Alex Garman

We asked Alex…

I would recommend a career in civil engineering because…

It’s hard to find a job where you can so tangibly see a real-world impact – whether it’s designing flood defences to protect people’s communities and livelihoods, or building new high-speed railways to reduce travel times and improve connectivity.

I love going back to visit old projects to see that they’re (hopefully!) making a positive difference.

Complete this phrase: I’m a civil engineer, but I’m also…

A hobby gardener and very amateur golfer. I'm also a dad to two young boys (two and four), so I'm very busy playing football, tennis and cricket most weekends!

What’s the biggest/most complex thing you’ve made out of Lego? How long did it take you?

The Eiffel Tower!

Although at the moment I’m introducing my four-year-old son to the world of Lego, and we have been mainly building cars, garages, and ice cream trucks.

Hopefully we’ll graduate to bigger buildings soon!

What about being a civil engineer gets you out of bed each morning?

Ultimately, it’s about the pleasure of working on projects which you know will improve society.

Often, the role of civil engineering is overlooked or misunderstood, but without civil engineers, much of the infrastructure that society so heavily relies on wouldn’t exist.

What’s one great thing that you love about civil engineering that you didn’t know until you started working in the industry?

Despite some of the stereotypes, I’ve always found that you have a great opportunity to work with people from diverse backgrounds, religions, cultures and countries – which I really enjoy.

Which civil engineering project (past or present) do you wish you’d worked on?

There are so many.

I’d have loved to be around when Bazalgette was building his super sewers along the River Thames in London. I’m impressed by the sheer scale and positive outcome the project had on the public health of Londoners!

However, he was also very ahead of his time in terms of how the project was able to be so well integrated into other public infrastructure - embankments, roads, parks, buildings and bridges along the Thames.

Name one civil engineering myth you’d like to bust.

We don’t wear hard hats in the office!

What are you doing to help address climate change?

Addressing climate change is now embedded throughout all the work we do.

Whether it’s designing drainage that uses nature-based solutions to deal with intense rainfall events, or specifying low-carbon materials for new roads, sustainability sits at the centre of all projects.

What motivated you to become professionally qualified? 

I felt that becoming a Chartered Civil Engineer provided me with a very important milestone to work towards as well as a professional status in my career.

It helps me to evidence that I have the necessary knowledge, skills and experience to practise engineering.

What does being professionally qualified with the ICE mean for your career?

Being a part of the ICE helps me continue to learn, grow my professional network, and share project experience.

What’s the best thing about being professionally qualified with the ICE? 

It offers me an opportunity to give back to the civil engineering industry.

For example, I try to undertake activities outside of work within the ICE membership ecosystem.

I sit on the ICE Ethics Committee and NCE Advisory Board, and I act as an ICE reviewer, which are great springboards to contribute to the institution and grow the reputation of civil engineering more widely.

How did the ICE and your employer support you to become professionally qualified? 

I joined Atkins immediately after graduating on their Graduate Development Programme.

This means that I was signed up onto a training agreement with the ICE, and was surrounded by excellent role models, delegate engineers and supervising civil engineers to help support my development towards chartership.