What I love about being a civil engineer (that I didn’t know before I became one)
That there are so many branches of civil engineering, and that the path to solving problems doesn’t rest in one little box.
There’s a great opportunity to learn and adopt new technologies to change the way that we design, build and maintain our built environment.
I had no idea that I’d work as a designer, on sites, and now end up working with the space sector, all working on the same problem with different skills and angles.
The civil engineering myth I’d like to bust
The usual hard hats and high vis stereotype.
Sometimes it’s fun to put the kit on and be on site, and some people love to make a career directly on site, but there are so many other sides for those who aren’t as keen on working in the mud!
I’d recommend a career in civil engineering because
Civil engineering has the opportunity to be many kinds of career, suited to many different kinds of people. At its root, it’s a career that can support working on global challenges, but also have an impact on day-to-day lives.
It’s creative, whether it’s bringing a drawing on paper to life, to working out how to thread a tunnel through the congested ground below the feet of Londoners, to working out how to lift 100 tonnes of steelwork and install a bridge over a live railway to how to provide access to water and electricity in a geography that lacks both resources and has scarce resource.
What gets me out of bed every morning?
Knowing that what I do as a civil engineer makes a tangible and significant impact on society.