Transport Planner
Halcrow

Susan C

00:00:04 My name is Susan C, and I’m a Transport Planner who works for Halcrow.

00:00:12 The role of a Transport Planner is very varied, but essentially it’s about planning transport in urban or inter-urban areas, or depending on where you might work, it might include rural areas as well. I think one aspect that’s always enthused me about it, is that you actually feel like you’re learning all the time, and you’re trying to solve a different problem all the time. So it’s certainly a very rewarding career for somebody who – who feels challenged in trying to work out a way of how to do something.

00:01:53 When I’d done my GCSEs I – I didn’t really know that I wanted to be a Transport Planner, all I did know was that I was interested in Geography, had a very inspiring Geography teacher, and it was a subject that I had always done very well in, and was very confident, and I enjoyed it. So I decided that I would do a Geography degree, and applied to Universities. And then had a bit of a problem in that because I, as an 18 year-old enjoyed life as an 18 year-old, I probably didn’t work as hard for my A-Levels as I should have done, so I didn’t get the grades that I needed to go to University. That was – that was really one of the lowest points, I guess, in my career. Because I didn’t know what I wanted to do at that point, and it was my Head Teacher who suggested to me well, you know, you like Geography, I know that the Geography course at Huddersfield Polytechnic is a really very good course, why don’t you apply there? So I did and immediately, and I was very lucky, I got a place. I graduated with my Geography degree, I then went to work for a year in a computer centre as a User Support Assistant, but I didn’t really see any progression to what I was doing there, I was more or less doing the same thing day in day out. And some of my friends had stayed on, and gone to Leeds University to do Masters in Transport Planning and Engineering. And I thought Ooh, what they’re doing’s quite interesting. So I did the Masters in Transport Planning the following year, and then from that I was – I attended a number of interviews with a number of employers, including Halcrow, and came down to London and I’ve been here ever since, working for them.

00:02:53 I think one of the main high points was when I’d achieved my Masters degree, I got a Distinction. And I think what definitely helped in that is actually taking that year out, and doing something different, which didn’t particularly inspire me, but I think even in that short space of time I actually felt that I’d – I was more confident, I had more life skills, or life experience to be able to sort of manage the – my work and my social life at University.

00:03:36 If I could do anything in the world, I don’t really think I would do anything else other than be a Transport Planner. Because it’s – it’s something that I’ve always enjoyed doing. There have not really been many days when I’ve got up and thought – I really don’t want to go to work today.

ENDS