Eleanor Corran

"My personality types came out as Explorer, Investigator, Manager. They are a pretty good fit for me. They are a good fit for a project manager in an engineering/technical company. A project manager has to manage a team, tasks and costs. You also need to have a general understanding of all areas of a project, so it’s important to have an enquiring mind and enjoy learning. However, you can’t have a detailed knowledge of all areas of every project, so it’s important to be able to let go of some of the detail and trust the specialists in your team. "

"I manage a team of engineers and scientists to design and build satellites. The company specialises in innovation, so typically each project involves a lot of new design, followed by a build phase and a lot of testing. I haven’t been with the company very long, so I’m really looking forward to the launch of my first satellite. For me one of the pleasures of project management is going from a customer enquiry and a blank computer screen to delivering an actual satellite. It’s particularly interesting working in the space industry because there are so many exciting new uses for satellites - from investigating climate change to telecommunications and satnav.As a project manager, managing and communicating with people is very important. You also need to be organised. I plan the project schedule, manage the budget and the time people spend working on it. I talk to the customer, manage contract changes and make sure we are delivering what the contract says and what the customer actually wants. I manage our subcontractors who are doing work on the project. I also make sure that when there are issues, technical or commercial, the right people get together and solve them. I enjoy the variety of work as the project goes through different phases, and I get to work with people with a lot of different skills and experience. I’m always learning from them.As a senior project manager I’m now responsible for thinking at a higher level about strategy, work process and benefits to the company, as well as running projects day to day.Average starting salary for a project manager is about £26,000, or you might start in an engineering or scientific role as I did and move to project management when you have some experience."

"I’ve always been interested in engineering - how things work, what are those people doing on the construction site I drive past, why is something designed that way? I did a degree in Chemical Engineering, and spent most of my career working at Air Products plc building industrial gas plants. I started as a graduate trainee, and worked in Process Engineering and Control Systems Engineering before moving into Project Management. I was doubtful about moving away from a purely technical role, but I’ve found that project management allows me to take the lead in delivering a project and have an overview of the whole job including the commercial and technical sides. I spent several years as a product owner, responsible for our standard designs for building plants worldwide. I’ve had the opportunity to travel to a lot of different countries and work with people from a lot of cultures. I love that and have found it very enriching. It’s really broadened my view as I’ve learnt that the way we do and see things in the UK is not the only way.It may seem a big step from the chemical industry to aerospace, but project management skills are very transferable. It’s great learning about a new industry, and at the same time I’ve been able to bring a different view and experience on some things to my new company."

"My interests aren’t particularly typical for an engineer. I love going to art galleries and the theatre, and getting out into the country for a walk. "

"I answer a lot of emails, discuss issues and solutions with my team informally or in meetings. I may spend time working on the project schedule or the cost forecast. I often talk to my customers or to vendors who are working on my project. I sometimes look at the actual equipment we're building, or at 3-D printed models, to discuss practical questions. In my last job I had more opportunities to go to site or the vendor to see the plant being built.I have a low level of ongoing stuff in addition to my main project work - admin, training, improving company work processes etc.  I have to keep changing my priorities through the day - whatever I thought was most urgent to do is likely to change as new things come up."

"A Levels - Chemistry, Physics, Maths, Further MathsM Eng in Chemical Engineering (Imperial College London)Member of Institute of Chemical EngineeringMember of Association for Project Management"