We asked one of our Graduate Transport Planning Consultants, Matt Wykes, what led him to want to pursue this career and what it’s really like to be a transport planner at PJA. Read what he had to say to give a real insight into what a career as a graduate in transport planning at PJA is all about:
“The idea of having an involvement in new, modern and dynamic landscapes proved to be the starting point for my pursuit for a career in transport planning. Growing up around south Birmingham, I used the Longbridge Town Centre as an example of the redevelopment projects I hoped to work on when explaining my career aspirations – and little did I know that nearly half a decade later, I’d be all too familiar with the development!
Throughout a degree in Human Geography at the University of Reading, the complex contemporary issues of development became increasingly apparent. Transport, for me, was at the forefront – perhaps skewed by ongoing developments such as Crossrail and HS2. I found that the career of a transport planner was most appealing, as it provided the opportunity to work on development projects, while solving smaller issues integral to day-to-day life.
Towards the end of university, I began to prepare myself for a career in transport planning and a family member drew my attention to PJA. I was enthusiastic to apply for the graduate role after gaining an understanding of the company, and despite being a Birmingham City fan in an office dominated by Aston Villa fans, I’ve made it here today!
It would be difficult to describe a ‘typical’ day at PJA, whether it be conducting a desktop assessment of the baseline transport conditions for a Transport Assessment, preparing graphics on GIS, modelling junctions and developing traffic flows, or eating cake as part of one of our office charity events -every day is different! The learning curve is steep, but the friendly support from my colleagues has allowed me to take to new tasks with ease – which has rendered my most difficult task to be waking up early every morning after 3 years of university life!
I accepted the offer for a graduate role at PJA while still completing my degree. I was immediately invited on one of the office’s regular social events which was the perfect way to be introduced to everyone, and reaffirmed that PJA was the right place for me.
My expectations of working on exciting new developments have certainly been met, while I have gained an appreciation of the further work transport planners do. I’ve gained an understanding of the importance of transport in smaller scale developments, and the expert professional advice transport planners can provide for day-to-day issues. Further appreciation has involved liaison with clients, the influence of policy, and the most effective ways of sharing resources and workload among our team.
I’d advise anyone considering a career in transport planning to definitely take a look into what the role entails. If, like me, you are interested in being involved with development, and understand the demand for effective transport solutions in a growing world – then don’t hesitate to explore the wide range of opportunities out there.”
If you are interested in joining the PJA Graduate Scheme, please view our recruitment page here
Matt Wykes, Graduate Consultant
Matt joined the PJA Graduate Development Programme in September 2019 after graduating from the University of Reading with a BSc (Hons) in Geography.
Matt has over a year’s experience at PJA and has obtained experience producing Transport Assessments, Travel Plans and other technical documents for both public and private sector clients. Building on the knowledge gained from his studies, Matt has also provided technical input into projects using data analysis skills and GIS tools.
Contact: [email protected]
