Can you tell us a little about your job? I’m the project manager for the Thames Tunnel project.  At an early stage of development, the proposed tunnel will run for approximately 20 miles under the River Thames through central London up to 80m deep below ground.  It is needed to reduce the problem of London’s sewers overflowing into the river following rainfall.

What inspired you to become an engineer? My father was an engineer and I made many journeys over the Severn Bridge as a child.  Being able to see something built as a result of your efforts seemed really exciting.

How did you get started? By choosing the relevant A Level subjects at school.  I was also a participant on the Engineering Education Scheme where we had to solve a real engineering problem in a small team and got to build and test our solution.  We were supported by a real engineer in the project and had a taster week in a University Engineering Department.

Which subjects are you glad you studied in school and how did they help you with your career? I did Maths, Physics and Geography for my ‘A’ Levels which formed an excellent basis for my degree studies.

What qualifications do you have? I have a BEng (Hons) degree in Civil Engineering with Environmental Management.  I am a Chartered Civil Engineer and a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers.  I also have a Postgraduate Diploma in Management and am a Member of the Chartered Institute of Management.

What excites you most about engineering? Seeing things delivered that make a big difference to people’s lives (even if they don’t always realise it) or the environment.

What’s the most important part of the engineering process? Working together as a team – often across many different organisations.

Do you have a favourite engineer? Sir Joseph Bazlegette of course!  Also Brunel for the scale and impact of some of the infrastructure he delivered.

Have you met any interesting people through work? Lots, too many to be specific.  There are so many inspiring, enthusiastic and committed individual in the engineering world.

If you could give one piece of advice to a young person who is considering becoming an engineer, what would it be? Keep going – I found it really challenging sticking to getting Chartered with so many exciting opportunities removed from direct civil engineering available.  Now I’m on such a great project – it was worth all the effort!

Is there something or someone that inspires your work? Seeing a big city like London function with so many people unaware of the effort in delivering and running the infrastructure smoothly.

What should no engineer leave home without? Enthusiasm, optimism and your brain!