Meet Shanam Bhan - an Associate at AECOM based in India. 

Delivering world class design

"As a power system consultant, my role is to lead, guide and contribute to help deliver world class design, standards and guidelines in power infrastructure works which are aimed at benefitting society. I do this whilst also contributing towards overall company standards," explains Shanam.   

Making things happen

"While in school, our building experienced a power cut for an entire day. My dad and I sat with all the blue prints of the building to understand the area of concern. While working with my dad on its restoration, I realised that its not about being a qualified engineer but its about how engineering is instilled within you! Perhaps a zeal to make things happen and the importance of knowledge and efficient workmanship. That’s when I knew what I had to do in future. I wanted to contribute to my society and my surroundings. Not everyone is as priviledged to realise this so early on, but I knew I was an electrical engineer in the making."

Pushing the boundaries

"Delivering a better design and better final product as per latest technology advancements in the power sector is a great motivator and makes me happy. Delivering what I love and the satisfaction of contributing towards mankind and working in a technically strong environment is what pushes my boundaries further."

Women achieving alongside male colleagues 

"As far as the power sector in India is concerned, the ratio of women working in this field are much less compared to other professions. By working in this male-dominated sector, I can set a precedent that women are at a par and can be equally successful as their male counterparts."

Exciting projects at AECOM

"Some exciting projects I've worked on include Dholera Smart City, Vizag Smart City, Power Design for Wave City, Noida smart street lighting ( Conventional & Hybrid) for GMR Krishnagiri. I introduced the latest components in power design 4 years back and am still working on compact substations, gas Insulated substation, ring main system and the betterment of system power loss. 8 years ago I got to deliver a power system project independently. The client had greatly appreciated my work and so gave me more and more new project assignment’s."

So many opportunities available

"AECOM is the no.1 Engineering consultancy with clientele in more than 150 countries with almost all engineering fields under its umbrella. With some great engineering jobs available, the plethora of opportunities an engineer can derive is what made me choose AECOM. The kind of projects the company has delivered are testimony to the fact that AECOM transforms individuals passion into excellence and this is what propelled me to choose AECOM"   

Logic wins

"Be it on a personal or professional front, I believe one should keep herself updated, well informed and a belief in upscaling yourself. To me it’s not designation or power, but logic that should always win. I have always been an optimist and always believe that sky is the only limit. With Google, almost everything is a click away and so innovation and betterment in engineering has gone slow. Engineering is all about passion mixed with rigorous effort to achieve something worthy and resourceful."

Encouraging more women into engineering

"By creating more awareness among all walks of life and spreading the knowledge that women can be equally successful in the field of engineering. Engineers should be appreciated irrespective of gender. For every women rather every engineer out there, working at AECOM is an opportunity, a platform to showcase our strengths. With AECOM, only sky is the limit. Ideas are welcomed, innovations are valued and engineering excellence is respected. AECOM, works as a team which is spread across countries and works at the overall development of an engineer to grow in their careers.

"I read this somewhere -  'Don't take yourself (or your career) too seriously. Plenty of brilliant people started out in jobs they hated, or took paths that weren't right at the beginning of their careers. Professional development is no longer linear, and trust that with hard work and a dedication to figuring out what you want to do with your life, you, too, will be OK!' says Shanam. “Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.”

Women like Shanam truly thrive in their careers at AECOM. research their wide range of exciting current job vacancies .

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