The main types of engineering firms are conventionally thought to include mechanical, civil, electrical, and chemical. However, there are many other primary subsets of these categories, including structural (which is a combination of civil and mechanical), environmental (usually lumped under civil), geotechnical (another subset of civil), aerospace (mechanical subset), manufacturing (another subset of mechanical), and computer (a relatively new subset of electrical). Beyond these, there are other smaller categories, including nuclear, materials, process, architectural, ceramics, industrial, petroleum, subsurface utilities, and forensic engineering.
Consulting engineering organizations are usually hired to perform a wide range of engineering works for different entities and clients---both in the public and private sector. These include:
• Industrial companies
• Hospitals
• Schools and colleges
• Property developers
• Architects
• Land and building owners
• Large engineering firms
• Construction firms
• Private individuals
Consulting engineering companies wok for these entities in a number of ways. To begin with, government agencies hire consulting engineering companies for major governmental projects such as when building a new facility or structure. Many municipalities such as town and city governments also hire engineering companies on a permanent or on-going basis to serve as a municipal engineer, responsible for handling engineering related projects in their respective jurisdictions.
Additionally, large engineering organizations that serve as the prime firms on major projects often hire small capacity engineering companies ( like geotechnical, MEP, environments, and structural engineering firms among others) as their subcontractors to carry out smaller or individual parts of the major projects. Architects also operate in a similar model and often hire MEP and structural engineering companies to work as subcontractors on various building projects that they design. Lastly, engineering companies can also work alongside one another and with architects on a given project, all reporting to the owner of the project.