Sam Royal, transport engineer, discusses how she restarted her career in her 40s and now enjoys the challenges and variety in her current role.
What brought you to the field of engineering?
The word ‘engineering’ can conjure up an unhelpful image in people’s minds. Often, people see engineering as boring, however I find it to the exact opposite. In fact, it’s a vast and fascinating discipline with so many different and interesting fields to get involved in, and not just something you can get into when you leave school.
I found engineering in my early 40’s, almost accidentally. I had jumped from job to job trying to figure out what would make me happy, but nothing seemed to stick longer than a year. Whilst working as a self-employed painter and decorator, I looked for a course to pursue my interest in 3D artwork but actually ended up doing a course in AutoCAD which I found fascinating.
How did you find Tetra Tech?
Whilst I was studying, my tutor at the time helped me to get an unpaid, one day per week placement at an architecture firm. I stayed for 18 months, and during that time I submitted more than 100 applications in the hope of making a leap on the career ladder. One day, a firm gave me the break I was looking for and I joined their transport planning team. There I gained some wonderful experience before moving on to take a job at Tetra Tech.
What do you enjoy the most about your work at Tetra Tech?
I mainly get involved with residential and infrastructure developments, designing road schemes and roundabouts that complement the surroundings. I consider traffic flow, pedestrian needs, drainage, and future proofing.
Being a transport engineer at Tetra Tech means I get to solve puzzles and brainteasers every day. It combines my love of design with my desire to figure things out and I am never bored.
Alongside my full-time role with Tetra Tech, I am also working toward my Eng Tech qualification to support my professional development and enable me to provide even better expertise to my team and our clients.
I’m also quite proud of the diversity on our team. Our London transport team is almost a 50/50 split, male and female. This brings such a wide range of ideas and thinking to our group, making collaboration on projects more fruitful and fun. Often, the engineering field is male-saturated. It’s not that way on my team and we are all equally valued for our passion for the work and our high-quality technical expertise.
I would say without doubt, give it a try! It’s lots of fun and full of variety. There are so many different types of engineering paths to pursue—many of which can be found at Tetra Tech.
What advice would you give to someone considering an engineering career?
I would say without doubt, give it a try! It’s lots of fun and full of variety. There are so many different types of engineering paths to pursue—many of which can be found at Tetra Tech.