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• Civil engineer: Ben

Civil engineer: Ben

This Case Study belongs to Consulting civil engineer.

Ben has been with engineering firm, BDP, since graduating in 2006. These are some of his thoughts on the profession.

I really enjoy my job. Every day is different, and I am just getting to the stage now when I can see some of the buildings I have worked on actually going up. It is an amazing feeling to know that something you have contributed to will be a significant part of people's lives.

According to my parents, I was always going to be an engineer. Apparently, when I was little, I looked at a picture of a bike and said 'That won't work' when I realised there was no chain between the pedals and the wheel. There is no doubt though that I like addressing problems and finding new and exciting ways to solve them.

BDP interested me as it is inter-disciplinary (with architects, engineers and designers working together) and has an excellent accredited training scheme. I did a summer placement at BDP’s Bristol office which I thoroughly enjoyed, and I was impressed by the team atmosphere and the variety of projects. When I was offered a permanent position shortly into my final year at university, I was keen to take it.

I have been very fortunate in that my director has helped steer me towards choices that have seen me progress. I started at BDP as a graduate structural engineer, and within my first year of work, I saw an opportunity to move to do civils/infrastructure. As a civil engineer within the multidisciplinary practice, I have been given responsibility and had many opportunities to meet clients and go to design team meetings. These are all aspects of the job that I thoroughly enjoy.

Over the last two years, I have done a lot of work on buildings within the education sector such as schools and university buildings, and I feel like I am giving something back to the community. About a year ago, I was given the fantastic opportunity to become the design team leader for BDP on a pro-bono project for a charity in Kolkata (Calcutta), India. We are designing a sports academy for the charity, Future Hope, which provides street children with homes, education and the opportunity to learn discipline and life-skills through sport. The site is now in the process of being purchased, and we are about to present the masterplan of the design (pitches, pavilion, school and other buildings) to the client. The aim is for construction to begin within the next few months.

In this line of work, you have to work hard. I spend a lot of time crunching calculations and putting in the hours as a deadline approaches, but I still get a buzz every morning from knowing I am involved in creating interesting, exciting places for people.

Case Study sourced by David Williams of AGCAS, 17 November 2008.