• Question: What do you work for?

    Asked by Melville to Natalie, Jeni, Ashwanth on 14 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: Natalie Wride

      Natalie Wride answered on 14 Jun 2016:

      Hi Ben!

      At the moment I’m doing my PhD which involves doing a lot of research. I get paid by something called EPSRC which is short for the Engineering and Physical Research Science Research Council. I guess at the moment though I work for Warwick University which is where I’m doing my research. (Sorry if this sounds a bit confusing!!)

      Before I went to do my PhD, I worked as a Geotechnical Engineer which is a Civil Engineer that looks at the ground to make sure any structure stands up in it! I worked for a company called Arup. They’re a really big company and have been involved in projects like the Sydney Opera House, the Bird’s Nest Stadium at the Beijing Olympics and the big ArcelorMittal Orbit at the London Olympics (the big red twisty structure!) If you’re interested in these projects, google ‘Arup’ and there’s some really cool pictures of projects they’ve worked on 🙂

    • Photo: Jeni Spragg

      Jeni Spragg answered on 14 Jun 2016:

      Hi Ben 🙂

      I’m like Natalie, as I work at a university doing research. I am not employed by a company, but a research council is paying me a grant while I am doing my PhD (my research degree).

      The grant is enough to pay for all the things I need, but isn’t quite as much money as I might receive if I was working for a company – but that’s ok, I am doing it to earn my PhD so essentially I am getting paid to learn! My funding comes from the EPSRC too, which is an important agency which gives over £800 million each year into research.

      Before I came back to university to do the PhD, I spent a little while working for BP, who produce oil and gas. That’s where I first became really interested in energy, as I saw how important it is. Everything we do – the way we travel, the food we eat, the things we use, our TVs and computers, they all rely on energy to make them work.

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