What motivated you to become an engineer?

I was born an engineer! I always wanted to be an engineer. When I was in high school, I was always creating things – electronic things, mechanical things. I designed an engine for a car when I was 15 and I thought that it was the most fantastic engine in the world. In short, I wanted to build stuff, and I knew that engineers are the people who build stuff – so, that was it!

What have been the highlights of being on the graduate scheme with Crossrail?

I think that seeing the designs and hearing different people’s opinions has been my favourite part of working at Crossrail; I find it really exciting. The challenges faced and the conversations between the engineers have been the most interesting thing for me.

Being a graduate on the client side has given me the opportunity to get an appreciation of all the different stations and different designs. You do a bit of everything, and everything is connected. Since starting at Crossrail, I have worked on all three stages – the design stage, the approval stage and the quality checking stage. My current role is in the quality team. This means I can go on site and check the quality of what’s being built.

You don’t realise how huge the Crossrail project is. You read about it in terms of figures and numbers, but when you work on the project and go on site you really see how huge it is. Every small bit has been thought about; drawn on paper, reviewed, debated… So many people work hard to deliver that.

Why did you become a member of the Institution?

Being a member of the Institution gives you more credibility. If you are a chartered engineer member of the Institution, it answers so many questions about your engineering capabilities.

When people read your CV and see that you’re a member of the Institution, that’s a big box ticked. It shows that you care about your development and progression.

How has the Institution supported you on the Crossrail graduate scheme?

I’m using the MPDS facility, which is really helpful to understand how you’re learning and developing. It shows you how much you’ve achieved. MPDS is a great platform – it gives you a sense of direction.

Where do you want your career to take you?

Looking at the rail industry, I think that this is the industry that’s moving forward now. It’s one of the leading industries in the UK. I was thinking of going into either the oil industry or the construction industry, and I ended up in the construction industry. I’m glad I’m in rail now, and I think I want to stay in this industry. I see lots of opportunities here in the next ten, 15 years.