Emily Riley

Emily Riley is a Senior Engineer at a geotechnical and geoenvironmental consultancy firm in London, UK. She is responsible for submitting works proposals to prospective clients, project managing a range of site investigation and design schemes and producing factual and interpretive technical reports that cover anything from geotechnical risk reviews to geo-environmental risk assessments.

Emily considers herself half geologist, half engineer. She has a lot of love for chalk!

Q: Why did you choose this career pathway?

A: I originally wanted to work offshore which is why I chose my undergraduate degree but have always had a desire to have some sort of “outdoors” career. I was fortunate enough to secure offshore work experience whilst at university, but the work/life balance was not quite there for me.

In my final year at university I started applying to various graduate schemes and was lucky enough to secure a role with a Tier 1 construction firm. My role was an Engineer on Tideway – London’s “Super Sewer” project where I worked for the first 4 years of my career. This was a great project to learn about the construction industry and contribute to a project that carried environmental benefits with it. I love that I have (in a small way) contributed to a cleaner River Thames.

Q: What are the best parts about your job?
What are the hardest parts?

A: I have a really varied role which is one of the reasons I love my job – no project or work week is the same! I have a mix of work on site and work back in the office. I enjoy being able to see ground investigations happen on site and also being able to review the data holistically at the end to produce a ground model for the site. I then feed this into suggesting recommendations for ground projects or for undertaking subsequent design tasks.

The hardest part of my job is probably switching my focus between different projects. Things can sometimes get a bit confused, so organisation is key! It is also quite common for site works, particularly ground investigation schemes to also have last minute changes to scope/start date/logistical issues. Its key to try and remain in control of the project – I am relieved when the first day of work on site is complete.

Q: What are the major challenges in your field?

A: Unfortunately, there are still gaps in gender representation within the construction sector in the UK. As a female I am very used to being the only individual on a site. My current company is one of the most progressive in the UK I believe; we have a 60:40 split of male to female technical staff which is far above average.

I am heavily involved with Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) outreach programmes and this year also will be a mentor for the Ground Forum Undergraduate Mentoring Scheme which aims to assist students from under represented groups such as women, LGBTQ and Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities in increasing knowledge about the construction industry. Mentors also provide guidance and support for when applying for graduate positions. The aim of the programme is to enable students to feel condiment in their career choices, be connected to a network of future drivers for change to find their part in multi-disciplinary teams at project, programme and portfolio levels. I strongly believe this scheme will continue to drive change in my industry which is absolutely fantastic.

Q: How well did your degree prepare you for your career path?

A: My job requires a lot of problem solving, be that logistical, commercial or technical. My degree had a lot of hands-on learning, fieldwork etc that taught me how to approach a problem. I continue to use my geology skills – although for a completely different geological condition to north Wales. Nonetheless, the field descriptions and strata are still the same – it is just the strata succession that you must learn!

It is more common for engineers that work in construction to have studied civil or structural engineering at university. Even if I had the chance, I wouldn’t change my undergraduate earth science degree; I think it taught me great problem solving skills and how to conceptualise ground and groundwater conditions on site using real time information, which is important for a project to have during the site works. It is so valuable to have a team of individuals who all have different experiences and educational backgrounds.  I am glad that I completed an earth science degree and am proud to have my BSc!

Q: What does your career progression look like from here?

A: I am aiming to progress to a role of Technical Director. I would have more responsibility for which projects would be delivered and would continue to technically review data to inform designs. I would also like to contribute to journal articles and publish interesting case studies. I will be presenting at the International Young Geotechnical Engineers Conference in Sydney in April 2022 about work completed to manage groundwater risk within a large excavation; I’m really looking forward to engaging in discussion with my peers.

I am also interested in the commercial aspects of delivering projects too, so a director role would be the perfect combination as well as business development – finding and developing new relationships with clients that will hopefully be long lasting.

I am hoping to soon be chartered with the Geological Society of London and the institution of Civil Engineers London. Once chartered I would like to help other individuals progress with their chartership. I think it is important to demonstrate that you are trained and competent in your field.

Q: What advice would you give to students in your study area trying to decide on a career path?

A: I recommend grabbing as many opportunities as possible. This could be undertaking some work experience in the summer months, even if just for one or two weeks. This is a great way to try and figure out what sort of career you want to have upon graduation. There are so many options out there, I would recommend giving as many different sectors and roles a go as you can. I was very lucky to find a job role very early on that I genuinely love, and I hope for students to be able to find the same.

Networking is also key – setting up a profile on LinkedIn for example and following as many companies and interesting individuals as you can is a great way to personalise your newsfeed and learn about the industry.