ROV Pilot and Drone Pilot Technicians help people see places that are hard or dangerous to reach.
An ROV is a remotely operated vehicle. They are submersible robots that go underwater. They go places that are too deep or too dangerous for human divers, to inspect places or carry out tasks.
A drone is a flying machine that is operated by remote. They are used to take pictures or video to investigate things, like the exterior of tall buildings, or to map areas.
ROV Pilot and Drone Pilot Technicians specialise in one of these technologies. You could be the technician who pilots an ROV or a drone with precision, helping projects by gathering data that would otherwise be more difficult or dangerous to get.
The tasks that ROVs are used for vary. They can be used in subsea oil and gas development projects, for inspection, repair and maintenance, to lay cable and pipe, for surveys and in construction, or to examine salvage, for example a shipwrecked boat. They are also used for scientific research.
Drones can be used to check whether structures are safe, like the roofs of buildings, bridges, or wind turbines. They can also be used to survey wide areas, like monitoring wildlife, or creating a 3D digital contour map of a landscape. They are also used in the film and TV industry to get certain shots, and in emergency situations, they can help with search and rescue.
With experience, you could specialise in areas like surveying, inspection or film production. You might move into senior pilot roles, operations management or training others.
Some people progress into engineering, data analysis or project management. There are also opportunities to work offshore, in renewable energy or with emergency services.
There’s no perfect career path or ideal way into your dream job.
But if you’re interested in education and training options that could be relevant to this role, you might want to consider:
Options available after GCSEs:
More options available after that:
Schools and colleges each have their own career guidance plan and can provide detailed information, advice, and guidance on options and next steps.
Every day can be different, as you will be exploring different places and structures. You get to use cutting-edge technology like high-resolution cameras and sensors. The role can take you to unique locations and let you work on real-world challenges, from protecting wildlife to helping build new infrastructure. It mixes hands-on skills with problem solving and teamwork. As drones and ROVs become more important, there are growing opportunities across many industries.
UAV pilot (unmanned aerial vehicle)
Drone operator
ROV pilot technician
Remote pilot
Aerial survey pilot
Inspection drone pilot
Marine ROV operator
Unmanned systems operator
There are many industries that use climate control systems to maintain a steady or cool temperature, either to protect their goods or services, or to create comfortable leisure and work environments. Industries include food production, product distribution, retail storage, hospitality, transport, office spaces, manufacturing, IT/data centres, and medical healthcare services.
A refrigeration technician is involved in the design, installation, maintenance and repair of refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pump systems. This involves understanding technology and mechanics and making sure refrigeration systems are as efficient as possible. You could be the technician who helps to preserve food and products, keeps people comfortable, and who installs new energy-efficient technology.
You could join a small team focused on serving local businesses. Or you might prefer being part of a large UK firm involved in big installations and maintenance contracts all over the UK.
Further on in your career, you could progress to designing cooling systems, decide to set up your own business, or move into building services engineering or plumbing.
There’s no perfect career path or ideal way into your dream job.
But if you’re interested in education and training options that could be relevant to this role, you might want to consider:
Options available after GCSEs:
Schools and colleges each have their own career guidance plan and can provide detailed information, advice, and guidance on options and next steps.
Changes to environmental laws and new innovative technology mean refrigeration challenges and systems are always evolving. Refrigeration is estimated to be responsible for an estimated 10% of UK greenhouse gas emissions and 16% of electricity use, so there is a continuous emphasis on making systems more efficient. Refrigeration technicians have important responsibilities for minimising the environmental impact of cooling systems.
This role can also be known by some other job titles including:
Refrigeration Engineer
Air Conditioning Technician
Service Technician
Maintenance Technician
Commissioning Engineer