Emily Barnes

"I think these personality types got me spot on. I prefer to sit down and solve problems and think about details by myself when there is work to be done but equally I like to teach something to pass on what I have learnt, and now understand to others. And if there is a right way of doing something, my mind is more at ease knowing we have followed it exactly. So I like to have instructions to follow but once I understand what is going on, if there is something that could be done differently I am keen to ask questions about it and get answers!I believe this personality fits with certain parts of my job more than others and these are the parts I enjoy the most. I like work where I have lots of data or information to understand and it feels like you are unravelling something to figure out an answer, or the best solution. I like where this involves sitting and thinking and testing things. Then I like justifying or explaining to others in a report, or talking things through why I did what I did, why I think the results are showing a certain thing and then what this means for the overall bigger picture. So I enjoy investigating on my own and then connecting with people with the end result. I like to proactively do things in my job but I am curious enough that I need to understand why things are done a certain way, so I will spend time to understand something, maybe not the first time but eventually I will make sure I know the details.I find teaching people how to do things really cements them in my mind, I find that's how I understand things better, particularly the bigger picture. As I can sometimes get caught up in details, I often need to remind myself of the bigger picture, which I find can simplify things for everyone involved. "

"I am a flood risk engineer, which in some ways I view as a middle point between Environmental Engineering (which I studied at university) and some of the more commonly thought of forms of civil engineering, where you build things. Flood risk engineers do a range of types of work. Such as, figuring out if something new was to be built would it, and the surrounding areas, homes and people be safe from flooding. If these things are not figured out, putting a new road somewhere such as across a river could lead to a house downstream to be flooded. So flood risk engineers would provide advice on how to build that road or some other changes to make to the overall design so that the house doesn't get flooded. Flood risk engineers also help design flood defences to protect people and places from flooding, a big example of this is the Thames Barrier. Sometimes I will investigate if flood defences are designed well enough to ensure the money spent to build them is worthwhile. We can use water models, of rivers or surface water from rain, to figure out if a defence does what it is supposed to do and then I will look at how much it costs and if the government will help pay to have it built. Sometimes I help design and model drainage for new or old roads that need improving, to stop water flooding the road and becoming dangerous to drivers or to stop water flowing from the roads to houses and properties nearby. In my job I often have to include in my assessments the potential impact on climate change on flooding, as climate change will change rainfall patterns and how rivers flood."

"When I left high school I wasn't 100% sure what exactly I wanted to study but I knew it would be in science. I was mostly interested in anything to do with the environment, particularly animals back then the people who inspired me were David Attenborough and Dian Fossey with her gorillas. But I also really liked the idea of applied science, where you don't just study something but actually get to make something that can improve peoples lives or the environment. I was really interested in sustainability from a young age. So when I went to university I studied both Zoology (basically an extension on from the Biology I loved so much in high school) and engineering. I ended up getting a degree in both but then liked engineering more so continued to study this.While I was finishing my next stage of study I worked part time as an Environmental Scientist collecting groundwater information and samples, where I would drive a big 4 wheeled drive around paddocks and construction sites. It was hard physical work, carrying everything on my own and in the heat of summer in Australia, where I am originally from. I learnt a lot in this job but I also learnt that this kind of work was not for me, I didn't want to be outside all day doing physical work, I liked to do it occasionally but the parts when I went back to the office and collated data was what I preferred.At my university, in order to graduate from a Masters in Engineering, to then be able to work as an engineer, you have to complete a certain amount of time in an internship (or work experience) in a related field. These are commonly where soon to be graduates get their first jobs when they finish studying, as companies get to try you on and see if they want you to work for them. I did this for a company called Jacobs as an Undergraduate Environmental Engineer in between my first and second years of my masters, as lots do over the summer holidays. As I was finishing this internship I was offered a permanent job for when I finished my studies.However, instead of taking this job my partner and I were planning on moving to the UK. I told the managers at Jacobs in Australia our plans and they made some calls to try and see if there were any job openings I could apply for with Jacobs in London. I was then put in contact with my current bosses, who, after interviewing me over the phone, offered me a job in a field I really wanted to work in. Which is where I am now, 2 years later. I had briefly helped out a flood risk engineer in Australia during my internship so I had an idea that this was the kind of job I would enjoy. I was very grateful to have had the support of my old managers in Perth and their keenness to keep me within the same company."

"My favourite hobbies are snorkelling and diving, but that is a little harder to do a lot of here in the UK without being freezing cold so I have taken up Landscape photography and read alot and practice piano. I really enjoy learning landscape photography and I can now take better photos of all the holiday locations we travel to now that we are this side of the globe. Before moving to London I had never been to Europe, so we go on holidays to Europe as much as we can as well as travel around the UK. We have so far done 2 of the 3 peaks and a fair amount of hiking around national parks and the Lake District. But I still do go snorkelling or diving whenever I can. The last few times have been in Sicily, Malta and Tanzania. I once spent 7 nights living on a boat so I could go diving three or four times a day, sometimes going on night dives and ship wreck diving. When we went back to land on the 8th day the world was rocking like I was still on the boat when I laid down to sleep, which was a crazy feeling. But my favourite is to go snorkelling and diving on coral reefs in warm waters, where there is enough light that I can take photos with my underwater camera.On the way from Australia to the UK, we stopped off in Tanzania to go on a camping safari and climb Kilimanjaro. Once between my studies I backpacked around Asia for 5 months with nothing but a school sized back pack, got food poisoning 5 times and didn't get a hair cut once - I loved it. I really enjoy adventures and being here in the UK and finally working as an Engineering, is like another adventure."

"During a typical day at work I would start by looking at my to do list I wrote at the end of the day before, then checking my emails to make sure there isn't anything else I need to do that day. I have a list, a lot of the time in order of what needs to be done, so I can focus on each task at a time and not worry too much about what I need to do next. Typical tasks I will do is to look at flood modelling results and write reports based on these, or I will process data that comes in large spreadsheets about flooding or I will use software to draw basic design plans, or model drainage water flows to test where weak points are. Some days I may not touch a report, other days I will only write reports and emails. I spent a little bit of time on the phone talking to other engineers in other disciplines or environmental specialists or to other people in my team to get advice on my work. Some times I attend meetings with all kinds of specialists and engineers as a lot of the work we do relies on all kinds of knowledge and expertise to get the job done, such as contributing to building roads. Sometimes I will only be working with one or two other members of my team who are also flood engineers on one project. Once I have written a report, done a drawing or calculation, or filled in spreadsheets with data these have to be checked by team members more experienced and senior to me in my field, at least once, before they can be passed on."

"I did an Undergraduate degree: Bachelor of Science, majoring in Engineering Science (first major) and Zoology (second major) for 3 years.Then I did a Masters of Professional Engineering (2 years), specialising in Environmental Engineering with a thesis topic relating to fluid mechanics (water and physics really!)I worked part time during the first year of my Masters of Professional Engineering as an Environmental Scientist, collecting data on ground and surface water.Then took a summer internship with Jacobs Perth, Australia as an Undergraduate Environmental Engineer, I continued to work in this role part time during parts of my last year of Masters study.Then after graduating I moved to the UK to work in my current job as a graduate engineer, then a Flood Risk Engineer."