Fiona Dick

Fiona Dick
JOB Project controls engineer
EMPLOYER M.W. Kellogg Limited
DEGREE MEng chemical engineering with industrial experience (2004)
UNIVERSITY University of Manchester

Finding a job

I enjoyed my degree and wanted to use the knowledge I gained at university in my career. I also realised that I was more interested in the managerial side of business, so I looked for opportunities to work towards a role in management. I sent my CV and covering letter to my current employer, attended an assessment day and was then offered the job.

My role

There are three main areas in the project controls department – estimating, cost control and planning. I currently work in the estimating group, putting together a significant part of the estimate for the largest project our organisation has ever worked on. My role is to collect man-hour data and cost each person for the duration of the project. I then present my calculations to the client, the project management team and the senior management team.

Training

Every employee is given a corporate and HSE induction when they join. Graduates are assigned project work from the day they start so my training is largely on the job. I am given the support I need to achieve my chartered status qualification, and my training and job responsibilities can be adjusted to ensure I gain the experience I need.

The highs

The project controls department is unique as it has involvement in all areas of the company. This means that as a project control engineer I have a central role in all projects, which makes my job interesting.

The lows

Sometimes you will have a heavy workload but you develop good time management skills and learn to work more efficiently to cope with this.