A spotlight on: Diana Mercado talks about her career journey

Diana Mercado is a driven and passionate Senior Traffic Engineer at Project Centre, with several years of experience in civil engineering. She recently achieved a First in her civil engineering degree; while working, studying and running a busy family home. Obviously, we wanted to find out more about her career journey.

How and why did you choose this industry? 

When I was living in Colombia, I attended a technical school which is where I learned to use systems like AutoCAD. AutoCAD is basically a computer-aided design and drafting software application.

A few years later, I came to London and in 2014 I had my first job as a Junior CAD technician. I remained at the company for four years and grew more comfortable using computer-aided design (CAD) software. When I left the company to start my civil engineering career journey, I was a Senior CAD technician. 

I began my foundation degree when I was 28. I was the oldest in the class and my English wasn’t the best, so I was quite nervous. I also had two primary school-aged children to look after.

Thanks to Project Centre’s investment in my development, I had the chance to continue studying. I’m now a Senior Traffic Engineer and completed my BSc in civil engineering with a First.

That’s quite a career journey! What are your favourite bits? 

I enjoy taking on more responsibility on projects. It’s nice to know people can rely on me to deliver high quality projects that create safer roads for communities.  

I also like the company’s atmosphere. Everyone is nice to talk to and friendly, so it’s a lovely environment to work in and grow professionally. 

Company culture really can make such a difference! As can the work. Any favourite projects? 

Bethnal Green’s Liveable Neighbourhood scheme is one of my favourite projects. I learned many new transferable skills and collaborated with other teams within the company. Working with other teams helped me to think from a new perspective when designing a project.

For example, from working with the landscape team, I’m aware of the elements to consider if I want to add trees to a design. It helps me to think of places with a 360 perspective and a multidisciplinary approach.   

Can you share a piece of career advice for our new starters? 

Last year, I mentored someone at my university, and this is what I told them, “Never be afraid to ask questions. No one will assume you know everything when you are just starting. You must communicate and let them know if you don’t understand. Even senior staff have to look at guidelines. Seek guidance and keep asking lots of questions.” 

I want to stress how important it is to ask for clarification if you don’t understand something because I’ve seen many new starters who are too afraid to do so.  

Even now I keep asking questions, even if it’s something silly or something I’ve asked a million times. And I feel lucky to have people in my team I can go to for advice.

Thanks Diana for sharing your story with us. If you’re interested in finding out more about our people and careers, check out our careers page here.