“Before I went to university I knew I wanted to be an engineer… I knew I wanted to have an impact and leave something good behind.”

- Raluca Olariu

In honour of International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), we have a series of eye-opening interviews with inspiring women currently working in the engineering sector. 

Raluca is a 32-year-old Civil Engineer from Romania. She studied civil engineering in the Netherlands and has been working in the UK construction industry for approximately five years. The projects Raluca has worked on in the UK range from infrastructure projects including smart motorways and High Speed 2: HS2 to new developments and flood prevention.

What project are you working on now, and what’s your role?

I work as a Civil Engineer for Arup in their London office. I tend to work on new developments or expansions of existing developments. The projects I am involved in currently range from data centres, research facilities to residential developments in London and abroad. I fulfil the designer role, which means I am responsible for the drainage and utility design and coordinating with other disciplines involved in the project.

What does an average day at work look like?

An average day depends on the stage of the project. The activities can include researching the site and available utilities, liaising with the architects and structural engineers and understanding what the restrictions are. liaising with the MEP engineers to understand the utility requirements for the building and site, contacting utility companies and coming up with design solutions, doing and checking construction drawings, while later in the programme offering construction support.

How did you get into the industry?

Before I went to university I knew I wanted to be an engineer. The problem was I was not sure exactly which branch of engineering to follow. At the time when I was graduating in Romania electrical engineering and computer science were very popular. Most of my classmates pursued careers in that, but I wasn’t attracted to that type of engineering. Environmental engineering was a new study programme at that time and I started looking into what the course involved. Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth came out at the same time and I was inspired. I knew I wanted to have an impact and leave something good behind.

What do you love about the construction industry?

The construction industry is a fascinating world. It gives you a sense of pride and joy seeing the final product and being able to say “I did that”. It is a challenging industry and all projects come with new challenges, which in the beginning might seem like they cannot be solved, but getting to the bottom of these challenges is really satisfying.

What’s the funniest story you have of your workplace?

Well the story begins when I started my environmental engineering degree. I was discussing why I chose that degree with one of my professors. I was telling him that in fact environmental engineering was not my first choice, but civil engineering was. Due to some misunderstanding I missed the enrolment period in the faculty of civil engineering. As he was trying to convince me that my second choice was the right choice he asked me: “Would you really like to work in construction? Wear rubber boots and be in the mud most of the time?” At the time I thought that maybe working in the mud is not really what I wanted to do.

Fast forward to my first job in the UK, I was working on a project that involved contamination sources in the drainage network at an airport facility in the UK. To find the source of contamination, we asked the airport maintenance to empty the attenuation pond collecting the surface water on site to allow us to collect samples of sludge deposits from the bottom of the pond. I was literally in sludge up to my ankles and above trying to collect samples from various locations to determine the composition of the sludge. It’s funny because I was sure this wasn’t what I wanted to do, however, it is one of my proudest moments as I helped to find out what the pollutant was and where it came from and I never regretted my choice.

If you could change anything about the industry what would it be?

It is not a perfect industry and there are many things that could change. Being an environmental engineer at heart, I would like to see more focus on sustainability and reducing the carbon consumption overall.

Would you recommend the construction industry to a young person, and why?

Yes, especially to young girls. Construction is still seen as an industry that is not for women, but the industry needs more of them. Your role doesn’t always have to involve being on a  construction site wearing full PPE and standing in mud (although it can be). There are many opportunities involving various tasks. The projects are moving at quite a fast pace and you get to learn a lot in a short time, tackle new challenges and be part of projects that will make you proud for many years to come.