"I'm a very practical person. I like to problem solve both with earth sciences and people. I love to be outdoors if at all possible and like to understand the natural processes at play. "

"What do I do...? A combination of technical work, people management and financial project management. As a junior I spent A LOT of time out on sites all over the county, looking at earthwork stability on the road and rail networks, and working on major developments such as the London 2012 Olympics. As a senior engineer, I spend less time on site, and more time managing others, challenging but still with a technical eye on the project. Starting salaries are competitive, somewhere in the £20-30k bracket depending on whether you work for a contractor or a consultant, or even a government body such as the Environment Agency or the British Geological Society. "

"I've worked for both consultants and contractors alike and enjoyed both for different reasons. You will get involved a wide variety of sites in contracting but you only see part of the picture. As a consultant you would be involved in a project for a longer time. Be prepared to travel (UK and potentially abroad). You'll meet a massive amount of people so be prepared to listen, learn and communicate. You won't know it all, so soak up the knowledge of others. I had a 5 year career break to raise a family (working in education part time) before coming back to geology to gain my Chartered Geologist Status. You can make a family and a career work, you just need a flexible approach. "

"Life before Kids: Sky diving, scuba diving, international travelling, following the British Rally championships.Life after kids: Mum's taxi, cycling, swimming, dog walking, camping, UK travel (more sedate, but enjoyable none the less)."

"I'm working on a major infrastructure project at the moment, so a typical day is looking after the survey requirements across the route. Anything from Telecoms, to Geotechnical, to Drainage and Structures. I also look after safety for our team members working on a live railway.I work full time 5 days a week and sometimes on call in the evenings or weekend, with semi flexi hours (start late, finish late). Get in a check emails, diary for the day. Keep up to date with requests for information, changes due to access or safety. Survey delivery updates, site safety (may have to brief team members going out to site on the live railway). I work really closely with our contractors and alliance partners looking at programmes and budgets for the work required. I may put my Geotechnical hat back on and check the geological logs and schedules taken from site for example. It's a mixed bag really.I'm also a senior engineer for our Sheffield Office, so may be asked to put together or check ground investigation specifications or piling specifications for projects, or write interpretative reports based on site work. I may supervise site works and mentor more junior members of staff, for example. "

"BSc (Hons) Geological Sciences (Plymouth University)MSc Geohazard Assessment (Portsmouth University)NEBOSH certificate Chartered Geologist"