Helen Marriner
Graduate engineer, WSP
Expertise
Design, Project ManagementLocation
United KingdomMy highlights
ICE President’s Future Leader 2024/25
Attended an overnight track possession to complete surveys for Wixams Station
University of Bristol’s Deloitte Haskins and Sells Prize winner
A day in my life
My day generally starts with a speed walk down to the station when I’ve inevitably snoozed my alarm one too many times.
Once I’m off the train, I take a more relaxed walk along the docks at Canary Wharf on my way to the office.
Once at work, a typical day involves a mixture of project meetings, design updates, spreadsheets and tea breaks.
No two days are the same as I’m usually working on a few different projects and finding and addressing new challenges.
After work I generally either see my friends, go to the gym, play netball or just head straight home for dinner.
I hope that the projects I work on have a positive impact. Users might not always notice our work, but that can be a good sign as they sometimes only notice if things go wrong.
Which individual project or person inspired you to become a civil engineer?
There were many moments and conversations that inspired me to pursue a career in civil engineering.
One key moment was attending a presentation by an engineer involved in designing the Sydney Opera House. It made me realise just how tangible civil engineering is.
I remember thinking how cool it would be to be able to point at something I had designed and say, “I made that”.
Around that time, the Shard had just been finished and so I was imagining being able to point across London at the next big skyscraper.
So far in my career, I've chosen to work on rail projects. I still look forward to seeing my designs come to life and continue to be inspired by the many engineers and projects I come across every day.
We asked Helen…
I would recommend a career in civil engineering because…
There’s something for everyone.
From my university course, my friends have branched out into so many different civil engineering disciplines:
- geotechnics
- water
- structures
- highways and rail engineering
- project and design management
I never realised how many doors a career in civil engineering could open - there's just so much we can do!
Complete this phrase: I’m a civil engineer, but I’m also…
I’m a civil engineer, but I’m also... captain of my netball team.
I absolutely adore my teammates, and we have so much fun on and off the court.
Our mantra for the last couple of seasons has been ‘PMA’, standing for ‘positive mental attitude’, and we chant ‘PMA’ before every quarter.
Yes, it’s super cheesy, but it puts a smile on our faces and we start each quarter on a high note - it’s definitely also slightly off-putting for our opposition.
Besides netball, I love travelling, baking, and hiking, especially if there's a stunning view at the top.
What about being a civil engineer gets you out of bed each morning?
I hope that the projects I work on have a positive impact.
Users might not always notice our work, but that can be a good sign as they sometimes only notice if things go wrong.
I also really like the people I work with. I have good friends and colleagues who I genuinely look forward to working with every day.
What’s one great thing that you love about civil engineering that you didn’t know until you started working in the industry?
I love how people-centric civil engineering is.
We’re constantly considering all the different possible users and their changing needs, and balancing these with the requirements and preferences of the various clients and stakeholders.
I have found that building good relationships with clients and other teams to be crucial to the success of any project.
Which civil engineering project (past or present) do you wish you’d worked on?
The Clifton Suspension Bridge. The span and depth of the Avon Gorge makes this a highly ambitious and experimental project for its time, and it remains iconic in the city.
Having seen how different some of the alternative designs were, I’d have loved to have been involved in those design meetings.
I’d also quite like to take a ride in the little cart that they strung up during construction to pull themselves along from one side to the other.
Ignoring the rather obvious health and safety issues, it sounds like fun and would have been a view that no one at the time had seen before.
Name one civil engineering myth you’d like to bust.
It’s not as math-focused as school might make you think.
While understanding the mathematical principles is important, being a good engineer is also about thinking logically and creatively to solve problems.
It’s not just how fast you can recite your times tables.
What’s the biggest/most complex thing you’ve made out of Lego? How long did it take you?
As a kid, I remember building some pretty tall towers with the big Lego bricks.
Looking back, they might not have been that tall, but they were certainly taller than me at the time - I guess it's all about perspective.
Has civil engineering helped you overcome any personal hurdles/difficulties?
Definitely. Working as a civil engineer has boosted my confidence in writing.
I really struggled with English in school and even though I had some amazing teachers who worked hard to help me, I believed my dyslexia would always hold me back.
As I learned to write technical engineering reports, my confidence grew immensely.
I enjoyed figuring out how to explain my ideas clearly to clients, with the option to use drawings to support my explanations.
There was no pressure to use long words, metaphors, or similes – quite the opposite. It was all about plain language that everyone could understand.
Finding a type of writing I enjoyed, and could become good at, helped to make other types of writing less intimidating.
I even enjoyed writing my dissertation at university, something I never thought I'd say at 15 when I was still struggling to write the first sentence of any essay.
Helen's career path
I completed my A-levels in maths, physics and product design in 2019.
I was awarded an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship for 2017-19 which helped to open other opportunities.
I worked part-time as an engineering trainee for Cadenza Transport Consulting alongside my A-levels and during the first three years of my degree.
This gave me great insight into the industry and the opportunity to grow my skills by putting what I was learning into practice.
I attended the University of Bristol and achieved an MEng in Civil Engineering.
I completed a summer placement at Arup in the Bristol Rail team between my third and fourth years of university.
Since I graduated in 2023, I’ve joined WSP as a graduate engineer in the London rail team.
