With a degree in Exploration and Mining Geology, an MSc in Engineering Geology, and a PhD in the deformation behaviour of chalk, Maria Holloway-Strong’s career looked set to soar in a rich and varied expanding sector.
Instead of following the more typical career route into the oil and gas industry, she wanted to pursue her interests in the built environment.
She enjoyed the beginning of her career and when she had her first child in 2001, she did what many new mums do and took time off to take care of her newborn baby. Maria’s daughter was born with medical needs and when she was ready to go back to work, she wanted to return part-time. However, for her employers at the time, that wasn’t an option and when her second child was born with severe allergies and asthma, she knew a career break was the best choice for her and her young family.
“I knew I was the best person to look after them,” Maria said. “So, I decided to stay at home, and focus on my children.”
Her then-husband’s job moved to Australia and then America, and Maria and the family went too. Maria’s third child was born during her time overseas. While she was not in the UK, Maria kept up her professional skills and profile. She published a paper in the International Journal of Geomechanics exploring the stress-deformation behaviour of chalk, networked with local and regional business leaders and kept her professional memberships up. She also qualified as a breastfeeding counsellor and worked with businesses to become breastfeeding-friendly places of work and helped facilitate a conference for the Australian Breastfeeding Association (WA Branch).
Seventeen years after her last job role, Maria felt it was time to return to engineering. “Although I had not been working in STEM for such a long time, I was still developing my skills,” she said. “I knew I had a lot to offer a company, but I had no recent experience in the sector and my confidence was low. I was then a single parent, and I didn’t know how I was going to do it all.”
Through the STEM Returners programme, Maria was able to get a role with AtkinsRéalis. Coincidently, Maria had worked for AtkinsRéalis as an early careers graduate when she was trying to break into the industry. Thirty years later she was back, trying to reignite her STEM career.
“I found it hard to return,” she explained. “I was older than most of the people in my team and my line managers. So much had changed within the workplace too – fax machines were a thing of the past – and I’ll admit that for the first month or so, I felt very lost. But I kept talking to my colleagues and being sociable and they started to see me for who I am. I spent 12 months on site, with a team of 10 colleagues, which was helpful for building working relationships.
“The peer support through STEM Returners was an important element of the programme and they also provided input to reconnecting to and identifying soft skills, which was empowering since a lot of focus was on demonstrating technical skills when I returned to work. Things changed quickly and I felt more confident in everything I was doing.”
Fast forward eight years and Maira is now flying high. Her latest promotion saw her become a principal engineering geologist with AtkinsRéalis, she has been published again in a peer-reviewed journal and she has become a Chartered Geologist by the Geological Society. She is Chair of the Ground Engineering Advisory Panel and has become actively involved in supporting colleagues with caring responsibilities, including helping to develop and implement flexible working policies for staff. Her drive and expertise were also preconised by WISE where she won the 2025 STEM Returner Award.
“There is a prevailing assumption that a gap in a person’s CV means that they have lost skills and are less valuable as an employee. But that is an erroneous assumption – years of training and education are not lost, additional skills are developed and honed during career breaks and returners bring added diversity to a workplace. Diverse teams create better outcomes for any organisation.”
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