91̽»¨

Watch: our interview with Helen

My current role within Transport for London is Project Manager delivering multidisciplinary construction projects. 91̽»¨ and my degree helped me get there because I was working across engineering and architecture departments which gave me a really good understanding of interfacing between different teams.

It also set me up to learn how to learn so I can work with different disciplines and really get to grips with what those disciplines involved. Particularly when we did an integrated design project where we worked within a team to design a building and planned the construction and I think that example really helped me understand, when I got into the working world, how to plan for construction and all the different things I had to consider.

At school I really liked maths and art and wanted to pursue a career which involved those two subjects. A lot people recommended architecture but when I did work experience at an Architects it didn't involve enough maths for me and it was only when I went to a meeting with the structural engineer [it made me] think that that's what I wanted to do.

The highlight for me and my career so far is working on some really high-profile projects such as the Tottenham Court Road station upgrade and Neasden Depot which has helped me in my career get Chartered so that was a real ambition for me and something I've been aiming for so to achieve that was brilliant.

For me the best thing about being an engineer is the opportunity to tailor your career to your interests.

Helen Gregory

Structural Engineering with Architecture Alumna

I've also been a really active STEM ambassador since I've left University and I've been working with the organisation STEM and also the Access Project and really enjoyed taking what I've learned and my mentoring abilities and applying those to the next generation and inspiring them

The future for me: I'm really enjoying at the moment learning about different disciplines within engineering working in a multidisciplinary environment so I look forward to taking on more accountability responsibility within Transport for London, taking on bigger projects, more complex projects and learning about all the different engineering disciplines and how they interface.

For me the best thing about being an engineer is the opportunity to tailor your career to your interests. I've worked on some really interesting high profile projects and you can choose what you work on basically for what interests you and also tailor your career to the environment that best suits you whether that be in an office or on site. For me, I really enjoy working with people and planning and organizing and seeing practical construction where it's come to life and I've been able to pursue that in my career.

We interviewed Helen in 2018.