Caroline Moseka
MEng Chemical Engineering
- Safety and Risk Consultant at ESR Technology
- Provides consultancy services and advice to ensure safety and reliability in high hazard industries
- Used the Careers Service for help with her CV and interview practice
Current role
"I currently work as a Safety and Risk Consultant at ESR Technology, which is an SME based in Warrington, but also has offices in Aberdeen and Oxfordshire.
"I work with my colleagues to provide a range of consultancy services and advice for clients to ensure safety and reliability in high hazard industries, predominantly in the offshore oil and gas industry but also in refineries, chemical plants and buildings for fire engineering.
"The role requires a degree in a STEM subject, preferably chemical engineering or physics, with a 2:1 or above. Skills in technical report writing and excel in-cell functions are essential, with knowledge of VBA beneficial, although this can be learned on the job.
"The company has a two-year graduate programme which allows skills to be further developed in a structured way. I work primarily in an office environment, with a few travel opportunities a year, either nationally or internationally, to meet clients.
"My role has not changed much with the impact of COVID-19 as thankfully work can be done from home. I am still able to work as a team and converse with my colleagues and clients effectively, though it has been more of a challenge to have a general catch up with colleagues, as I would do if I was in the office."
There were so many societies, events and opportunities at the University of Bradford. During my time studying, I had the opportunity to take on a role as secretary for the Chemical Engineering society, become a Student Ambassador and take part in a study abroad programme in China, as well as summer experience internships.
Experience at Bradford
"I enrolled at the University of Bradford to study BEng Chemical Engineering, but after settling into the course and doing research, I transferred to the MEng course at the end of my third year. Studying an accredited MEng course is one of the routes to becoming a Chartered Chemical Engineer and one of the many reasons I decided to transfer onto the MEng course.
"The University of Bradford is a small campus which gives the sense of a close community. On my course there were about 50 people which is small compared to other universities. This was a great advantage as it made it easier to get more involved, especially in practical sessions, such as labs.
"You could easily talk to lecturers and even classmates which was so helpful whenever I was struggling with a particular topic. I felt more like an individual rather than a number in a lecture room.
"There are so many opportunities available if you look for them and all of these can be added to your CV to give you an edge when making applications. Any experience is better than none!"
Gaining work experience during your studies is so important in helping you stand out from the crowd when applying for graduate jobs, since everyone graduating will have a degree as well.
Finding work
"When I graduated, I wanted to find a job related to chemical engineering. The area is so diverse and I was quite open to working in a range of industries.
"At the time I started applying for jobs, most of the job vacancies were in the oil and gas industry, as well as some in technology. I was able to attend a few interviews before securing my first role. It was quite hard to start applying for jobs, but once I set my mind to it and found the motivation it became easier.
"I was able to get a lot of help from the Bradford's Careers and Employability Services to fix up my CV and support me with interview practice. Through the Careers Service, I was able to get two summer internships during my time at the University of Bradford. This invaluable work experience coupled with my studies really helped advance my CV, sparking interest from a few employers and recruiters."