• Question: What do you plan to do in the next ten years? Where do you see yourself in ten years and will you still be in the same job?

    Asked by Catherine to Matthew, Neil, Paula, Pete, Philippa on 8 Mar 2015. This question was also asked by Someone, lauren.
    • Photo: Philippa Jefferis

      Philippa Jefferis answered on 8 Mar 2015:


      A question I often ask myself!

      It is great to have an idea of where you would like to be in 10 years but it doesn’t have to be specific. I have only been out of university for a few years so still figuring out what I want to do. I have worked in various aspects of civil engineering but am not sure which particular area I want to follow – right now I am enjoying getting a variety of experience.

      However in 10 years I hope I will have found my particular area of interest and perhaps become an expert. Currently I like the idea of becoming an advisor to the government…but we shall see where the opportunities take me.

    • Photo: Neil Taylor

      Neil Taylor answered on 9 Mar 2015:


      Hi Catherine !

      Wow, this is a big question! I think that the world is too uncertain to say exactly what I’ll be doing in ten years time, but what I can say is that I really enjoy my job just now. Therefore, I’d like to think that I would still be an engineer, working on problems that interested me (probably within the energy industry – I also have an interest in renewable and nuclear power :D). What will interest me in 10 years may change, of course!

      At the end of the day, studying engineering gives you a really useful set of skills that you can transfer between engineering areas (e.g. moving from Oil&Gas to Nuclear, or Renewables, etc) or even other industries.

      Engineers (and the skills we possess!) are in demand, and will be for the foreseeable future. If I’m not in the same job then I’m optimistic that it’s because I’ve taken the offer of an exciting opportunity!

    • Photo: Pete Symons

      Pete Symons answered on 10 Mar 2015:


      Now I really feel like I’m being interviewed!

      I plan to stick with the company I work for now for the next ten years. I want to help grow the business and then I may look to set up my own engineering consultancy. Quite a few of the guys I work with have set up their own businesses and that could be quite appealing in about 10 years time.

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