A spotlight on: Nathalie Richards talks about her career

Nathalie Richards is a Chartered Principal Engineer at Project Centre. She brings strong knowledge of designing and maintaining structures, with over eight years of career in the sector.

Nathalie is very passionate about making a difference in the workplace. She is an active participant in many of our cultural groups such as the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group and the Women’s Learning and Development Network. This year, Nathalie won Employee of the Year at The People of Project Centre staff awards. In addition, she was a nominee for the Women in Science and Engineering Awards.

As a valuable employee, we wanted to get to know Nathalie a little bit more. We spent a couple of minutes with her, asking questions about her background and career development.

Q: How did you get into the industry and why?

A: I was going to sign up for a degree in midwifery after sixth form. It was something that I was interested in at the time. But on the day, I intended to visit the university, my sixth form gave me a book of different degrees.

I had a look through the subjects and discovered civil engineering. It was a bit of a change. But right now, I think civil engineering was the right choice for me. I enjoy maths, working with numbers, and solving challenging problems. So, I decided to take this new career path and am now I’m a Senior Structural Engineer. Life takes on strange paths sometimes.

Q: What do you enjoy most about your job

A: The thing I enjoy most about my job is making an active difference in the world. I can change people’s lives through my work.

This is something which has motivated me. And now I’m in a stage in my career where I’m sharing my knowledge and managing other people and projects. I’m making an impact in my colleagues’ careers and the community. Another thing I enjoy is teaching new starters and graduates because in doing so, I learn a lot as well.

Q: What is your favourite project you’ve worked on at Project Centre and why?

A: Thurrock Council capital schemes is my favourite project. There are several sub-projects under this scheme, which have helped the Council to improve the area for businesses and the community. I’ve also loved building relationships with clients and their term contractor.

I’ve been involved in Thurrock Council capital for over two years now. In that time, I’ve grown my knowledge base around their structures and how to manage it in the most effective way for that community.

Q: You recently achieved your Chartership. What did this achievement mean for you?

I’m thrilled to say that I am now a Chartered Engineer, it is incredible seeing CEng sitting by my name! It has been a long journey, one that has sometimes felt out of reach and endless. But patience to get the breadth of experience, months of weekends working and support from so many around me has gotten me there.

I would like to thank all at Project Centre who are wonderful colleagues and cheerleaders for me, and going back there are those who got me through so much and had confidence in me at university. I wouldn’t have made it without their support.

Q: What career advice would you give new engineers?

A: My advice to new engineers is to take any opportunities you have. Use training, webinars, and institutes to expand your knowledge and experience. Those can hard paths, but with patience and commitment you’ll be able to reach great milestones.

Moreover, groups like the Institute of Engineers (ICE) and The Institution of Structural Engineers can open doors to a vast number of opportunities and networks. The civil engineering industry is a small world, so getting your face out there is important.

Thank you, Nathalie, for taking the time to go through our quetions. We believe that our strength is in the people we employee and we are committed to recognise and showcase our employees’ efforts.

We have few job openings at the moment. Check them out if you’re interested in starting or developing your career in engineering.