Career Profiles: Venus Wong

My Employer: I am working for WSP Group in Hong Kong. It is an international business providing management and consultancy services to the property, land and construction sectors.

My current job: I am mainly involved in the management of new high-rise building projects in urban areas. Before construction starts, I get involved in considering tenders, which are written statements and costs from various contractors bidding to do the work. During the construction stage, some of my duties include monitoring progress of the work and resolving the many varied problems that are encountered.

My previous job: After I graduated from university with my degree, I joined Fugro (Hong Kong) Limited whose services include the structural design of high rise buildings. I worked for them for four years as an assistant engineer to complete my training towards become a chartered structural engineer. During this time, I was involved in a wide variety of projects covering the design of hospitals, churches, and residential and commercial buildings. In addition, I worked on construction sites, being involved with the supervision of work and project management. From this experience, I have learnt how to apply theoretical knowledge to real-life problems.

Some highlights for me: I was involved in the design of the dome of a chapel on a project, named "Wing Kwong Pentecostal Holiness Church". To my surprise, in 2001, it won a special joint award from the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and the Institution of Structural Engineers. I am very proud of this, especially as I felt so very satisfied with the nature of the job.

I recently passed my exams to become a chartered structural engineer.

Why I chose structural engineering as a career: I was fascinated with subjects relating to mathematics and logic and anticipated that the engineering field would provide me with plenty of challenges.

My plans for the future: I would like to participate in different projects to enhance my management and communication skills. Also, I want to gain more practical experience to compliment my theoretical understanding so that I can build up a well-rounded structural knowledge.