TSA Careers Guide - Flipbook - Page 14
EDMUND WHITMORE
Environmental Engineer
my career options were quite limited with only an undergraduate degree, and so I decided to go
back to do a master’s degree in environmental engineering at Cranfield University. Towards the
end of the one-year course, I applied for the environmental engineering graduate role at Puma
Energy UK, and happily, I got the job and started the day after my presentation for my dissertation.
What is your educational or working background?
From the age of 15 until my first full-time position I worked in a variety of part-time roles.
My first role was assisting at the martial art gym where I trained and helped out teaching
kids classes. I also completed a qualification in security so, when I moved to Bristol to start
university, I was qualified to work at the O2 Academy as security at music gigs and also did
the same at Glastonbury festival, perhaps the most boring job I have ever had to do! In my
final year, I worked for Deliveroo as a bike courier. The communication, time management
and other skills I learnt in these roles gave me a solid foundation to launch my career in the
environmental sector. My undergraduate degree was in environmental science.
What roles/departments have you worked with in the business?
At Puma Energy UK, my first week was particularly intense, as my predecessor was leaving after
10 days, and had been in the role for about 10 years. I spent my first month working at Milford
Haven Terminal, familiarising myself with the new role. Each day posed new challenges and, for
the first few months, I functioned largely on a reactive basis as each day there were challenges
that needed to be addressed. Slowly, I got to grips with the complexity of the systems.
What has been your career journey to date/ your previous roles?
As part of my degree, I did a placement year at GE Aviation Wales, my first full-time job as an
Environmental Health and Safety intern. I was responsible for environmental safety issues
for 120 of the employees. I was given significant responsibilities for this role, including
toolbox talks, leading accident investigations and running projects. I learnt a great deal
and, at the end, I had a clearer idea of what kind of work I would like to pursue in the
future. In particular, I realised that I wanted to be much more involved in collaborative
projects within a team environment. After finishing my undergraduate degree, I took a
year out to travel. I then worked for six months as a snowboard instructor in Japan. This job,
which included teaching non-English speaking individuals, took my creative and outdoor
aspirations to a very high level. It was a very demanding but amazing experience. When I
came back to England, I started to look for jobs in the environmental sector. I realised that
What are your career aspirations?
Going forward I’d like to continue to develop the skills involved in working on more complex
collaborative projects and I am looking forward to a long and successful career in environmental
engineering.
How have you found your experience working in the tank storage industry?
I’ve found that I really enjoy the variety of work from sampling onsite, managing energy projects
and environmental data analytics. For a graduate role, I’ve been given a lot of responsibility and I
really appreciate the freedom I have in the role.
For more information, visit www.pumaenergy.com