Building for the future - Civil engineer Richard Kirk talks about his career

What’s your engineering background and can you explain your journey to ICE?

I studied for a Masters degree in civil engineering at Queen’s University in Belfast from 2000-2005. As part of this I did a year’s industrial placement with a firm in 2003 and they then offered me a job once I graduated. I worked for Aecom for 5 years until I noticed an opportunity to work with ICE (Institution of Civil Engineers) came up. I had enjoyed my time in industry but this was a unique opportunity and I thought I’d give it a try – it’s been brilliant.

At what point in your career did you choose to specialise in civil engineering? 

I chose to study maths, physics and french at A Level as they were my favourite subjects, but at that stage I had no idea what I was going to do beyond that. Earlier in school life I had thought about accountancy but a period of work experience really put me off. I didn’t know anyone who was a civil engineer and had no concept of what they did but when I looked at the UCAS prospectus I saw some modules on the civil engineering course which looked interesting. In reality, I’ve ended up in civil engineering not through grand design but by chance. I’ve met a lot of people who have had a very similar pathway to civil engineering and other professions.