Eryka Hayes

After graduating I began working as a Geo-Environmental Technician before being promoted to Geo-Environmental Engineer, a role that required a geography related degree. My degree provided a strong foundation for this position, particularly through the practical and analytical skills I developed. The field work and soil logging experience, particularly during my second-year soils module, helped with the site work I undertook as an engineer. For my dissertation, I investigated the evidence and extent of the Storegga Landslide Tsunami, which involved primary research including: soil coring, soil sampling, laboratory work and data analyses. This project was especially relevant to my early work as a Geo-Environmental Technician in a lab before being promoted to the engineer role which included site investigations, validations and report writing. My current role which is an Assistant Planning Enforcement Officer also requires a geography related degree and I also do site visits and report writing.

My favourite aspect of studying Geo-Environmental Hazards at Edge Hill was the small class size. This created an engaging learning environment and allowed for meaningful group discussions which provided the opportunity to spend quality time with the lecturers, ensuring plenty of academic support. I also really enjoyed that the course combined both geology and geography, allowing me to explore a broad range of topics whilst focusing on the area that interests me most which is natural hazards.

After two years in the engineering role, I decided it wasn’t for me, I made use of Edge Hill’s career support services and had several meetings to explore different career options. This was extremely useful in helping to find my current role. The university also organised career days where a range of companies came to speak with students, as well as career fairs held in the Hub. I found it especially useful when alumni students would share their experiences and discussed the career or further education paths they pursued after completing the same course as me.

The top three skills I gained from my degree were report writing, fieldwork, and data analysis. Report writing has helped immensely in my career, as I regularly prepare detailed reports both as an engineer and in my current role as an enforcement officer. Fieldwork experience was also extremely useful for both positions, helping me apply practical and analytical skills in real world settings. Additionally, I developed strong analytical and data interpretation skills particularly from my dissertation with the use of GIS which was helpful for both roles.

My degree inspired me to pursue a career as an engineer, as I particularly enjoyed the combination of site work, lab work and data analysis. After working as an engineer for two years, I discovered which aspects of the job I enjoyed most and which I found less suited to me. This led me to look for a role with less site work but one that still involved analytical tasks, leading to planning enforcement. In my current role, I continue to carry out site visits and detailed report writing, helping me to apply the skills and interests I developed during my degree and engineering experience.

A typical day in my job involves managing a range of cases arising from public complaints about building developments across Bolton. These can include issues such as fences built higher than permitted, unauthorised advertisements, the felling of trees within Tree Protection Order zones and many more. For each case I review the site and planning history and assess the relevant legislation to determine whether a breach of planning control has occurred. If no breach is identified, the case is closed, however, if a breach is suspected, I conduct a site visit to take photographs, speak with the property owner and record necessary measurements of any fences, extensions or outbuildings. Following this, I issue the appropriate correspondence, whether that’s informing a resident of a breach and outlining their options, or sending forms requesting further information about their development. I also prepare expediency reports to assess whether formal enforcement action should be taken.