All about Katie's current role:

I originally started working in DAERA as a Scientific Officer after university within the Marine Monitoring and Assessment Team. I carried out my placement year within this team which definitely helped me gain the experience I needed whilst gaining good networking contacts along the way. My job role involved water quality sampling of coastal water bodies in Northern Ireland for analysis under the Water Framework Directive. I really enjoyed this team and got the chance to board the R.V Corystes for a Groundfish Survey in the Irish Sea. A promotion opportunity arose for Higher Scientific Officer roles within the NIEA and I gave the application a go and was successful in January 2024. I was apprehensive about moving teams when I really enjoyed where I was, but I don’t regret it now at all! There is such a wide range of environmental career roles within DAERA and I have found that building your knowledge in as many areas as possible can really help you become a well-rounded scientist! 

My current job role involves consenting wastewater treatment work (WwTW) applications from Northern Ireland Water in the North Eastern River Basin, including the east coast of Northern Ireland and Strangford Lough. A typical week for myself would involve planning site inspection visits to treatment works across NI and carrying out surveys to ensure everything is working correctly, to help protect the environment against sewage spills. My job is to alert NI Water of anything unusual so they can send out colleagues to fix the problem. I also process applications for upgrades to treatment works, carrying out Environmental Impact Assessments using GIS to locate any nearby Special Protected Areas and Sensitive Areas, highlighting any potential impact a discharge may have to the environment. I am also involved in calculating storage requirements for sewer overflows and work closely with NI Water, the Marine team in DAERA and fish agencies in terms of consultation. I really enjoy fieldwork when heading out on site inspections as it feels great to contribute to protecting the environment in this way, finding problems that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. I also enjoy working with NI Water to highlight areas that are in need of improvement and brainstorming solutions to provide better treatment in sensitive areas such as Shellfish Waters.

All about Katie's time at Queens:

I enjoyed the interactive elements of the course at Queen’s the most. I would say the highlight of my time there would be the fieldtrips involved with the Applied Ecology and Biodiversity modules in first and second year. Heading to the ShareCentre in Fermanagh and the marine labs at Portaferry to carry out our own mini projects and work with fellow classmates was good fun! It was great to put the theory we had learnt into action, whilst working closely with lecturers in a relaxed setting.

Katie Kerr

Higher Scientific Officer in Water Regulation, Northern Ireland Environment Agency, DAERA

BSc Marine Biology with Professional Studies Graduate