Environmental Engineering Graduate

I am currently in my first year of the Engineering Graduate Programme based at Clearwater Court in Reading, Berkshire. I am currently in my first placement which is based in Major Projects & Programmes in the London Non-Infrastructure Waste team. My next placement is in Energy & Carbon and Asset & Engineering which I will move to in the next couple of weeks.

Why did you choose to apply for a Graduate role at Thames Water ?

I completed a Process Engineering internship during university, and I really enjoyed the culture and the work. I felt it was a stimulating environment where I was given challenging and exciting work in a supportive environment. I then gained more interest in environment & sustainability, so I decided to come back and do the environmental pathway graduate scheme. Thames Water stood out to me as an organisation with both the scale and ambition to make a real difference, especially in the drive to a more sustainable future. The rotation aspect also was a big factor in my decision, as it meant I will be getting well rounded training and experience in different areas of the business.

Can you tell me about your life and career journey?

During university I studied Chemical Engineering, where I became interested in the water industry as opposed to the energy sector, because of the various environmental changes it faces, not just sustainability. I later completed a master’s degree in Nature‑Inspired Solutions, which deepened my interest in innovation and circular thinking. This made me realise working in the water sector would be a good fit for me, as there is potential to get involved in large scale infrastructure projects and work towards building a better environment using new and upcoming technology.

Tell me about your typical working day as a Thames Water Graduate (positives and challenges)

My typical day would include attending project meetings, understanding and highlighting any environmental & sustainability constraints that the project team need to be aware of, and ensuring the environmental deliverables for each project are on track to be completed. Outside of meetings, I typically would be reviewing and assuring completed deliverables or attending sites to complete audits. I also assist the Principal Environmental Engineers in admin tasks such as maintaining the project tracker and organising any tasks for the wider team and contractors.

Challenges I’ve faced is getting used to the technical information and project stages, plus independently identifying environmental problems during projects. However, I do have a very supportive team who help with all my questions, and this is something that has gotten easier with time.