Senior Engineer, TfL Land Survey

Started with: Survey School 2 year course

Working as: Senior Engineer, TfL Land Survey

How did your interest in surveying as a career develop?

This was a happy accident. It was actually my mum who spotted a job advert in the local paper for something called an Assistant Land Surveyor (no experience necessary) – after applying with no knowledge whatsoever I was surprised to find myself in gainful employment alongside a fantastic team, undertaking surveys up and down the country. The balance between site and office suited me well, as did the technical side of the job, and knowing that the surveys I produced were fundamental in the design of a new road or infrastructure project instilled a sense of pride in the work I was doing.

What has your journey been to your current role?

I began my career as an assistant Surveyor at Atkins in Essex, during which time I attended the TSA Survey School, became a Junior Surveyor, and then a Surveyor. I later joined Laing O’Rourke as a Senior Civil Engineering Surveyor, which lead to me becoming lead Surveyor for their newly formed monitoring department, working on some exciting projects including Crossrail (Elizabeth Line) and the Thames Tideway Tunnel. Following this, I joined the Hinkley Point C project as a Principal Surveyor, managing survey works on the construction of two nuclear reactors.

Five years of commuting back and forth between Somerset and London was plenty for me, and after finding an opportunity to join the survey team at Transport for London, I took on a new challenge much closer to home – which brings me to the present day.

What is your role at TfL?

I’m a Senior Engineer in the Land Survey Team at Transport for London. I oversee survey work from conception to delivery for all stages of a project, from the surveys required for improving the network, through to final as built surveys at completion. We do much more besides, but this is a relatively new role, and I am discovering more every day.

What was the most valuable lesson you learned from your time at The Survey School?

It took a while to realise the purpose of learning how to do all the jobs that we did in our day job, only manually with only a calculator to help with the computations. We’d never have to actually do that in our jobs, of course, but I cannot express how useful it’s been in terms of solving problems in the field, and gaining a deeper understanding of why we do things the way we do them. I was definitely one of those people who’d convinced themselves that maths was a scary subject, and something I just wasn’t good at, but it was incredibly useful to learn the practical applications of these concepts. It’s helped me all through my career.

What is it about your role that you enjoy and value most?

The most rewarding parts of my role has always been the ability to see your input, however small, on much larger projects, although as my career took me towards more supervisory and management roles, I have found a great deal of satisfaction from mentoring and supporting others through their own career journeys. This has “grown legs” over the past few years since taking a more active role in mentorship with the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (CICES), and helping to set up the CICES Approved Development Scheme in TfL.

How would you describe your career in 3 words?

Varied, Rewarding, Worthwhile

How do you encourage others to get involved in the surveying profession?

I am always ready to engage with people new to, or interested in the industry, and have volunteered at several apprenticeship events over the past few years to try and spread the word amongst those who might not have considered surveying before.

What has been your proudest career moment to date?

After winning my award for “Best Assignment” at The Survey School, you mean? I would have to say gaining membership of the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors was a career high, among many personal highlights.