Discover Apollo: Day 5 - Q&A with Chloe Pearson West

Chloe Pearson West gives us an insight into what it's like to work for our Aberdeen-based engineering business, Apollo.

Q1. What is your name?
Chloe Pearson West.

Q2. Tell us about you… what’s your work history to date?
I joined Apollo through the graduate scheme after I graduated Robert Gordon University in 2019 with a MEng in Mechanical Engineering.

Q3. What’s your current role at Apollo and can you describe a typical working day?
I am currently an engineer at Apollo. A typical working day for me is never the same. I can be working on client scopes and projects, meeting with the clients and also having internal discussions with fellow engineers and designers, where we are working to solve client problems.

Q4. What’s your favourite, or the most exciting part of your job?
My favourite part of the job is the wide variety of scopes and projects I get a chance to work on. Scopes at Apollo can be anything from Oil and Gas projects, Offshore Wind, Wave Energy and Utilities. For example, within that I get involved in lots of different aspects of engineering such as CFD, safety, mechanical and structural scopes.

Q5. What three personality traits define you, and how do these relate to your job?
Team player, focused and inquisitive. Team player, as I work for a smaller company within GEG I am always willing to help out with anything. Focused, as I need to work well both individually and as part of larger team. Inquisitive, as I'm always striving to learn and expand my knowledge of the role and industry.

Q6. What’s the biggest misconception people have about your job?
The biggest misconception about my role is that being an engineer within Energy often involves working offshore. I have the opportunity to go offshore and some of our engineers do go offshore, but it’s not all my job is - a lot of my work is problem solving and desktop-based engineering.

Q7. Who or what inspired you to peruse the career you have today?
I wouldn’t say that it was one person that inspired me to go into Engineering. I grew up in the North-East of Scotland, in Fraserburgh, so I knew a lot of people working in the industry.

Q8. Can you provide details of a professional accomplishment at Apollo that you are proud of?
I am still quite fresh to the industry and working full-time, however I was only working for 6 months before COVID-19 pandemic started which switched everything to working from home and online. I am proud, like many other recent graduates, of not only my achievements, but the wider companies to continue to learn and grow in such a difficult time.

Q9. What inspires you, and do you have any personal goals that you are hoping to achieve?
I am currently in Year 3 of my IMechE chartership, which I am hoping on achieving with the Apollo MPDS scheme to show my commitment to learning and expanding my personal knowledge. Within Apollo around 40% of our engineers are chartered, as well as 6 engineers going through our IMechE development scheme like myself.

Q10. Do you have any Professional Goals / Aspirations for the industry?
As I mentioned, at Apollo we work on all different Energy scopes, but I am keen to see the industry continue to work towards Net Zero and I would love to see more women in the industry.

Q11. What motivates and energises you at work?
I enjoy new experiences and the constant learning and developing, which is something Apollo really pushes us towards and provides a lot of opportunities for continued professional development.

Q12. What attracted you to work for Global Energy Group?
I was attracted to working for Apollo because as they were a smaller company -I would have the opportunity for more experience and learning. I wasn’t one of 50 graduates, I’m one of four and am often "thrown in the deep end" and given huge responsibilities and opportunities. However, having the larger company, Global Energy Group, backing us gave me huge peace of mind during Energy downturns that my job would be secure.

Q13. Working at Apollo, what’s one thing that has surprised you?
The one thing that has really surprised me is how trusting they are to let you do the job. They know who they hire are the best for the job and the trust you are consequently given to problem solve and use your knowledge to solve the issues in a job is second to none. When I compare the responsibilities and opportunities I have been given to some of my counterparts on my degree, I feel very grateful.

Q14. What advice would you give someone who has just joined Apollo, or one of our other companies.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions, not just to others in your team but to everyone. Everyone is nice and willing to help you develop within the company, whether it’s asking designers what they think will work best, or sales for some advice on how to talk to clients. You are all striving towards the same goal and everyone wants everyone to preform at their best, it’s not a hassle.

Q15. Who do you look up to within the company (Apollo or Global Energy Group), and why?
Rosa Cagantas, one of Apollo’s Principle Engineers. She works in my team and I’m always impressed at her tenacity to work her way up and her experience. It’s also really good to work with another female within engineering and hear about her experiences, not only with Apollo but within the wider industry.

Q16. Which of Apollo's Core Values means to the most to you and why?
One of Apollo’s core values is Future and that one resonates very strongly with me - especially as we are relatively new and growing business. There's definitely a future in Energy and I’m excited for my future within the industry.

Q17. Relating back to your role, can you give an example of one of our core Values played out in practice?
Safe – I always work and act in a safe manner when I’m designing my jobs but also following COVID-19 measures in the office, such as social distancing, wearing masks and hand washing.

Q18. During your career, what is the best piece of advice you’ve received?
The best piece of advice I’ve been given was to ask questions which I’ve consistently done throughout my careers so far. I think this is what has allowed me all the opportunities I have been given. I am excited to learn and develop and try new things. I would encourage other engineers to do the same!