What are you doing now?
My job at the moment is as assistant to the Technical Advisor and Independent Certifier for a couple of Energy from Waste projects both locally and further afield. I’m a graduate member of the ICE and am looking to sit my chartership review later this year. This involves reviewing documents submitted by the builders and project management company to assess whether they allow us to release the next payment that could be £100,000 up to £20,000,000 value. This could involve review of several hundred documents so managing expectations of the various people we’re working for is important as is choosing what part of which documents submitted we review!
What route did you take up to this point?
Finished my A levels (slightly missed out on the grades I needed to get into Cardiff University – but when I called up the admissions tutor they let me in because I’d performed well at interview and had a really good reference. Progressed through Cardiff University working for a small local firm to get some experience and elected to take a Year in Industry working with Mott MacDonald in their Cardiff office. This made getting a job much easier for me.
After graduating from Cardiff University with a 2:1 BEng in Civil Engineering I went to Plymouth University and studied for an MSc in Civil Engineering Management graduating in November 2009.
I started with Mott MacDonald in November 2009 and have been working from their Bristol office until I recently relocated to Exeter in January this year.
What have you learnt most about yourself?
Learning on the job is much easier for me than the academic route – I always suspected this might have been the case as I’d been consistently better at coursework than exams while I was at school!
I’ve definitely developed both professionally and personally. I feel professional development gave me more personal confidence in social situations (in and out of work).
What words of wisdom would you give to a student joining DHSB in Year 7?
Always ask questions if you don’t understand something – I’ve you think you understand something challenge yourself to find something about it that you don’t understand. I’ve come to realise the most important you can ask is simply “why”?
Any fond memories of school you can share?
I remember enjoying some quiet moments of reflection walking along the colonnade and above looking over the school fields and making food in the Food Technology Lab!
Do you have a message for any of your old teachers?
Mr Maitland – I’ve not yet designed a bridge, but I reviewed all the structural as-built drawings for the M5 Avonmouth Bridge between junctions 19 and 18A I remember you were concerned about me designing a bridge and wanting some warning before you drove over it… consider yourself warned!