What made you want to pursue a career in engineering?
One of the main reasons I chose engineering would be because I have always liked to think creatively and pursue new ways/ideas to address issues and help to improve my skills/knowledge to assist me in providing safer and more efficient ways to develop the industry.
How did you journey in engineering begin?
My journey began in 2010 with an instrumentation apprenticeship at TTE. Through the course I developed skills and knowledge through the practical and theory examinations at TTE and at college. My apprenticeship was based on instrumentation technician role, towards the ends I was offered a role within the design side of instrumentation. This was a big jump across from working to the drawings to then producing them. However, looking back I think the jump was a good decision for me as I prefer to see an overall picture on how things go through the stages of feed through to commissioning/handover.
What has been the biggest lesson you have learned over the years?
This is a hard one as over my time in the engineering industry I have learnt a lot! The part which stands out for me and is focused on the design side of industry, is that when we produce the deliverables its very easy to see this as just writing or lines on a piece of paper. After years of experience on various sites it has taught me to visualise these lines and words onto the site and help me creatively think of different ways to help the efficiency of the project/site, also to produce the deliverable which are easy follow for the construction teams.
What is your favourite thing about your job?
One of the favourite things about my job is that majority of the time, every project is in a different location. I could be working offshore, to then work up in the Shetland islands and then work local to my area. Its good to see how different areas work and not focusing on one thing for a long period of time.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to pursue a career in engineering?
Go for it! If you love challenging work which makes you think outside the box, think of new ideas, contributing them into the design and follow it through to seeing this in person on a site, travel to various parts of the world. All whilst having a huge variety of work to go into. Then there’s no better time than the present.