Kate Woolley

Name: Kate Woolley
Job: Tunnel engineer
Area of work: Tunnelling
Employer: Mott MacDonald
Qualifiactions: MEng civil engineering, University of Manchester

My employer gives graduates the opportunity to request time abroad. Generally you are given a month’s notice to make any necessary arrangements but it was different for me: I was told the week before I left!

Collecting glacier water

I worked in Iceland for four months on a four-weeks-on, one-week-off basis. The project involved digging a 50km long, 9m diameter tunnel for a hydroelectric power plant. We also built a dam and created a reservoir to collect glacier water for the tunnel. I had a hands-on role supervising the finishing works to ensure the walls were thick enough and would not collapse. I have also worked on a wastewater project in Brighton, tunnels at Heathrow and the design stage of the Thames Tideway scheme,

Flexibility and a sense of adventure

Working abroad has its benefits but it’s not for everyone and not all specialisms involve travel. It can be isolating – in Iceland I saw the same 20 people for 24 hours a day. An international engineer needs a capsule wardrobe, flexibility and a sense of adventure. If you are going to a remote location, take a laptop so you can watch DVDs, play games and chat online. I would definitely work abroad again but in a city so I could meet more people.