A personal insight into the Technical Report Route to becoming Chartered.
You might think that after 34 years in the Civil Engineering Industry, having attained an HNC at Teesside Polytechnic and working steadily from Eng Tech to IEng MICE that it was extraordinary to think about becoming Chartered.
I am currently employed as a Senior Civil and Pipeline Engineer with Anglian Water and I am fortunate to have a broad range of robust experience from my past employers which included 10 years in Local Councils and 15 with water companies. During that time I had been a part of the rise in technological innovation and, of course, vast changes in Health and Safety behaviour.
My opportunity to become a Chartered Engineer with the ICE arose when Louisa Rix (Membership Development Officer) arranged a visit to our offices to discuss Professional Qualifications with Graduates at my office. I took the opportunity to discuss my options. Louisa recommended the Technical Report Route. At the time I also became aware of at least three other Engineers who had chosen this option. Shortly after, I submitted my synopsis and it was accepted. I had a year to obtain sponsorship support, and prepare my reports for submission.
It was an interesting time for me to focus on the task and develop a disciplined approach to collecting evidence, planning my report, writing it and having it examined by sponsors and peers. Gradually I did get into a routine, and found I had a lot of chances to express my technical and management abilities in a way that evidenced the attributes required at Chartered Engineer level.
There were times when I really enjoyed the preparation and other times when I was not hopeful, I was adequately encouraged by my peers and eventually, after several drafts of my Reports and Development Plans, everything was ready. My Reviewers were appointed, I submitted my documentation and the date for the interviews was set as 9 March 2012.
At the interview session, I began by delivering my half hour presentation. The Technical and Experience interviews that followed went really well for me, probably because the atmosphere was calm and focused on the task and also because I was fully prepared. A few weeks later I had the ‘Congratulations’ email and accompanying letter. It was a very humbling moment, I was very proud of what I had achieved.
For me success in achieving CEng MICE means I have a defined professional status in the industry. With it comes the responsibility to continue to develop myself and manage my work - recognising the impact it will have on the end users and the environment. I am also in a renewed position to encourage other Engineers to achieve their aspirations, no matter how many years they may have been thinking about it.