What I love about being a civil engineer (that I didn’t know before I became one)
Civil engineering is a career that can take you all around the world. I knew before that you could move to a different country to work, but never quite understood the large scale of opportunities and project roles that exist, particularly in the civil engineering industry.
The civil engineering myth I’d like to bust
You need to be good at physics to be a good civil engineer.
This is something I was told as a student going into my A levels. I quickly learned when studying civil engineering at college and university, along with having industry experience, that this was a complete myth.
Yes, principles that stem from physicists’ work and theories are present in engineering, especially when working in design, but this is more about structural mechanics rather than quantum physics and such that you learn in A level physics.
I’d recommend a career in civil engineering because
Civil engineering is such a diverse career, with so many different pathways and opportunities, in construction every day is different and problem-solving skills are a must have.
Civil engineering is linked closely with most aspects of our everyday lives and so demand for work in the sector is always present across the entire world.
The project, past or present, I wish I'd worked on
Gotthard Base Tunnel
What gets me out of bed every morning?
To me, civil engineering is all about improving the quality and efficiency of people’s everyday lives.
For example, the project I’m working on now is improving the water quality of the River Thames, a vital asset for the city of London, which is currently in a poor environmental state.
Knowing that the work I do and the sites I work on are all contributing factors to improving lives is what gets me out of bed in the morning.