Jess Gallacher

"Campaginer - \"Organised and good at meeting deadlines\" is key to being a consultant as a client will pay you to complete the work in a certain amount of hours so if you go over that assigned time, you won't get paid! It is important to \"leave a good first impression\" as this will help with winning work. Being \"passionate\" and a \"good listener\" are traits that are likely help you in many careers.Coordinator - Most of these qualities are essential to being a successful consultant as it is important to build a relationship with the client, understand their needs and work as a team to get the project complete within a certain deadline. Influencer - One of these qualities is \"Good at explaining so that people understand\". I think this is important especially in science based careers as not everyone has the same knowledge and background as you. The ability to \"work on their own or in a team\" is also key to growth; there may be times you just need to get on with something that is more of a usual project or you and your team may need to come together to work on something a bit more unusual! "

"I work as an Environmental Consultant at Xodus Group. I provide environmental support to energy companies (renewable and oil & gas) and assess for any potential risk to the environment. I am often writing environmental impact assessments, where you look at the surrounding environment e.g. fisheries, shipping lanes, marine mammals, protected sites within the area and then analyse whether there may be a negative impact on these due to construction or operations of infrastructure. We ensure that companies comply with environmental legislation. I enjoy that although my day to day job is office/desk based, we work on a variety of projects due to the different energy sources that the UK uses and the growing interest around climate change. What makes going into work easier (when you have to wake up early and it is raining outside) are the people in the office and the parties that we have; It is great to work with like-minded people. Starting salary as a graduate environmental consultant does vary depending on experience however is around £25,000. "

"After finishing A Levels in Maths, Geography and Psychology. I chose to study Ocean Science at the University of Plymouth. I think I always knew I was interested in pursuing a career within the environmental sector so thought I would keep it quite broad - the Ocean Science course looked at developing skills within marine conservation, ocean circulation, coastal erosion and much more.I was originally going to study Geography but changed my mind when I saw that the Ocean Science course included field work where you got to go out on their boats. During my summer holidays between uni years, I did a 6-week placement as an environmental consultant based in London at the company where I work now, Xodus Group Straight after my undergraduate degree, I did a Masters degree in Environmental Technology at Imperial College London where I focused on water treatment within the UK. I essentially chose to do a masters because I found getting a job straight after uni quite hard. This particular course was sponsored by Anglian Water (they paid for the course and paid me each month) and in return I had to do a 16 month placement as part of the course where I was out on site trialling a new technology to treat waste water. I really enjoyed this placement and would have loved to have stayed but I wanted to live the London life for a bit.After I finished my Masters, I travelled around the world for 8 months and whilst I was away thought I'd get in contact with Xodus Group to see if they had any roles going within their environment team. After a successful interview I was employed into the team where I had previously completed the two 6-week summer placements. "

"I am lucky enough to live close to lots of my friends in London, so my spare time is spent going for dinner and drinks or doing activities with them! I also love to travel and to scuba dive. I went diving with tiger and bull sharks in Fiji which has been a massive highlight for me. "

"My role is office/desk based. I don't get loads of emails but there occasional ones. I am always chatting to other people within the environment team (virtually since COVID). In terms of work, I spend most of my time writing various reports e.g. impact assessments, oil spill modelling reports, or permits or completing calculations e.g. carbon calculating amount of carbon dioxide emitted from a potential project. It is common that I won't be working on just one project; I often have many on the go at once.I am currently working on an oil spill modelling report, so this uses computer software to predict how the oil disperses within the ocean. I have report on whether the oil may reach any coastlines and if it reaches any protected sites. "

"I studied Maths, Geography and Psychology at A Level (Biology at AS Level) where I ended up achieving 3 Cs. I mainly chose these subjects because they were ones that I was interested in learning more about, although maths was a last minute decision (I was originally going to choose English Literature but changed my mind on the signing up day!). Then I went on the study Ocean Science at the University of Plymouth, followed by a Masters in Environmental Technology at Imperial College London. I didn't go through any kind of graduate scheme but just applied to work as an environmental consultant at Xodus Group which was where I did my 6-week summer placements. "