Aimee Kilcoyne

"Coordinator:-I love to be organised and this is important as a consultant. I am often working on more than one project in a day therefore every morning I plan my day in my diary.-Being a consultant means speaking to people and understanding their needs and what they want to outcome of the job to be; This means being able to communicate well (emails, phone calls etc) is very important. - No project is complete by one person. Everything I do involves team work which makes patience, compassion, listening and understand key skills that we have to use every day.- On some projects I work as a deputy project manager. This means I have to help make sure everyone is working towards the same goal, on time and within a budget.Quality Controller- Sometimes my job involves risks and we all work together to make sure everyone is as safe as possible- I have always been brought up to seek a fair, honest and ethical world. I still look for these values in everything I do and do my best to begin a narrative if I feel they are not being upheld. - Engineering is often about innovation and trying something in a new way.Trainer- I always like to help wherever I can- I do my best to explain things clearly and if someone still doesn’t understand, I’ll try a new way of presenting the information. I understand that some of us are visual learners, some of us learn by doing and others by listening or repeating. There are endless ways to learn and no one is better than the other. Learning is an individual experience and we all find our owns ways to absorb information.- I am passionate about renewable energy and making the world a greener place for the future. I enjoy talking to people about this and trading knowledge as often as I can."

"My job is very different on a day to day basis.Some days I am analysing and modelling energy on computer software and sometimes I am writing reports or conducting desk-based research. I think what I enjoy the most is the change and all of the opportunities to learn that it brings."

"I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up. I got a weekend job where my sister worked as a waitress when I was 14 to start earning my own money while I was at school, then when I was 16 my sister went to university so I left my weekend job and became a waitress at a local golf club that was closer to home. I worked there until I went to University where I worked part time as a waitress at a football stadium then I decided to give something new a go and became a receptionist at a hotel. I worked for the same hotel chain until I finished my undergraduate studies, then I moved to Dundee to complete my masters and become a part time receptionist at a local gym.These jobs taught me valuable life skills such as chatting with customers, writing emails, using excel, dealing with conflict and other irreplaceable skills that university along did not teach me. In terms of my inspirations, a family friend studied geology and that brought the field into my world, I didn’t really know it was a degree or a job until then. I loved the outdoor and scientific elements of my undergraduate degree but during my last year of studies I began to realise I didn’t enjoy petroleum geology and found myself inspired by David Attenborough and other climate change advocates. This is when I new I wanted a job where I felt valued and felt like I was making a positive difference in the world. This led me not to studying Renewable Energy and Environmental Modelling so I could apply for jobs in this sector."

"When I’m not working I enjoy:- Walking my dog Peanut (he is a miniature long-haired dachshund)- Spending time with my family - Going to the cinema (I love Marvel movies)- Listening to music (I love 70’s and 80’s music such as Queen, Elton John and David Bowie)- I’m currently teaching myself to play piano and I also enjoy playing the guitar- I also love going to the gym"

"A typical day in my job is different now that it was at the start of the year. I use to wake up at 5:30am and get ready then travel 100 miles from home to my work officer however, due to COVID-19, I now work from home full time.A typical Monday working at home:- I get up at around 7:30am- I start work between 8:30am and 9:00am (AECOM allows freedom to grow therefore I am in control of my own work hours)- I check my emails and then we have a team call where we chat about what we are working on - I work on my projects which could involve computer modelling, using excel, writing reports, reviewing documents or speaking to clients and colleagues. It really is a very diverse job where every day is different.- I have a lunch break where I walk my dog - I work on my projects again until 5:30pm /6:00pm depending on when I started work that morning.When working on a new project it usually starts with my line manager speaking to me about the job and what my role will be. Some projects I am very involved in and others I just work on a little bit.All of our projects are based on some sort of renewable energy or low carbon goal. Wether it be to reduce energy in buildings or construct a new Solar PV or Wind farm, we work towards a greener, better, cleaner future of energy for everyone."

"In high school I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to be when I grew up. I had thought about studying languages or becoming a baker or a singer or something in science...I really didn’t know! I wanted to keep my options open so in 3rd and 4th year I studied:Biology 1Chemistry 1Geography 1Maths 1English 1French 1Spanish 1Music 1Then in 5th year I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to do something in Science or languages so I studied:Higher Maths BHigher English AHigher Biology AHigher Spanish AHigher Geography ABy the time 6th year came around I had heard from a family friend that they were at university studying geology, and I had always loved the outdoors and rocks!! So, I went on to study to get into university and in 6th year took:Higher French BHigher Chemistry BHigher Accounting CI achieved the grades I needed to and went to the University of Aberdeen to study Geology and Petroleum Geology in 2014. When I graduated in 2018 I achieved a BSc 2:1 and was signed up to do the 5th year masters course in the same degree. At this point I realised I no longer wished to go into the Petroleum Geology field therefore I looked for other courses I could study at Masters Level with the BSc I had achieved.I then went on to study a masters degree in Renewable Energy and Environmental Modelling at Dundee University. This is where I found my passion. Everything I had done up until this point started to fall into place and I felt like I was now on the path I wanted to be on. I graduated with a Masters Degree with Distinction in 2019 then began applying for jobs.Throughout my time at high school and university I had part time jobs as a waitress and receptionist. Although I didn’t find my passion until my Masters, I gained valuable skills such as time management, field skills, communication skills and a whole lot more from elements outwith my direct studies. None of my time was wasted as I would not have gained these exact skills that helped me get to where I am without taking that journey.I began working from AECOM as a graduate renewable energy consultant in January 2020 and am enrolled in their 2 year graduate programme."