Zaheer Khaled
"Sleepless... Challenging and Diverse"
Year of Graduation: 2014
Current Occupation: ExxonMobil Maintenance Analyst
Q. Since graduating, how did you get to where you are now?
A. I decided I needed a break from studying and see if I wanted to pursue a long term career in engineering. I researched the oil and gas industry and what opportunities were available to me. ExxonMobil appealed to me and
so I applied for a position there. I was offered the role of Maintenance Analyst for an industrial placement.
Q. What is the best thing about what you are doing now?
A. The best thing about what I am doing right now is the amount of skills and knowledge I am picking up regularly. And my role allows me to see and speak to a large variety of people and since I am new to working in the oil and gas industry that is great as I am always learning about how Exxon do things and common practices.
Q. What advice would you give to a current UCL Chemical Engineering student?
A. I would say when solving a problem, break it down into as many small chunks as possible and solve those pieces of the problem bit by bit. In the course with design or even c/w questions it is so easy to be overwhelmed by the task when looking at it as a whole.
For 3rd year students, Fogler and Coulson&Richardson are THE holy books.
Q. What was your best experience at the UCL Chemical Engineering Department?
A. By far being President of Ramsay society, we had a great committee and I had lot of fun working with them and interacting with so many chemical engineers. For any university student I would highly recommend them being an active member of a large society because it is a fantastic experience.
Q. If you could sum up Chemical Engineering in three words, what would they be?
A. Sleepless (during the degree), Challenging & Diverse.
Current Occupation: ExxonMobil Maintenance Analyst
Q. Since graduating, how did you get to where you are now?
A. I decided I needed a break from studying and see if I wanted to pursue a long term career in engineering. I researched the oil and gas industry and what opportunities were available to me. ExxonMobil appealed to me and
so I applied for a position there. I was offered the role of Maintenance Analyst for an industrial placement.
Q. What is the best thing about what you are doing now?
A. The best thing about what I am doing right now is the amount of skills and knowledge I am picking up regularly. And my role allows me to see and speak to a large variety of people and since I am new to working in the oil and gas industry that is great as I am always learning about how Exxon do things and common practices.
Q. What advice would you give to a current UCL Chemical Engineering student?
A. I would say when solving a problem, break it down into as many small chunks as possible and solve those pieces of the problem bit by bit. In the course with design or even c/w questions it is so easy to be overwhelmed by the task when looking at it as a whole.
For 3rd year students, Fogler and Coulson&Richardson are THE holy books.
Q. What was your best experience at the UCL Chemical Engineering Department?
A. By far being President of Ramsay society, we had a great committee and I had lot of fun working with them and interacting with so many chemical engineers. For any university student I would highly recommend them being an active member of a large society because it is a fantastic experience.
Q. If you could sum up Chemical Engineering in three words, what would they be?
A. Sleepless (during the degree), Challenging & Diverse.
Sa’ood Bashir
"Diverse and interesting"
Year of Graduation: 2013
Current Occupation: Engineering Graduate Scheme at BOC
Q. Since graduating, how did you get to where you are now?
A. I applied to BOC in my final year of university and was accepted onto their graduate programme.
After graduating UCL I started work in BOC’s Sheffield office in the Remote Operating Centre, which operates all of the major plants in the UK and South Africa. Here I learnt a lot about plant operations as well as the energy market, process control and plant commissioning.
I am now based in the main Guildford office as a project engineer, where my work is focused on a storage tank project on our Manchester site.
Q. What is the best thing about what you are doing now?
A. I am working alongside very skilled engineers on a project that is critical to delivering NHS products. It’s a very hands-on job and can be quite high-pressure, but is also very enjoyable.
Q. What advice would you give to a current UCL Chemical Engineering student?
A. Work hard, but remember that there is life outside of Chem Eng!
Q. What was your best experience at the UCL Chemical Engineering Department?
A. I met a lot of great people from all over the world who taught me a lot and who I am great friends with now.
Q. If you could sum up Chemical Engineering in three words, what would they be?
A. Diverse and interesting
Current Occupation: Engineering Graduate Scheme at BOC
Q. Since graduating, how did you get to where you are now?
A. I applied to BOC in my final year of university and was accepted onto their graduate programme.
After graduating UCL I started work in BOC’s Sheffield office in the Remote Operating Centre, which operates all of the major plants in the UK and South Africa. Here I learnt a lot about plant operations as well as the energy market, process control and plant commissioning.
I am now based in the main Guildford office as a project engineer, where my work is focused on a storage tank project on our Manchester site.
Q. What is the best thing about what you are doing now?
A. I am working alongside very skilled engineers on a project that is critical to delivering NHS products. It’s a very hands-on job and can be quite high-pressure, but is also very enjoyable.
Q. What advice would you give to a current UCL Chemical Engineering student?
A. Work hard, but remember that there is life outside of Chem Eng!
Q. What was your best experience at the UCL Chemical Engineering Department?
A. I met a lot of great people from all over the world who taught me a lot and who I am great friends with now.
Q. If you could sum up Chemical Engineering in three words, what would they be?
A. Diverse and interesting
Nicholas Annett
Year of Graduation: 2013
Current Occupation: Process Engineer at Fluor
Q. Since graduating, how did you get to where you are now?
A. Through a lot of hard work before I graduated set me up for the job I have now. I went through the typical application processes for internships and graduate jobs as a lot of students go through. My internship was with Procter and Gamble, which was a great insight into a real job, and I gained a lot of experience there with working in a professional environment (which is worlds apart from being a student). I then decided I would like to apply to a selection of other companies (I applied to many different companies and sectors) and eventually ended up as a Process Engineer at Fluor in Farnborough.
Q. What is the best thing about what you are doing now?
A. There are highs and lows and this applies to any job I would think. I think the best thing is where I finish my tasks without too much difficulty in a reasonable time. The things which I do not like so much are when I think I have completed a task but then someone else had a thought and made a change to another part of the project which then means I have to go back and do my work again. This is expected with any project work, but a good supporting team means you remember the good bits and forget the bad!
Q. What advice would you give to a current UCL Chemical Engineering student?
A. Apply to as many companies as possible, and keep an open mind with where you are going to work and what your career plan is as you are still young and things can change quickly. Make sure you make the most out of any services the department is offering as this will put you in a good position with regards to knowing about what is out there in terms of careers.
Q. What was your best experience at the UCL Chemical Engineering Department?
A. I think third and fourth year of study as this is where I felt I really knew what I was doing which made me enjoy studying more. I also enjoyed my research project a lot and working with Dr. Sorensen as a lot of the skills I developed I think I have carried on into the work place. My favourite lecturers within the department have to be Dr. Sorensen, Dr. Mazzei and Dr. Lettieri.
Q. If you could sum up Chemical Engineering in three words, what would they be?
A. I don't think you can sum Chemical Engineering up in three words. It is a discipline, which you will hone over your career.
Current Occupation: Process Engineer at Fluor
Q. Since graduating, how did you get to where you are now?
A. Through a lot of hard work before I graduated set me up for the job I have now. I went through the typical application processes for internships and graduate jobs as a lot of students go through. My internship was with Procter and Gamble, which was a great insight into a real job, and I gained a lot of experience there with working in a professional environment (which is worlds apart from being a student). I then decided I would like to apply to a selection of other companies (I applied to many different companies and sectors) and eventually ended up as a Process Engineer at Fluor in Farnborough.
Q. What is the best thing about what you are doing now?
A. There are highs and lows and this applies to any job I would think. I think the best thing is where I finish my tasks without too much difficulty in a reasonable time. The things which I do not like so much are when I think I have completed a task but then someone else had a thought and made a change to another part of the project which then means I have to go back and do my work again. This is expected with any project work, but a good supporting team means you remember the good bits and forget the bad!
Q. What advice would you give to a current UCL Chemical Engineering student?
A. Apply to as many companies as possible, and keep an open mind with where you are going to work and what your career plan is as you are still young and things can change quickly. Make sure you make the most out of any services the department is offering as this will put you in a good position with regards to knowing about what is out there in terms of careers.
Q. What was your best experience at the UCL Chemical Engineering Department?
A. I think third and fourth year of study as this is where I felt I really knew what I was doing which made me enjoy studying more. I also enjoyed my research project a lot and working with Dr. Sorensen as a lot of the skills I developed I think I have carried on into the work place. My favourite lecturers within the department have to be Dr. Sorensen, Dr. Mazzei and Dr. Lettieri.
Q. If you could sum up Chemical Engineering in three words, what would they be?
A. I don't think you can sum Chemical Engineering up in three words. It is a discipline, which you will hone over your career.
Fernando Ruscillo
Year of Graduation: 2013
Current Occupation: Technical Safety Engineer at BOC
Q. Since graduating, how did you get to where you are now?
A. Since graduating from UCL I have been working as a technical safety engineer. I found the job through UCL’s engineering fair and I was lucky enough to start the job as soon as I graduated.
Q. What is the best thing about what you are doing now?
A. I get to work on a range of different projects with different people so there is always so much to learn.
Q. What advice would you give to a current UCL Chemical Engineering student?
A. I would say that when it comes to applying for a graduate job, apply for a whole range of things. This way you will get to speak to many different companies and employers and which will allow you to get a better sense of what you will enjoy most.
Q. What was your best experience at the UCL Chemical Engineering Department?
A. I really liked the diversity of my chemical engineering class. It was a great experience to meet many different people from all sorts of backgrounds and cultures.
Q. If you could sum up Chemical Engineering in three words, what would they be?
A. Practical, Resourceful, Important
Current Occupation: Technical Safety Engineer at BOC
Q. Since graduating, how did you get to where you are now?
A. Since graduating from UCL I have been working as a technical safety engineer. I found the job through UCL’s engineering fair and I was lucky enough to start the job as soon as I graduated.
Q. What is the best thing about what you are doing now?
A. I get to work on a range of different projects with different people so there is always so much to learn.
Q. What advice would you give to a current UCL Chemical Engineering student?
A. I would say that when it comes to applying for a graduate job, apply for a whole range of things. This way you will get to speak to many different companies and employers and which will allow you to get a better sense of what you will enjoy most.
Q. What was your best experience at the UCL Chemical Engineering Department?
A. I really liked the diversity of my chemical engineering class. It was a great experience to meet many different people from all sorts of backgrounds and cultures.
Q. If you could sum up Chemical Engineering in three words, what would they be?
A. Practical, Resourceful, Important
