Insights Achieving work & military/life balance

Jane Kelsey | Assistant Engineering Geologist

01 June 2019

Jane joined AtkinsRéalis as a graduate engineering geologist after completing a master’s degree in Engineering Geology. Jane is also a reserve geotechnical technician with the British Army.
 
“My role in the Royal Engineers is firstly as a soldier, and secondly a specialized engineer. In the military, you learn a range of transferable soft skills such as team work, working under extreme pressures, self-discipline, organization and many more, all of which can be applied in my role with AtkinsRéalis.
 
“I am new to both AtkinsRéalis and the Army, but I have been offered many opportunities to deploy for short periods of time to aid with geotechnical jobs in theatre. The exercises I’ve taken part in have been a great opportunity to learn skills directly applicable in my civilian job which I would otherwise not have had the chance to.
 
“I chose to accept my job offer with AtkinsRéalis after reading about their protocol with reservists. As a national reservist I serve a minimum of 19 days a year, which consists of a few weekends and a two-week annual summer camp. AtkinsRéalis allow reservists an extra 10 days leave to fulfil training requirements. This extra leave allows reservists to use their annual leave for holidays and relaxation, as believe it or not, sometimes work as a reservist can be as stressful and as tiring as your day-to-day work!”