Case studies : Environmental consultant: Alison

Alison chose this career as she has always enjoyed the outdoors and being an environmental consultant involves both office and site-based work.

As an environmental consultant in the field of contaminated land I spend about 50% of my time in the office and 50% on site. Site works consists of the excavation of trial pits and bore holes to assess ground conditions, but can also include building surveys. The work I do in the office involves factual and interpretive report writing for contaminated land and radiological surveys, along with assessment of laboratory data against environmental standards and risk to human health.

I found the job through a recruitment agency that specialises in environmental positions. They were asking for one year's relevant experience and a degree in a science subject.

I gained a lot of relevant skills and experience from my degree for work within environmental consultancy. I gained an appreciation for field work and the basic logging techniques which are used for site excavations, and the ability to interpret and discuss scientific reports. I also developed an understanding of geology and the appreciation of varying characteristics of strata and how they can impact on contamination.

Since I have been a consultant, my role has developed and I have been given more responsibility in the submission of interpretive reports and the development of proposals to meet clients' requirements and objectives. I really enjoy every part of my job, getting particular satisfaction from being on site, meeting clients and problem solving, which requires quick thinking due to the limiting time factor. I also really enjoy interpreting scientific data for comparison against human health risks and environmental baseline standards.

It's too early in my career to pinpoint which area of consultancy I wish to specialise in, but I am currently enjoying learning within the contaminated land area. However I would also like to develop within human health.