Professional Growth, from RPS to Tetra Tech
Being a leakage technician can open a multitude of opportunities for you when seeking a career you can grow in. We recently caught up with Samuel, who graduated from the University of Liverpool after studying Physical Geography and joined RPS as a water leakage technician in his first role post studies. Now he is progressing into a flood risk management and consultancy role within Tetra Tech.
15 April 2024 | 4 min read
Can you let us know a little bit about yourself and your background, please?
I'm Samuel Owen from North Wales. In my previous employment, I worked as a sales team member at Pound Bakery for 4 consecutive summers from 2016 to 2020 while I was in High School. Then in the summers of 2022 and 2023, I worked as an administrator for a recruitment company based down in Southampton.
In between, I went to the University of Liverpool where I studied Physical Geography. This was from 2020 to 2023 and I graduated in July last year with a 2:1 overall. My first full-time employment was with RPS right after.
What was your role at RPS and what did you like most about it?
My specific role at RPS was as a Water Leakage Technician. When applying for the role, I read through the job description to know more but then I discovered what the job was about when I first started, and it was something I enjoyed.
What I liked most about the role was the fact that it was out within the field. You’re out there every day, walking through various streets and scenes, and with the specific role involved, using sound and equipment to trace and pinpoint the exact location of water leaks. That's what I liked about it the most. Being out in the fresh air, out in the field where you get to communicate a lot daily to members of the public who are either just curious or wanting to know what is going on. So, it was nice to communicate with them and inform them of what we were doing in the area.
Also, what I like most is the fact that we were given an area where we knew there was a leak in the area but when we went in, we were the ones who went through the process of actually pinpointing it. You get quite a lot of satisfaction from completing the job and fixing the leak or understanding how it’s getting fixed. The fact that we help reduce the amount of water that's getting lost ultimately protect the environment and reduce the costs for Welsh Water are all factors that contributed to my enjoyment of the role.
Can you please walk us through your journey of progressing into your new role at Tetra Tech?
I had never heard of Tetra Tech until I was in my position at RPS. And that's when I found out that RPS was recently acquired by a company called Tetra Tech. So, I began looking at more opportunities that were more in line with graduate schemes and graduate opportunities, both at RPS and Tetra Tech themselves.
That's when I came across an array of different opportunities that were more in line with what I was passionate about at university, specifically, as a flood risk consultant. So, that was a massive factor that made me want to progress and apply for this position at Tetra Tech.
Process-wise, the initial application was in October. My CV and cover letter went into detail about why I wanted this specific role and why Tetra Tech themselves. Then, I had an online group activity which was in December with a group of five or six other people, and we had to discuss a project and ultimately show how each individual would work within a team. After this, I was fortunate enough to be selected for the next stage in February. I had an in-person Interview and Assessment Day in London, and I was successful there as I did a lot of preparation for it. And that's when they gave me the offer.
It was initially meant to start in September 2024, but I've been offered an earlier start. it was something I couldn't refuse and was passionate about getting involved with, so now, I'm starting on April 8th.
What about that new role stood out to you that made you want to pursue it?
This particular opportunity was within flood risk, flood risk management and consultancy, which is something that I've been passionate about for the last three or four years now, probably even further back to when I did Geography in my A-Levels and it’s something that I've been passionate about throughout my time at university too.
I think that flood risk itself is such an important topic. Every winter, we see how many storms hit the UK and how much flooding goes on. So, it's such an important field to get into and I think that's another reason why that role stood out to me.
But also, when I did my research on the graduate opportunities at Tetra Tech, they were quite specific to each individual. It seems you are tailored to a programme where you get continuous professional development, extra training and career pathways set out for yourself. There’s so much effort and time put into graduates because ultimately, they are the new workforce coming up and hopefully in time, I'll get to a stage where I'm helping the next cohort of graduates coming through.
What are you most excited about in your new role?
I think it's working with a range of new clients on new projects across the UK as well as meeting new people and colleagues that I will be working with on these projects.
When I did my research on Tetra Tech and when I went to the assessment days where they explained more about what the company were doing and the projects they were working on, within flood risk specifically, it all sounded exciting and positive.
It was all looking at how to help the environment and reduce the impacts of climate change on the environment and the people living within it. So that’s probably the most exciting thing- working on just a range of real-life, real-world projects that are going to make a difference to people within the next 30 or 50 years.
Also, the location was important too. Manchester's a vibrant city and that’s somewhere I've enjoyed visiting in the past. So, I think working in the heart of Manchester is going to be exciting as well.
Would you say there are opportunities to progress at RPS?
I think RPS has some great opportunities. if I didn't have this experience and developed more skills and real-world experience with RPS through my role as a Water Leakage Technician, I don't think I could have then gone on to get onto this graduate role with Tetra Tech.
I think for me and this stage in my career, as I was just finishing University, I wanted to get onto a graduate role and it's very specific as to what sort of route you go down, so it just depends on what suits you, your situation and your goals.
What advice would you give someone who would like to join RPS?
I think you've got to know what you want to do.
I think the advice for people joining RPS is just to be yourself, in the application, and the role. Be confident, highlight your main skills and your experience from your previous employment, your education at university and even extracurricular activities, sports and other achievements.
The people at RPS will appreciate that and want to see the strengths that you've got. There’s no need to be too nervous in the application process because everyone I've dealt with at RPS is really lovely. And they do want you to thrive. They want you to express yourself and show off your skills. Even if things don't work out, then you just learn from that and use it as a stepping stone for the next interview.
And most importantly, be yourself and just give it your best shot.
Interested in joining RPS?
Take a look at some of the open vacancies we have within our Asset, Survey and Inspection unit and read more testimonials from our people, by visiting the link below!