Rebecca Main, Construction Management

Rebecca, who was also the first in her family to graduate from university, believes that women in the construction industry are still under-represented and hopes to encourage others to follow in her footsteps.

“The most interesting aspect of the course was being the only female in my year to be studying Construction Management,” she said.

“This shows that it is still unusual to see female students entering the construction industry, however, hopefully I will go on to prove that females can succeed in this field and that maybe more could be done to encourage females to enter these courses in future.”

Rebecca had always wanted to pursue her interest in design and construction and decided to take a break after leaving high school before applying to her course.

“Having attained the entry grades in 5th year, I decided I was too young to start university so left school and deferred it for a year.

“During that year I got a full time job to build up some savings and develop my confidence. I then applied the following year and was accepted with an unconditional offer to study Architectural Technology (AT).”

With her ongoing passion for architecture and design, Rebecca then confirmed her decision by attending the RGU open days, where she was given a great insight into what the courses would offer.

It was during her first year studying AT that she decided she wanted to pursue a slightly different pathway.

“After learning the inner workings of construction projects through my initial year on the AT course, I was drawn towards construction management and decided to change my course of studies in second year.”

The change in course was made easy at RGU’s Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment and, as with many courses at the university, the Construction Management course saw her involved in work-based learning, site visits and live projects with real clients.

“The highlights of the course were some alternative methods of teaching where you are required to be outside working with actual construction surveying equipment, which is great experience.

“Other highlights include the many site visit opportunities, chances to attend business conferences, lectures from industry professionals and also lunch and learn activities. Fourth year also had an elective module where I chose to study an introduction into the energy industry which included a visit to a drilling rig.

“I feel as though university has provided me with the skills and capabilities to thrive and continue to learn and adapt into any work environment. The time and effort that I put into my coursework has made me appreciate the level that will be required when entering the workplace.”