Ben Ruben: Bechtel graduate
EMPLOYER: Bechtel – Oil, Gas & Chemicals GBU
UNIVERSITY: MEng electronic and electrical engineering with management, University of Birmingham
During university I recognised that I had more strength in project management than technical R&D, so I focused on applying to engineering companies with broad activities. I looked for a structured graduate scheme that provided formal training and opportunities for early responsibility.
My job
I am working on a $5 billion project to design and build a gas processing and purification plant in the Saudi Arabian desert. My department is designing the control system and requisitioning the instrumentation for the plant.
Over the last 18 months my responsibilities have included working in Dubai to design and test the plant’s emergency shutdown system. I also commuted from London to Rome to work on estimating the total cost of the entire control and instrumentation for the plant.
I am learning a huge amount. Instrumentation is a specialist area and control systems require knowledge of communication protocols and system integration skills. Teamworking and communication skills are also vital: projects like this comprise huge interdisciplinary teams requiring detailed work processes.
I’ve also enjoyed a surprising amount of client contact for my first year in the job. The graduate programme provides formal leadership and teamwork training courses.
My work environment
The bulk of my work is office based, but I have to be mobile to make factory and site visits. My current hours can vary from 8 to 12 hours a day but we are paid overtime when workloads are high (a bonus). Once plant construction begins I will work on site overseeing the translation of our engineering documents and databases into an operating gas plant.
Working in Dubai
The highlight was working in Dubai for three months designing and testing the emergency shutdown system. My job knowledge and understanding developed at a fantastic rate. Living the ‘expenses’ lifestyle was also pretty cool. I love what I do. The work is interesting and I have a great time with the people on my team.