During her recent placement with us, we sat down with Sophia, an environmental science graduate, to reflect on her time working alongside our Infrastructure and Environment team. From completing flood risk and lighting impact assessments to site inspections and air quality mapping, Sophia got involved in a wide range of projects that offered real insight into the world of environmental consultancy. In this Q&A, she shares what she learned, the highlights of her week, and her advice for others considering work experience with us.
Q: What interested you in doing work experience at Hilson Moran?
A: I was recommended to Hilson Moran by a contact after expressing interest in environmental consultancy after graduating with an environmental science degree. They told me that the company were great to work with and highly respectable, with a big range of disciplines in the infrastructure and environment team.
Q: Before you arrived, what were you hoping to learn or experience?
A: I was hoping to get some insight in different assessment that are carried out during the planning stages.
Q: Can you describe the projects or tasks you worked on during the week?
A: There were loads! Namely, the Broadway House site visit where I did a Preliminary ecological appraisal, permitting pre application for Manston, a Flood Risk Assessment for Manston Road, a Phase 1 contaminated land assessment for Orley Farm, legislation updates on an operational waste management strategy for Broadway House, Air Quality QGIS mapping for Manston planning, weekly workload meetings, a FFT networking event, EPICS AQ and CC Guidance Review and a Manston Road Monthly Project meeting.
Q: What new skills or insights did you gain?
A: Technical knowledge, organisation, networking, balancing and managing tasks, communicating progress and results, meticulous extraction of important information, as well as picking out relevant sections of legislation for a report and conciseness/summarising.
Q: What surprised you most about working at Hilson Moran?
A: The coordination and teamwork between different disciplines and teams! For example, keeping each other in the loop on different projects and picking up workload where possible.
Q: Which part of the week did you enjoy the most, and why?
A: Without sounding cliché, every discipline was enjoyable. It was nice to work consistently throughout the week on Manston and Broadway. The I&E weekly workload meetings were satisfying in terms of the progress of projects being coherent and understanding the scope of everyone’s tasks. I enjoyed the site visit, the networking event, lunchtimes talking with everyone, and even the coffee on floor 1!!
Q: How did the team support you during your placement?
A: Everyone was very open to answering questions and sharing their experiences in the industry/work world. My interests were tailored and accommodated for. Sian Grimsley and Vanessa Nguyen in Air Quality were very helpful and provided lots of guidance and opportunities for me to attend. Sian set out a great two weeks for me to squeeze in as much experience as possible. I would also like to mention Emma Rowlands, Sophie Davies, Rose Gibbon, and Amina Reeb for assigning me interesting projects to help with and taking time to mentor me in producing the best results possible.
The general atmosphere has such a good balance of fun and professional, and everyone seems happy in the workplace.
Q: Did your time here change the way you think about careers in construction, engineering, or sustainability?
A: It definitely made me eager to start my career and keep learning, I feel like there’s lots of opportunity for young people and women in construction.
Q: What advice would you give to other students thinking about work experience at Hilson Moran?
A: I would definitely encourage others to intern at Hilson Moran on an industry year or even short-term like me if they want a positive experience. It’s not intimidating at all, it’s very insightful and they will try and accommodate and tailor to your needs. I would recommend I&E but definitely try and get some time working with sustainability if possible!
Q: Do you have any final comments about your week?
A: I hope I cross paths with the Manchester team again soon!
Our early careers options give aspiring engineers the chance to work on award-winning projects from conception through to completion, supported by our inspiring mentoring programme to ensure continuous learning and development. If this sounds like the career path for you, you can discover out more about the process here.
