Profile

I am lucky to live close to the River Thames so I can easily get out of the house for a nice walk in the countryside when I feel the need. My office is in London but I also work from home, which is really helpful for the school run! I chose a career in geology based on the fact that I love being outdoors, and the job involves being outside a lot, especially when you are a graduate. Being stood on site on a cold wet day can be a bit draining, but conversely a lovely sunny day on site is brilliant! I also love to travel and experience new places and cultures: I’ve done a fair bit of travel over the years with friends and family, but I have also been lucky enough to work in some exotic places.

My clients need to understand the ground that they want to build on. Is it suitable for the building they want to construct? What foundations will they need to install? Is it contaminated from historical use and will they have to clean it up before they start to build? I organise an investigation of their site, which includes excavating trial pits and drilling boreholes to help them understand the ground what they might need to do to be able to construct a building on it. And, of course how much it will cost them to build!

I wake up and get my son ready for school, and we have breakfast together. After school drop off I will grab a coffee and then head home or to my office in London to start my day. I log onto my computer and check all my messages, dealing with any urgent issues first. A lot of my team may be out on site, supervising ground investigations, and will need help to organise equipment, drillers, or they might have encountered some horrible oily soil on site and want to know what to do about it. I will then contact clients to keep them updated on how our site works are going. After lunch, I will probably prepare some quotes for new projects, and talk to my team about managing upcoming work. Often I will be reviewing results from previous site investigation works and writing reports to send to my clients.  Work finishes at 5pm, and my evening will be spent playing or reading with my son, making dinner and doing some exercise.