Rebecca Bell

Current Employer/Organisation Name

KBR

What have you been doing since leaving Exeter, and what are you doing now?

I spent a year working for the NHS in Health Records before doing a Project Delivery Graduate Scheme with KBR, working in the Defence and Nuclear industries.

Why did you choose this career? And what do you enjoy most about your work?

I picked this career because I enjoyed the project management module I did at uni, and I like seeing how things get done from ideation and initialisation to commissioning and handover. An aspect of the graduate scheme I did that I particularly liked was the rotational structure that gives you exposure to a wider range of projects and opportunities.

What did you enjoy most about your programme and what was the biggest highlight?

I really enjoyed being part of the first cohort to do my degree, it felt like we had a lot of control and influence over how the course developed and I liked the wide range of modules we had access to.

What did you most enjoy about studying here?

Being able to see the ocean from the library.

Why did you choose to study at Exeter?

I liked that the course was multidisciplinary, so I could choose what I wanted to do with it.

What skills and experiences have been most useful for your career?

Being able to speak publicly and use logic to work through problems has been really fundamental, as well as being able to read and understand contracts.

What advice would you give to a current student who wishes to pursue your career?

Don’t feel limited by your degree, soft skills are much more important as a junior PM; you can learn the processes but being able to manage people is key.

What are your plans for the future?

Keep doing what I’m doing, focusing on the Nuclear industry.