7 totally predictable hobbies civil engineers have

We think it's safe to say that none of us are strangers to workplace stress. 

Indeed, research has found that one in four workers feel unable to cope with stress at work.

But as common as it may be, it can seriously deteriorate our health.

It can cause headaches, dizziness, and even chest pain. It can make us forgetful and indecisive.

With workplace stress hitting record levels worldwide, protecting our personal time for activities that we enjoy and find relaxing is only becoming more important.

With that in mind, we asked our members what their favourite hobbies are, and these are some of the most popular, and often striking, ones.

1. Performing

There’s no denying that our members have heaps of talent, in and out of the workplace.

Professor Priti Parikh and Cat Salvini could headline an ICE comedy festival as amateur stand-up comedians, while Dominic Cronin could entertain us in drag.

“[Performing in drag] allowed me to express my creativity outside engineering [and] created a positive attitude within myself when I started work,” says Dominic.

Kevin Smith would be on production, making the most of his 35 years of experience with his amateur theatre group in Carnoustie.

2. Music

Auditions for the ICE musical might have to open soon – such is the talent among our members!

On vocal cords we have Claire Pallett, who chairs the Salford Choral Society and sings in the soprano section, as well as Meshi Taka, who’s a ‘massive karaoke fan’.

On bass, we have Muhammad Talha, who also composes his own music.

We have pianists, flautists and drummers, as well as sound engineers and live mixers, such as Musa PM Chunge.

We pretty much have all our bases covered!

3. Visual arts

If we were to open an ICE art gallery, we might feature the work of Kaye Pollard and Sakthy Selvakumaran, who enjoy painting and making art.

Serena Gough’s photographs would also be included, hopefully incorporating some landscapes from the places she enjoys exploring.

And perhaps something by Cecilia Law, who explains that she views painting as ‘engineering in a different context’.

Nice way to connect her engineering talent to the things she does for fun!

4. Spending time in nature

Many of our members channel their inner David Attenborough by spending time in nature.

For example, Major Rob Ridley enjoys sailing and Paula McMahon enjoys gardening.

Paula also keeps a fishpond and chickens, and even spends time connecting to nature through scuba diving.

It seems the institution is full of nature lovers, who, like Aparna Jamgade, enjoy hiking and “exploring wonderful places” or who are “dead into houseplants”, like Lara Lightfoot. Last time we checked in with Lara, she had about 60 of them!

And of course, we're not short on dog lovers, either. Many of our members cite walking their dogs as a favourite pastime of theirs - such as Patrick Waterhouse and his fox red Labrador!

5. Practising sports

If you’re looking to start a sports club, you’ll likely find fellow ICE members to join you, as it seems we have a wide variety of athletes among us! Anyone for the ICE Olympics?

A few of our members enjoy cycling, which has the benefit of throwing fresh air into the mix.

Blessing Danha, for example, is a keen cyclist, and an active member of a north London female cycling club.

Others like the fresh air but prefer to go on foot.

Musa PM Chunge enjoys park runs and Joseph Marner says he occasionally goes on runs with colleagues over lunchtime, “which is a great way to take a break and see the city (and the civil engineering in it!)”.

Some are keen on adventure and endurance sports, while others prefer team sports such as rugby, football, cricket, hockey, and netball.

Others like to mix sports and music by dancing – salsa is a popular example – while others are fans of martial arts.

Kristina Dahyaraj practises Muay Thai and Joshua Macabuag practices jiu-jitsu when he’s not too busy with Search and Rescue Assistance in Disasters (SARAID) training.

Bryn Noble’s even got a black belt in tae kwon do!

6. Making (and eating) food

Calling all foodies!

It seems we have enough keen cooks and bakers to run our own Master Chef or Bake Off.

For President's Future Leader, Aman Khandelwal, being a chef in his own kitchen is his favourite way to relax. He even used to be a professional chef!

We trust he could put something delicious together. And to wash down all the tasty food, Paula McMahon could bring her homemade beer, which she makes with her husband and drinks in their own pub at home.

7. Volunteering

Many of our members help raise awareness and money for a variety of charities.

For instance, Kayla Browne raised nearly £1,000 for Mind in 2021 by running 27 miles in 27 days to raise awareness about student mental health.

Similarly, Bianca Wheeler volunteered with a local group and the Samaritans charity to help provide mental health support and guidance to youth groups and across social media.

She's also been sky diving and mud running to raise money for various mental health charities, such as Young Minds.

ICE Fellow Emma White uses the skills she's picked up professionally to help charities write their funding bids and publicity documents, as well as manage their schemes. Talk about transferable skills!

An overwhelming majority of our members are also keen STEM ambassadors.

Serena Gough is “helping to inspire the next generation to study civil engineering”, an interest she shares with Ashley Best and many others!

Article originally published April 2022.