Paul Guyers

What did you want to be when you were younger?

I wasn’t sure but I knew I wanted a ‘trade’.

What primary school did you attend?

Blessed Sacrament

What did you study in school?

My options were Spanish, History & Geography

What was your favourite subjects, please state your reason for this?

History, absolutely loved learning about the first and second world wars and I had the brilliant Mr Marsh for a teacher!

What did you enjoy most about Maricourt Catholic High School?

I always enjoyed playing for the school cricket team but haven’t played a game since!!

What did you study in Sixth form?

I didn’t go to Sixth form, I entered the world of employment at 16 on an apprenticeship

What have you been doing since leaving school?

For the last 15 years I’ve worked as a building services engineer (sometimes known as M&E Design Engineering) for various companies. I’m now Associate Director of an M&E Design Consultancy in Wavertree. Building Services Engineering is quite an obscure profession. Everyone will have felt the benefit of a building services engineer, but probably doesn’t know it. Every time you turn a light on, every time you feel comfortable in a room because the radiators are on or the air conditioning has kicked in, when you plug your phone charger into a socket - a decision has been made by a Building Service Engineer to make all that happen. If you think of a building as if it were a human body, the architect would govern what it looked like, a structural engineer will make it stand up, but a Building Services Engineer makes it live and breathe. We're at the forefront of renewable technology, designing services in buildings to be as environmentally friendly as possible to help make the planet greener.

What advice would you give to our students to inspire them?

If you work hard, you will achieve anything you want to. If it doesn’t work out exactly how you’d hoped, you’ll have no regrets as you know you will have tried your best.

What is a typical day in work for you in your career?

A typical day could include attending a design team meeting to discuss a project with an architect or structural engineer, visiting a site to make sure that what you’ve designed on paper is being installed correctly. As with most professions, answering emails and drinking plenty cups of tea! My job is the perfect mix of in office and ‘on site’.

What is the most rewarding part of your job, please state your reasons for this?

There’s nothing better than a happy client when they are given the keys to their new building/home. You’ve played a very important role in that building/home functioning correctly and efficiently. The satisfaction you get from doing a good job is very rewarding!

My message to young people deciding on a future career is?

Take your time. The age-old question when you’re in High School from family members is ‘what do you want to be when you’re older?’ and there can be quite a lot of pressure to make up your mind quicker than you want to. Go to Careers conventions and discover what’s out there. For the 10 professions you can think of off the top of your head, there’s probably 10 that you’ve never even heard of or thought about. But if you’re lucky enough to be passionate about something, explore opportunities in that area, and you won’t go far wrong.