Alexandra Knight

"My personality types are campaigner, collaborator and influencer! This fits well with me as in my job as an engineering consultant I have to understand problems in engineering organisations, collaborate with people to find the best solution and influence everyone that needs to make a change so the new solution sticks!"

"As an engineering consultant I work on different engineering related projects. I have worked on projects on submarines, sports equipment, bridges, wheelchairs and energy distribution. It's so varied because I am not an expert in any one field, I am a generalist engineer. I can apply my problem solving skills across different industries and market sectors. As I became more senior I managed teams on these projects and am also responsible for winning new work and managing budgets for delivering the projects.I love applying my engineering problem solving skills to a new company working with new people. Every time I start a new project it is like starting a new job. Different organisations have similar problems so I can take lessons learnt from one engineering organisation in one sector and apply them to a different organisation in a different sector. It's great seeing the real difference we can make as a team.The starting salary for an engineering consultant is about £28,000."

"I did Maths,Physics and Chemistry A Levels. I wasn't great at them but thought they would give me a good grounding in life. I didn't know what I wanted to do but my Physics teacher suggested I think about engineering and my dad also encouraged me. I got 2Bs and a C which just about got me into Brunel University to study Mechanical Engineering.Then I did a Medical Engineering Masters at Imperial College London and then got my first job in a small start-up medical engineering company developing novel diagnosis tools for asthma. I stayed there for 3 years but then I wanted a change and thought a consultancy would be a good move as I'd be able to test a variety of different market sectors whilst at one job. I loved it so much as there was such variety and I learnt something new every day - so I stayed there for 11 years! I worked my way up from senior engineer to Group Leader.Then I moved to Amey Strategic Consulting as a Principal Consultant becuase I wanted to get more involved in data and technology related to engineering. I am now a Technical Director there after 2 years and am helping expand our Asset Management offering across different market sectors. I work part time in that job and in my spare time have set up a company called Stemazing Ltd which is dedicated to STEM inspiration and inclusion. I also do a couple of days a month back at Brunel University as a Visiting Professor."

"I love keeping fit and reading, but I also have two young children aged 5 and 7 so I don't have much spare time anymore! I am also a Beaver Leader which is great as the Beavers are so enthusiastic about life!"

"I spend quite a bit of my day at a computer doing plans, presentations, spreadsheets, reports, emails. However I also hold team meetings where we brainstorm ideas that can solve the problems we have, and I speak to clients on the phone to update them. Sometimes I go to client sites - which could be a day out to a bridge crossing, or an airport or a submarine base. I like the variety of being in different places so sometimes I work from home, sometimes in the office in london and sometimes at client sites. I used to do more travelling before I had children. I went to Thailand quite a few times when I was running a project out there."

"A levels - Maths, Physics, ChemistryBEng - Mechanical Engineering Brunel University LondonMSc - Medical Engineering Imperial College LondonCEng - Chartered Engineer with the IMechE - Institution of Mechanical EngineersFellow - Fellow of the IMechEAgile Product Owner - Agile methodology for product developmentMIAM - Member of the IAM - Institute of Asset Management"