Eleanor Walker

Eleanor Walker

My decision to study Geological Sciences at Leeds was greatly influenced by the opportunity to spend a year abroad as part of my degree. After spending my first two years in Leeds, gaining a broad knowledge of the subject, I was able to spend a year at the University of California in Davis, near San Francisco.

My year abroad was an amazing experience. I was able to choose from a range of fascinating modules including the Geology of American National Parks, Environmental Geology and Oceanography. The field trips were one of the highlights of my year abroad, and I was lucky enough to visit Yosemite National Park, an active volcano and go on several whitewater rafting trips as part of my hydrology module!

On returning to Leeds for my final year, I knew that my main interest lay in the field of environmental geology and was able to focus my studies on relevant modules from the earth and environment departments in my final year.

Since graduating, I have worked as an environmental consultant in the field of contaminated land and currently work as a Senior Consultant at WorleyParsons in Leeds. My job is very varied, with no two projects the same. I've had the opportunity to work on a wide range of sites all over the UK, from operational industrial sites to derelict former military sites, steelworks, gasworks and mining sites.

I use my degree on a daily basis, interpreting ground conditions and logging superficial and solid geology during site investigations. My background in hydrogeology and environmental geochemistry has also stood me in good stead, while the wider transferable skills I gained as part of my studies in Leeds, such as team-work, report-writing, time management, computer literacy and the ability to put in long days in the field in all kinds of weather have been even more important!