During my university course I became increasingly interested in structural design and applied to companies that majored in structural projects. Not being an “outdoor” type of person, I decided that I would be more suited to consultancy work rather than working for a contractor. However, I did want to gain some site experience, so looked for a consultant who would provide this either via placements or secondments. In deciding what companies to apply for, I took into account factors such as size, whether they offer an accredited training scheme, location of the office, office environment, staff benefits and so on. I was offered jobs by three firms and decided to accept WSP’s offer to work in their Winchester office. Not only is WSP involved in an interesting range or projects, but Winchester is a lovely place and the office is in the town centre, just a short walk from the station.
In some ways working life is just what I expected it to be – Monday to Friday, nine to five…… but when I get involved in an interesting project, time flies and there is never enough of it! So far I have worked on steel, concrete, timber and masonry framed structures. They are all different and each has its own interesting aspects that can be challenging.
Increasingly I have been given the opportunity to look after projects independently with guidance from senior staff. Attending design team meetings, site visits and surveying of existing structures etc can sometimes be stressful. But the feeling of self-satisfaction when the project is completed is fantastic. This is the main reason why I continue to remain interested in this sector.
Some people said the difference between work and study is that in your job you put theory into practice, but I would say it’s not that simple. For one thing, in the first few months of my working life, I have learned new theories every day. At university we mostly based our design work on assumptions – in real life everything has to be correctly designed, and we have to learn to look at things from different angles.