Tell us a bit about your current job.

I am a Project Surveyor, working for a family-run carpentry and joinery subcontractor called Avi Contracts that happens to be run by my Dad and Uncle Avi. I'm on sites, working on lots of large projects. As a sub-contractor we come on to do different segments of work, predominantly focusing on the carpentry and joinery elements, so I've been working on hotels, hospitals, schools and commercial buildings. My job as a surveyor is to make sure that whatever we've got within our contract we do within our financial remit – just making sure we're on top of things. I walk past buildings and I say to my friends 'guys, we did work on this building!'. My dad did the Lyceum Theatre; it was one of his first ever jobs, and so when I sat there watching The Lion King I was thinking 'this seating was probably put down by my dad and my uncles'. The thought that we're building society, creating all these safe havens for communities – it's pretty amazing. 

What and where did you study after school?

I kind of fell into the trap of just going to uni – like a lot of kids you just get drilled UCAS UCAS UCAS. I went along with the whole process although I really wanted to start work or do an apprenticeship, but a lot of people were just saying 'don't do it, you'll waste your life, you're too clever to do that'. Anyway, I started accounting and finance at Brunel and then I realised it was definitely not for me. At that time my dad gave me a call and said 'Ok, just come and work for us, I know it's what you really want to do'. 

How did you get from answer 2 to answer 1?

Because of the cultural stigma of women working in the industry, especially people from different cultures and backgrounds, it wasn't seen as a thing to do – so I really just fell into it. Because I came straight out of A-levels I had to take a step back again, so I went back to college and I spent two years doing the foundations of construction: an HNC in construction and the built environment. That's where I got to grips with a lot of the fundamentals. It was all quite new to me, construction as a whole, apart from what I used to see my dad bring home. That's partly what inspired me to get involved – to spend time with my dad at weekends we had had to help him with work. He'd bring large plans home, with highlighters, and say 'who wants to help me do colouring-in?' We saw it as colouring-in but now I do that as my job! Then I went on to do a part-time degree at Westminster, in quantity surveying and commercial management; that was for three years.

I wrote a dissertation about why there aren't enough of the next generation, especially females, in our industry. It really struck a chord and I was like 'this is me!'. Then I started presenting my research and that's how I became an advocate for diversity and inclusion in the industry. I didn't realise how impactful it was until I went to a school to do a survey as part of my dissertation and I tried to find out why kids just weren't interested in construction or the built environment as a whole. Kids were saying things like ‘it’s a peasants job’ or ‘its not for girls’. This was the feedback I was getting and it really sparked something inside of me which made me realise I needed to become an advocate for the construction industry for the future of the sector and my fellow peers. 

How does your formal education feed into your present career (if at all)?

I did A-level accounting and business and I use so much of that in my work today without always realising. It's quite funny because a lot of people call surveyors in the construction industry 'glorified accountants', because we're looking after money. I look at the business's money, at the incomings and outgoings. My sister is an accountant and sometimes we look at each other's Excel spreadsheets and they cross over, it's just mine is more project-specific and the aim is to make money, rather than hers, which is more of an overview. We still do the same things like cashflow forecasts.

What things have you learnt outside of formal education that have been helpful to your career?

Throughout school I did a lot of sports and I did a lot of teamwork activities. Duke of Edinburgh taught orientation, so I was able to read drawings better because I knew which way I was standing – it's just small things like that. 

Our industry, like a lot of industries, has a very diverse group of people speaking many different languages. A lot of the people that we work with speak Gujarati, for me it's really good because I'm constantly learning that. I didn't do it for GCSEs but a lot people I know did do it, so at work I'm always brushing up. I'm still going through the process of learning words like 'timber'. You have to be able to communicate in different and accessible ways.

What are the really useful skills for someone in your job to possess?

Teamwork. In my industry we all have a common goal and that's to provide something – a building or a structure – to the clients. But the way I see it, we're building for ourselves too – these leisure centres or schools, we or our kids could be there one day– so if we all collectively put in hard work and our best energy that will be benefit those end users. 

What does an average day at work look like for you?

On an average day I'll be on-site or in the office, sometimes looking at what problems are ahead or what new work there is. I go to sites to assess our progress and see where we're going, how far we've come along, and that helps me then to make my applications for payments. If there's new work then I have to go to see it and then price it. A lot of it is project management in essence but looking after the financial side of it. In the morning I go to work with my dad and then I come home with him. My brother works on-site with us too.

What’s the best thing about your job?

Working with my family. I don't think a lot of people get to spend this much time with their family and the best part is knowing that I'm fending for them. Growing up we didn't have much and I used to see how much my dad grafted for us so that we could have the life we have now; seeing that made me want to graft more. 

I also think it's an awesome industry because you can see the end goal, and once you achieve it then you move onto the next one. A lot of people are stuck in jobs that are the same every day and in our industry it's definitely not like that. I'm working on about 10–15 projects at a time because I'm a sub-contractor, so I'll be switching every day between an academy or an historic building or new builds or refurbs. There's a wealth of experience and knowledge that comes from all this which is awesome. And these buildings are going to outlast us. I love that about my job – we're creating something that is going to outlast us as humans.

What’s your least favourite aspect of your job?

The whole culture around our industry. There are so many stigmas and bad perceptions; people don't see the good that is coming out of it. I made it a thing to go to the careers fair at the local temple last year; I stood at the stand that said construction. A lot of people were really confused when I said I go on site – they asked 'do they even let girls on sites?' It was awesome to educate people. 

A lot of people are scared to join our industry because of the perceptions. When I turn up to site people ask 'are you lost?' or security guys will ask 'are you sure you know where you're going?'. We need to educate people within our own industry because they're shocked to see me turn up. There's a lot of education that needs to happen.

What advice would you give to someone seeking a job like yours?

Go for it; don't listen to the voices around you. If you want to do it there's a place for you. If you have a passion for something like this you will thrive. Keep your head down, work really hard – and don't be scared. 

Follow Anjali on Instagram @indiangirlonsite

Image credit: Portraits from the Image of Women in Construction Project by NAWIC @imageofwic and Morley Von Sternberg @morleyvon

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