Wayne, civil engineer – multi-disciplinary
Career history
'I joined Atkins in 1996 following seven years working in a multi-disciplinary consulting environment. This included five years working for a large consultancy firm in Southern Africa. My first project with Atkins was as part of the Greenwich Peninsula (Millennium Dome) site design team.

Recent projects
Since then I have worked on the design and project management of various ports, airports, hotels and numerous other civil infrastructure works. Activities have included feasibility studies, detailed design, construction supervision, contract preparation and sustainability issues. The projects have been for a global client base and involved sites worldwide. Most recently the diversity of projects has included design work for a project for London City Airport, and project management of the feasibility design for a port terminal in Qatar.

Training and development
Atkins has helped to develop my skills through regular training and a total commitment to personal development, including part time-study for a Diploma in management Studies at Kingston University. If you are prepared to put the effort in, you get plenty of support.'

Melanie, civil engineer – transport and safety
Why I chose Mouchel
'I chose Mouchel because when I came to my interview at the London office in June 2000, the office only had about 15 employees. The office was going to grow (and has - there are now more than 80!) and it seemed the ideal opportunity to learn how an office is set up (and what not to do!). Also my interviewer was incredibly positive and sold the company well.

My most exciting project
The Shoreditch Triangle Stage 1 Safety Audit was a really big scheme to do a safety audit on - part of the Inner Ring Road for Congestion Charging; massive junctions - and I learnt a lot from the other members of the audit team.

Best part of my job
The best part of my job is solving problems to do with a scheme - researching the documents, picking people's brains, and coming up with solutions. Bringing all the strands together is really satisfying, and the fact that I get to know so many people whilst learning makes me feel a part of the company. Finding better ways to do things in terms of quality management, setting up schemes etc, is also rewarding when it makes my life easier!

Worst part of my job
The worst part of my job is going out on site when it's cold and windy and I don't have a hat. I get earache. And getting stared at by school kids!

My ambition
I would like to get more involved in promoting graduate development in our office, getting chartered, getting a broad range of experience, and choosing a discipline to specialise in.'

Helen, structural engineer
Experience to date
'I joined the Structural Engineering Division of Atkins in the summer of 1997 after graduating from the University of Sheffield with a MEng in Civil and Structural Engineering.

Since then I’ve had the chance to work on a variety of high profile jobs with numerous departments across the country, including a challenging four months based in Dubai working on the Burj-al-Arab hotel. After that, as part of my ICE training, I spent a year seconded to a contractor where the key project was working on the new MPs offices in Westminster. On my return to Atkins I worked on the design of a new UK head office for 3M. I also changed divisions from structural engineering to major projects so as to develop my project management skills, and I am currently working as one of the project management team on a feasibility study for a new North South high-speed rail link in the UK.

Challenge
This variety of projects has provided my biggest challenge: the need to adapt and apply technical knowledge to suit any situation demands real flexibility. Working within multi-disciplinary teams involves learning to coordinate the work of many different specialisations and understanding the challenges that each discipline faces.

Getting chartered
I was enrolled on an ICE accredited training agreement when I joined the company and have successfully achieved chartered status.'

Daniel, IT system developer
Daniel studied Computer Systems Engineering at UMIST. He joined engineering construction company Bechtel in September 1999.

Doing IT for a reason
'I made the decision before I left university that I didn’t want to do just pure IT – I wanted to do IT for a reason. I wanted to get out of the office and have a bit of variety. And variety is certainly what I’ve enjoyed.

Responsibility
I think I’m now on my eighth project. I’m project managing a revamp of part of our intranet for an entire business unit. I’ve had to learn html and Java to start with, but I’m also finding the project management side quite a challenge – I’m dealing with very senior managers day-to-day, chasing them up for deliverables and sign-off.

Variety and challenge
One of the most interesting projects I’ve worked on so far was for the Visual Technology Group. I was helping to make computer-based videos, based around working CAD packages, for project sites. These videos are used as a sales tool, as well as being useful mid or pre-project from a visualising point of view. Getting up to speed in the group involved a really steep learning curve: I learnt Microstation, AutoCAD, Adobe Photoshop and Premiere. In fact thinking about it, I must have learnt around twenty packages in the last three years.

There’s no chance of being pigeonholed – there’s so many different things to do here. You don’t have to have variety if you don’t want to though. Because the programme is so flexible you’re not forced into a rotation, and I wasn’t limited to working within my own discipline either – for example I’ve done a spell in project controls before now.'