Sara McGowan CEng MCIBSE AMAPM

I am an Associate Building Services Engineer working on building engineering projects. I design systems that control the internal environment within buildings, e.g. heating, air conditioning and façade systems. I am responsible for project managing several jobs at a time, monitoring and controlling the finances on each and co-ordinating and leading the Building Services teams.

Sarah McGowen

I joined Arup as a graduate in 1995 and immediately joined the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) Graduate Training programme. Working for a building engineering company, gaining chartership and registration is regarded as being very important and Arup were hugely helpful in ensuring that I achieved my objectives. I became chartered with CIBSE two years ago.

My route to registration was fairly straight forward, completing my log book and reports for the first two years and then continuing with the ‘professional development’ requirements during the following years. After five years I felt that I was ready to submit my application, however I was extremely busy at work at the time, so it took another year to complete the forms and reports that were required! Following submission of my Project Report I was called to attend interview in December 2001 and was successful in my application.

From a personal point of view I have always believed that registration is an important thing to achieve. I feel that chartership demonstrates commitment to my job and to my continued development as an engineer and as a professional. As someone who works in the building industry chartership also brings respect from your peers and is in fact ‘expected’ by many clients as a requirement of the engineers that they employ.

Gaining registration is a very worthwhile objective for both your professional and personal development as an engineer.

Sara McGowan CEng MCIBSE AMAPM Based in London with engineering consultancy Arup. Registered 2002