• Question: What made you want to become engineer

    Asked by Owain H on 8 Mar 2021. This question was also asked by lily lake.
    • Photo: Sarah-Jane Potts

      Sarah-Jane Potts answered on 8 Mar 2021:


      I was fascinated with art and design in school and always loved creating pieces which had an impact on people lives. However, I wanted a way of reaching more people and helping to change the face of the technology that people use and experience in everyday life. Engineering allows you to bridge these two worlds. It enables me to be creative, but also apply my understanding of maths and science to create a wide range of products.

    • Photo: Adrian Marsland

      Adrian Marsland answered on 9 Mar 2021:


      Curiosity in to how things worked and fitted together, from how toys fitted together my Father encouraged my curiosity in to how toys assembled, how to make a go cart and repair a bike. This led on to study and then a career.

    • Photo: Mia Richardson

      Mia Richardson answered on 9 Mar 2021:


      I loved the satisfaction I got from solving a difficult problem and I always new I never wanted to be stuck doing the same thing at work day-in day-out. By doing engineering you get these opportunities all the time meaning you never stop using your brain in new and creative ways- it’s rarely boring! Secondly, I had a massive desire to help fight climate change. I thought the most practical and effective way I could do this was to learn how to design and build solutions to climate change issues.

    • Photo: Michael Jones

      Michael Jones answered on 9 Mar 2021:


      I wanted to be able to use scientific knowledge in a practical manner to help solve the energy crisis.

    • Photo: Ayla Cooper

      Ayla Cooper answered on 9 Mar 2021:


      I always enjoyed maths, physics and graphic communication at school, so was advised to do engineering by my guidance teacher. I went to a lot of uni open days and attended a lot of lectures about the different types of engineering and when I was sat in the Civil Engineering one I was hooked from the opening line ‘Civil Engineers save more lives than doctors’. I thought it sounded ridiculous but he went on to explain that the water sector provided clean water and the sewage networks took away the foul water stopping people from getting sick. Railway engineers design railways and fix old railways reducing the chance of train accidents. Structural engineers design building to withstand a number of storms, heavy snow fall and earthquakes making them safer for the people who use them.

      Engineering is a great career that combines the theoretical knowledge and problem solving. Every project you will work on will be different and that’s what makes it exciting!

    • Photo: Callum Maloney

      Callum Maloney answered on 9 Mar 2021:


      I was always interested in science and how things worked from a young age. I remember getting a science kit for Christmas one year when I was around 6/7 years old and loving it! Then as I got into the last few years of high school I found myself taking subjects like physics and technological studies which I found really interesting. From there I wanted to continue learning so I went to University. I did consider combining working and learning in an apprenticeship role but didn’t really know too much about that option at the time. There is a lot more information out there these days so if that is something you are considering I would definitely say it is worth looking into it! Regardless of what route you take though, if you are considering an engineering role have a look at what types (or disciplines) of engineering and what industries (e.g. energy industry, manufacturing, automotive etc.) interest you. From there you can start to look at what skills and qualifications employers ask for in these roles.

    • Photo: Anna Garcia-Teruel

      Anna Garcia-Teruel answered on 9 Mar 2021:


      I was always interested in sustainability issues. I wanted to contribute to develop renewable energy technologies to act against climate change. I found that engineering was the best way for me to get involved in the development of new technologies. While studying then I also realised that I really like doing research and solving new problems, which has led to my current career as a Research engineer.

    • Photo: Emily Rowe

      Emily Rowe answered on 9 Mar 2021:


      I was good at maths and physics and loved design technology. I also enjoyed making things (out of wood) with my dad when I was younger and helping him to fix the car.
      I wanted to work in something practical and engineering seemed like the perfect combination of using maths and physics in a practical way!

    • Photo: Tom Pratt

      Tom Pratt answered on 9 Mar 2021:


      I was fascinated by aeroplanes and wanted to work with them.

    • Photo: Jasmine Bone

      Jasmine Bone answered on 9 Mar 2021:


      I always enjoyed maths and science at school and I like problem solving and figuring out how things work. I found engineering allows me to do that! There is so much variability and many opportunities to learn new things everyday.

    • Photo: Emma Robertson

      Emma Robertson answered on 10 Mar 2021:


      I’ve always enjoyed making things and solving problems, and at school my favourite subjects were maths, physics, art and product design/design technology and I wanted to do something that combined all of these. I also wanted a mix of theoretical/using my brain work and practical work, so becoming an engineer was perfect. I love being creative and designing/improving products.

      Engineering is also really exciting and it’s great to have a job where you can make a difference to the world!

    • Photo: Amy Carter

      Amy Carter answered on 17 Mar 2021:


      Mine definitely wasn’t a case of ‘I was always interested in…’. I had no idea that engineering even existed when I was at school, let alone what it was or that I wanted to do it! I could never decide what I wanted to do, but I decided to go to university anyway and just picked a subject I was good at. When I got to uni, I met lots of people studying engineering and had a ‘eureka’ moment – I was good at science and maths, but wanted to do something creative and work with people. I changed courses 2.5 years into my degree and never looked back!

    • Photo: Tolu Elemo

      Tolu Elemo answered on 17 Mar 2021:


      Influence from other engineers.

    • Photo: Magdalena Grzybek

      Magdalena Grzybek answered on 26 Mar 2021:


      As engineers, we are constantly changing the world with inventions and solutions that effects everyone’s lives. Engineering is the field that solves the most impactful of our problems in the world, like working on medical devices, creating clean water and energy.

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