Karen Nugent
Aged 29

Qualifications
BSc Architectural Studies, RIBA Part 3

What do you do day-to-day?
It's a juggling act! I have several projects all at different stages. I might be meeting the client and preparing sketches, doing a design on the computer or dealing with planning. When it gets to construction, I need to supervise the work on site and deal with the contractor's queries.

What advice would you give prospective students?
Pay attention to what you see - you'll need to be able to articulate your reasons for choosing a design. Read as much as you can about architecture, both historical and modern.

Social aspects to your job?
We have twice yearly visits to a European city to study the architecture of that city. So far I’ve been to Rome, Lisbon, Oslo and Barcelona. It's a great chance to relax and get to know my colleagues better, it's great fun and gives the staff a great lift.

Why did you choose this career?
I wanted to go to university to do something that combined science and the arts. I was interested in design and problem solving, the effect of the environment on how people live and work. This fitted the bill perfectly.