Ryan Southin

We asked Ryan…

I would recommend a career in civil engineering because…

I would recommend a career in civil engineering because of the variety that it can provide you.

There are endless possibilities within the industry, including being a contractor (typically onsite overseeing construction works), consultant (typically located within the design office) or a client (e.g., HS2, Severn Trent).

You can specialise in a technical field or be a more generalised engineer covering many topics, and there are opportunities within project or design management.

What about being a civil engineer gets you out of bed each morning?

The variety of not knowing what could happen is the big driver for getting me out of bed in the morning.

Several of my projects are currently onsite so the contractors require quick responses to site queries to avoid delays to construction works.

I also love watching my designs come to life onsite.

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 the teamwork involved in civil engineering.

I thought the life of a design engineer would be very technical and I’d have to work alone to complete designs. It’s anything but.

I’m constantly liaising with various stakeholders, including the end client, the site team and internally, with other disciplines and project/design managers.

What’s the biggest/most complex thing you’ve made out of Lego? How long did it take you?

Having a keen interest in aviation as a child, I built a toy aeroplane out of Lego. This was a really exciting project and very rewarding when I completed it within two weeks.

Which civil engineering project (past or present) do you wish you’d worked on?

I would’ve loved to work on the design of the Shard in London.

Seeing the skyscraper standing while exposed to environmental conditions is very much a wow factor for me.

Name one civil engineering myth you’d like to bust.

It’s all hard hats, concrete and hi-vis vests.

There’s so much more to civil engineering. This career is so broad and can easily be targeted to your individual strengths.

What motivated you to become professionally qualified? 

The main motivation for getting chartered with the ICE was the recognition as a professional within the civil engineering industry.

It also can improve my career and salary prospects.

What does being professionally qualified with the ICE mean for your career?  

Since studying at university, I always aspired to become a Chartered Civil Engineer. It provides industry-wide recognition, with a protected title, that I’m a competent, practicing engineer.

What’s the best thing about being professionally qualified with the ICE? 

I would say the best thing about being professionally qualified with the ICE is that I can now pass on the knowledge to help others become professionally qualified.

I’m an ICE delegated engineer and aspire to become a supervising civil engineer and professional reviewer in the future.

How did the ICE and/or your employer support you to become professionally qualified? 

At BakerHicks, I was on the ICE Training Scheme.

This was a structured programme, where I completed quarterly reports to outline my experience and demonstrate how I was satisfying the attributes of a Chartered Civil Engineer.

This was very useful when preparing my final submission for my Professional Review.

What do you value most about being an ICE member? 

I love the ability to help other people become professionally qualified with the ICE.

I also love reading the New Civil Engineering magazine to see the exciting engineering projects across the world.

How has being a member helped your career? 

Since achieving chartership with the ICE, I’ve been promoted from engineer to senior engineer with my employer, BakerHicks.

I have also received a bonus for attaining chartership, which was very rewarding and made the hard work in the lead up to the Professional Review worth it.