Lucy Eost

"I am a civil engineering student who hopes to go into a graduate civil engineering role once I finish university. I have completed two internships at Atkins (a large engineering consultancy firm) which broadened my knowledge and inspired me to continue with my degree and want to become a civil engineer. I like to work individually and as a team member which is a key skill for engineering as almost every project requires you to work in a team but you are also expected to be able to complete tasks alone. You need to be organised and able to motivate yourself to do the work as you are responsible for your own work and others are reliant on you to finish your work to a high standard and hence being precise and detailed is a good quality to have."

"When I was a summer intern, I was given tasks to complete which included, testing some software and teaching others how to use it, mapping out diversions for utilities (such as water and electricity cables) that needed to be moved due to a new building project, writing meeting notes and preparing documents to be used for improving standards within the team. I really enjoyed the variety of the role, I felt like I was being constantly challenged and it really helped me to improve some of my key skills as an engineer. For a graduate civil engineering role, the salary varies but tends to be around £26,000."

"I got to university by studying very hard to achieve good grades in my A levels. However, I also did lots of extra activities to increase my understanding of engineering and to demonstrate my passion for the subject, I believe this helps people to stand out. I also completed some work experience at an architecture company which was very useful as civil engineers can often work with architects on projects and so I got lots of exposure to this."

"In my spare time I love playing music, I have played the drums and piano for a long time and have recently bought a guitar which is lots of fun! I find it a relaxing way to unwind after university lectures."

"I am currently at university and so my day to day life consists of attending lectures and meetings for my modules. I have to read notes before the lectures and am often given questions to complete afterwards. We have group projects throughout the year to build our teamwork and communication skills. When I carried out my internship at Atkins, my days were very varied (lots of engineering jobs change a lot from day to day because each project is different!). I often attended meetings to ensure that everyone knew what the latest information on the project was, I then did the work that was presented to me, this often involved working with other members of the team and having meetings to discuss problems."

"After GCSE's, I went on to sixth form to study A levels. I studied Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Economics. I achieved 3A*'s and 1A in Economics. I am now studying at Durham University doing General Engineering, now that I am in my third year I have specialised to study Civil Engineering for the rest of my degree. I needed maths and physics at A Level to study the course I am currently on now but definitely found that further maths was helpful to me!"