In today’s International Women’s Day finale we talk to Alison Caldwell, an Associate in our engineering team in our Birmingham office.

Alison shares her proudest career achievement: using her engineering skills to help the recovery effort in New York City, after it was hit by the horrific Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

What was your career path, how did you get to where you are today?

To be honest, being an engineer was not something that I set out to be.  As a child, I was interested in everything; pinning me down to a specific interest or getting me to focus on just one thing was never easy.  I enjoyed maths and sciences and I remember sitting in my GCSE geography class when we were learning about river forms and flooding, and how communities are protecting themselves and I thought to myself ‘that must be a cool job to have.’  After that it seemed pretty straight forward, I needed to find a way to combine maths and science with rivers and flooding and so I went off to university to study civil engineering, specifically focused on water.

Since university I have been really fortunate to have been given opportunities to work on exciting projects of all scales in the UK and worldwide, but more importantly I was fortunate to work with, and learn from, some very inspirational individuals in the engineering sector.  It has always been my goal to enjoy what I do, but more importantly, to try to ensure those around me enjoy what they do.

What do you think is your greatest achievement within your career to date?

In 2012, while I was working in New York City, Superstorm Sandy made land on the coast of New Jersey and New York leading to mass devastation from flooding.  It was a horrendous time to see the devastation caused, however out of that came a unique personal opportunity to support the recovery efforts through engineering.  I was very fortunate to be part of a team that worked hard to understand the vulnerabilities of coastal communities and to influence decision makers on the various means to enhance the resilience of these areas.  On a recent trip back to New York City I saw some of these resilience measures in place across the city and the surrounding boroughs and coastline and felt a genuine sense of achievement that I may have had some small part to play in protecting these communities.

What is the most important message you want to send out to young women thinking about their careers?

When I was told as a young girl that girls can’t do things, my automatic response was always ‘Why not?’ and to this day that is still my automatic response.  At 18, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life but I decided that I wanted to do something that I enjoyed, something that challenged me, something that gave me opportunities to learn and ultimately something I could be proud of.  I feel that is exactly what engineering offers.  Over the last ten years, I can honestly say that however difficult things are in the moment, I can look back and say one of four things; ‘I enjoyed it,’ ‘it challenged me,’ ‘I learned something’ or ‘I’m proud of it.’

As you start your career, my advice is simple.  Every career path is different and specific to you.  Don’t try to fit the mould – there is no one else exactly like you.  Decide what your key drivers are and don’t compromise on these, define your own career to ensure it gives you everything you need.

For further information on our flood risk and water management services, please contact: [email protected]