Beth, Geotechnical Engineer
"It feels special to touch pieces of the earth that are hundreds of millions of years old. Knowing that I am the only one to ever see or touch it."
Wallingford, United Kingdom
“I consider myself more of a geologist, but we do have that engineering aspect to this role.”
Our job is to be geologists, but from an engineering perspective. And that makes sense, as we use this data to support our clients with their engineering projects. As a geologist – or geotechnical engineer- I get to on site and be practical, rather than sit at a desk. Working on site is great as it allows me to travel. I’ve seen more of the UK in the 2 years that I’ve worked for Fugro, than during my entire childhood.
Travelling frequently for work -even if it’s within the country- also means you get to spend more time with colleagues, which I really like. You are staying in new places without your friends, without your family, and you then make friends with your colleagues. You go out to restaurants together with your colleagues and (after work) you go for a drink with your colleagues and that makes working together on a project really great. It’s as if you are going on a journey together.
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I prefer a hands-on job over working from a desk
The most exciting thing that happened while I was on the job makes me feel a bit nerdy. It’s about seeing and touching old shells when we were coring on a land site. We were digging a hole of 400 metres deep. At that depth you are digging through structures and layers that are hundreds of millions of years old. When I unboxed the cores I had the honour of processing the last core, which comes from the very bottom of the borehole. It felt special to touch a piece of the earth that is that old, knowing that I am the only one to ever see or touch it.
