My career journey – from working in a gastropub, through leading performance improvement projects in a chemical plant during the pandemic, to my current role as a strategy consultant at Arup – has always been guided by one golden thread: helping clients and customers get to the heart of their challenges, explore practical solutions, and find a way forward. That sense of purpose has remained constant, no matter the setting.
My background in chemical engineering, combined with a module in artificial intelligence, provided the technical grounding I needed, but it was from this I learned that tackling complex problems and really getting to the bottom of what was going on that gave me genuine satisfaction and motivation.
While I was at university, I realised how important it was to have professional recognition. Setting my sights on chartered status became a personal milestone: a way to demonstrate my capability and credibility as a consultant. Throughout the process, I’ve been lucky to have the backing of my line manager and colleagues at Arup. Our firm set up a dedicated Microsoft Teams group for chartership candidates, offering a space to swap tips, raise questions, and share advice: something that came especially useful when we started tackling the professional discussion. That sense of community made a real difference, creating camaraderie and collective progress as I worked towards my Associate Chartered Management Consultant award.
Focusing on my chartership application prompted me to take stock at what I’ve achieved and where I still need to grow to be a genuinely well-rounded consultant. Writing my submission gave me space to reflect upon my career highlights. These included scaling a quarterly sprint from 11 to 73 different public sector organisations, developing user-centric dashboards for clients within a multi-disciplinary team, and leading stakeholder engagement in difficult environments. The application process also helped me pinpoint the next steps I need to take to reach full Chartered Management Consultant status in the years ahead. The thought of the professional discussion was daunting at first, but in the end, I found it rewarding and thoroughly enjoyed it. Those 60 minutes of focused conversation helped clarify my ambitions and left me with a lasting sense of pride in my accomplishments.
In 2026, I was the 100th person in Arup to become a Chartered Management Consultant. While hitting that milestone was a real honour, the real value lay in the rigour and reflection built into the process. The experience was genuinely transformative, marking a major professional achievement for me and laying a solid foundation for what’s to come.
For anyone beginning the chartership journey, my main advice is simple: start recording your achievements early by keeping your competency tracker up to date and embed it in discussions about your professional growth. It streamlines the process and gives you a chance to pause and appreciate how far you’ve come. Most importantly, embrace the experience. Chartership is a rare opportunity to reflect on what you’ve achieved and to think carefully about your next steps. In the fast-moving world of consulting, those moments don’t come often. Take advantage of them.