While studying for my master’s in civil engineering at the University of Leeds, I took on the presidency of its Civil Engineering Society. As president, one of my priorities was industry engagement, and together with my fellow committee members, I set out to give our members a clear sense of where their studies could lead and what life in the engineering industry is like.
On the advice of my structural dynamics professor, I reached out to ROD, based locally in Otley, and in February 2025, its UK Director Rob McCartney and Senior Engineer Peter Campbell met with our committee to discuss the supports they could offer us, including site visits, guest lectures and mentoring opportunities. ROD’s level of engagement with the society was truly inspiring, with one particular highlight being a visit to Corporation Bridge in Grimsby, where they walked us through the restoration works and introduced us to bascule bridge engineering.
After my initial engagement with ROD, I asked their team about graduate opportunities in their Otley office and soon found myself applying, interviewing, and accepting a place on the graduate programme. The process was refreshingly human and easy, with no automated filtering and an interview that felt like a regular conversation.
Since starting in ROD in September, I’ve felt genuinely supported. The team has been friendly and welcoming from the get-go, the onboarding was quick, and I've been given meaningful work with the bridges team. Over the past few months, I’ve been on several site-visits for bridge inspections, flown over to Dublin to meet the wider team and participated in company-funded training and development events.
I can’t emphasise enough how great my colleagues have been in answering all my questions and ensuring I am learning at a steady pace to become a well-rounded engineer. I’m excited to venture into different areas of civil engineering, such as highways, water and onsite, over the next two years - happy in the knowledge that it will provide me with a strong foundation from which to work toward chartership. It’s been an incredible start.
