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Lara Almarsi, civil engineer

My story...

How did you become an engineer?
I was born and raised in Jordan, where I studied civil engineering. Back home it is quite common for women to choose engineering.

Finding work in the UK
I came to the UK with my husband, who is also an engineer. I spent a couple of years as a stay-at-home mum, before deciding to look for a job. I got advice from an ethnic minority organisation who helped me to apply for an engineering job at Gloucestershire County Council. It gave my confidence a real boost to be offered the job after a long process involving 3 interviews. I didn’t take it up because I was living in Bristol and it was too difficult to commute, having two small children. After that it was quite straightforward – I joined Atkins as a graduate engineer and the office is a less than 2 miles from my home.

What does your job involve?
I work in Highways Design, which is quite a varied but technical role. My work involves preparing junction studies and investigating accident hot spots, designing cycle ways and pedestrian crossings, as well as working on major motorways schemes. I like the fact that female engineers can pursue a site career here whereas in Jordan they are more likely to be confined to an office environment.

Combining work and family
When I started, I was the only one in the team who had children, so it was a bit awkward; such as having to explain why I cannot stay later than a specific time as I had to pick my daughter from her nursery. However, the senior management were very supportive. When my daughter started school I was able to reduce my workload in order to accommodate the school pick up times and I was given the opportunity to work from home on certain days when my youngest started preschool. The whole experience has been nothing but absolutely positive, I was able to advance my career while still be there for all those once in a lifetime moments with my children.

Professional membership
The only disappointment isn’t to do with the job, but it is about my overseas qualifications not being fully recognised in the UK. In Jordan, I did a 5 year course which is more detailed and longer than here, but my degree was considered equivalent to the BEng level only. Having done 3 years at Atkins, I am now at the final stage of obtaining professional accreditation from the Institute of Civil Engineers.

What would you say to girls thinking about their future career?
Being an engineer is not as difficult or complicated as it sounds – if you are interested, you can do really well. It is as easy as any other job. Some days are hard but that is the same anywhere.

My daughters are 6 and 4. The eldest loves her Lego and is very good at drawing, so we think she might become an architect. We won’t push her one way or another though, as both my husband and I believe she should make her own choices just as we did.

Lara works for Atkins, the largest engineering consultancy in the UK, employing over 17,000 people in 200 offices worldwide. The company has been appointed as the official engineering design services provider for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.