Profile
Kalina Dimitrova
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About Me:
I live in Aberdeen, Scotland. I enjoy knitting, reading, and spending time with friends and family. I also like music, films, and being outdoors.
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I live in Aberdeen and enjoy being outdoors. I like hiking and exploring nature when I can. I’m lucky to live in Scotland as there are a lot of Munros to climb.
I also enjoy knitting and reading at home, as they help me relax. Some of my favourite books are Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and the series about detective Rebus by Ian Rankin.
Spending time with friends and family is very important to me. However it always involves a lot of organisation since we are spread out all over the UK and Europe.
English is my second language. I also know Bulgarian and German. I really want to learn Spanish in the future.
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My pronouns are:
She/Her
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My Work:
I’m a structural and civil engineer. I help design strong, safe, and sustainable buildings, roads, and bridges that help people and the planet.
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A career as a structural and civil engineer involves designing, building, and looking after the structures and systems that make everyday life possible. I help create things like bridges, buildings, roads, schools, homes, tunnels, and flood defences.
I use science and maths to make sure structures are safe, strong, and long-lasting. For example, I calculate forces, which are pushes and pulls acting on a structure, such as the weight of people, cars, wind, or snow. I also study materials like concrete, steel, timber, and brick to understand how strong they are and how they behave under pressure. Gravity, which pulls everything towards the ground, is another key factor I must consider when designing buildings and bridges.
When I’m doing structural engineering I focus mainly on the strength and stability of structures. This means making sure buildings and bridges do not collapse, bend too much, or crack over time. As a civil engineer, I often work on larger projects like roads, railways, drainage systems, and water supplies, making sure they are practical, efficient, and safe for the public to use.
In my career, I work closely with architects, who design how buildings look, and construction workers, who build them. I create drawings, run calculations, and use computer software to test their designs before anything is built. I also visit construction sites to check that the work is being done correctly.
Overall, being a structural or civil engineer is about solving real-world problems using science and creativity. It is a career where the knowledge learned in school—especially maths and science is used every day to shape the world around us and improve people’s lives.
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My Typical Day:
A typical day as a structural and civil engineer starts with arriving at work in the morning (around 8:30 am) and checking emails and plans for the day.
I spend time using a computer to do maths and drawings to design buildings, bridges, or roads.
Sometimes I visit a construction site to see how the work is going and make sure everything is safe.
I have lunch with my team around 1:00pm, then spend the afternoon solving problems and updating designs. At the end of the day, which is typically 5:00pm for me, I head home knowing I have helped make things safe for people to use.
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I arrive at the office at 8:30am and start the day by checking my emails and looking at the plans for my projects. During the morning, I work on a computer doing maths and drawings to design buildings, bridges, or roads. This helps make sure they are strong and safe.
At 1pm, I stop for lunch and take a break with my colleagues.
In the afternoon, I go back to my desk to solve problems, update designs, and sometimes talk to other engineers or architects about the work. Some days I may visit a construction site to see how the building work is going. I finish work at 5pm and head home.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
If I won the £500 prize money, I would use it to run a model-building competition for students. The aim would be to help students explore what it is like to be a civil and structural engineer in a fun and hands-on way.
Students would work in small teams to design and build model buildings and roads. They would then test their designs by adding weight to the buildings and using toy cars to see if the roads can safely take a car from point A to point B. This would help students understand ideas like strength, balance, and forces in a simple and exciting way.
The prize money would be used to buy materials for building, such as cardboard, wood, glue, and weights, as well as toy cars and testing equipment. There would be prizes for the top three designs to reward creativity and problem-solving. If possible, some of the best designs could even be built in real life, helping students see how their ideas could become real structures.
This activity would make STEM learning practical, creative, and engaging, and help students see how science and maths are used in real engineering careers.
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Education:
I went to school in Bulgaria. It was a language school called Aleko Konstantinov. This is the equivalent of attending a secondary school here in Scotland.
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Qualifications:
I gained the equivalent of Advanced Highers in Maths, Bulgarian and German
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Work History:
I used to work as a personal assistant for a woman with disabilities, which taught me the importance of clear communication and compassion.
During my final two years at Aberdeen University, I worked as a course tutor for first- and second-year students in maths and structural behaviour. This experience helped me understand the importance of explaining complex concepts clearly so that others can learn effectively.
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Current Job:
Project Engineer
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Employer:
Goodson Associates
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
knitting, hiking civil engineer
What did you want to be after you left school?
Structural Engineer
Were you ever in trouble at school?
I used to write for the school newspaper and some of my articles were a bit too funny for the teacher's liking.
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Journalism
Who is your favourite singer or band?
I like 70s rock music so bands like AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, Queen, Sex Pistols, The Clash and Aerosmith
What's your favourite food?
Pasta
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Honestly? Here they are, no superpowers, just real ones: A “pause life” button So I could stop time, have a nap, finish tasks calmly, and then unpause like nothing ever happened. Instant understanding powers Learn any subject, skill, or language the moment I need it - no revision, no tutorials, no “why isn’t this working?” moments. Unlimited good vibes Endless good music, great conversations, strong coffee, and that feeling where everything just works out in the end.
Tell us a joke.
Why did the structural engineer bring a ladder to the meeting? Because they heard the project needed more support 😄
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