What's your job about?
Stantec provides multidisciplinary engineering solutions for the public and private sectors. Being a geotechnical engineer at Stantec, completing various civil projects allows me to get involved in many stages of the design process. In the initial stages of a project, you can find me out the on-site and overseeing ground investigation or doing the investigation myself with hand augers and scalas. Or you could find me in the office analysing data and interpreting the ground conditions. From there, I can use the information collected to design shallow and deep foundations, retaining walls and other geotechnical structures. As with any engineering specialisation, there's a whole lot of report writing as well to guide my fellow engineers.
Geotechnical engineering is one of the higher risk engineering fields because of the unpredictable ground conditions and complex soil behaviour, though essential for any significant structure being built in or on the ground. Leaning Tower of Pisa is an excellent example of the importance of geotechnical engineering!
What's your background?
I grew up in Tauranga, a once small coastal town on the east coast of New Zealand. Always having an affinity for technology and the sciences, I was encouraged to consider engineering a practical alternative to being a scientist. In my last year of high school, I came to the University of Auckland, where they encouraged girls to join engineering. Here I got the pleasure of listening to Michelle Dickinson, NZ's very own Nanogirl. Though I can't remember everything she said since it was so long ago, I remember how it made me feel. I was hooked and dead set on being an engineer.
I came across the opportunity to work for Stantec at a careers evening event held at my university. Perhaps, I could have been more tactful. Still, my first words to the Stantec Rep was, "I want to be a geotechnical engineer!" where I was promptly pointed to the right person. Being a fresh undergraduate, I was eager to learn and show off my skills. I nabbed the job, and the rest is history!
Could someone with a different background do your job?
I think a civil engineering degree would be necessary to start you off on the right path. Civil engineering degrees provide the fundamental skills required for geotechnical engineers. I also think the jump from engineering geologist to geotechnical engineer would be easy with many overlapping skill sets.
If there is one skill all geotechnical engineers need, it is clear communication skills. Understanding complex soil and rock behaviour is one thing, but translating the information and geotechnical risks clearly to other engineers is not always the easiest.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
The best thing I like about my job is not being tethered to my desk 24/7. The tasks required of my job allows me to go to the site and get my hands dirty – literally. But don't get me wrong, I also enjoy the number crunching and design work at my desk. If you despise the outdoors, I'm sure your friendly neighbourhood engineering geologist will go-to site for you instead!
What are the limitations of your job?
As I mentioned, geotechnical engineering is one of the riskiest engineering fields due to the unpredictable ground conditions and complex soil mechanics. Though we do our best with the tools available to us, many people wouldn't feel comfortable taking on those potential geotechnical risks.
Arguably, being out on-site, whether sunshine or rain, can be a little draining. But I actually really enjoy it, just be forewarned!