Seizing Opportunities in Construction
Finley Spetch
Role at Cahill Design Services
Graduate Fire Engineer
Experience working in Fire Engineering:
1 Year
Top Tip for someone new to the industry:
Take any opportunities that arise. Even if it’s not directly related to the exact role you’re after – experience in the industry is so valuable. Take those opportunities because you don’t know what’s going to happen unless you do it.
Finley’s Fire Engineering Journey
I originally went to university to study business management, but I found it wasn’t really what I wanted to do, it was just a route I’d found myself on.
It was a friend’s dad that prompted me to look at fire safety. He was a firefighter and by chance I bumped into him, and we got chatting about careers and I had a bit of a lightbulb moment. The whole world of fire safety was something I’d never even considered before.
After that chat, I researched fire safety further and discovered there was a degree in it and I decided to do it. When I got to university, I realised there was so much more to it than just the operational side and that’s when I learned about fire engineering, and it all went on from there.
I knew that the degree alone would not be enough for the career I wanted to pursue and that experience would be really important, so I went to work for Network Rail as an electrical engineering technician whilst finishing my third year of uni as distance learning over two years.
I worked in the Distribution and Plant department, which essentially means I was the technician for anything high voltage. It was an interesting role, helping me gain skills and knowledge I could apply across the wider field of engineering. But I knew I had to start looking at roles within the industry I wanted to be in. I graduated university with a BSc (Hons) in Fire and Rescue and not long after, secured my role at Cahill Design Consultants.
The role at CDC was exactly what I was looking for and there was a whole host of things that drew me to the company in terms of the working environment too.
I’ve been exposed to such a wide range of projects since being here, wider than expected. I’ve been allowed to try things, get stuck in and get on with projects with a great support network around me.
My goal now is to keep on learning and progressing. Fire engineering has a lot of depth in what you need to know and what it involves and I’m enjoying soaking it all up.
Favourite part of the role / project so far
It’s early on in my career but the projects that are always interesting and challenging are the ones that are a bit different.
One that stood out to me was a malt processing facility where we were helping with the installation of a lift. It was not a building I’d ever even considered existed, something going on elsewhere in the world. And then suddenly I was onsite in the middle of this industrial processing plant, eight stories up getting the information I needed to put together a strategy for it! It’s great seeing the different kinds of things that are out there.
I enjoy getting out on site and seeing things firsthand, not just looking at 2D drawings. You get stuck in and really understand a project.
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