• Question: Hi I’m Peggy I think being an engineer Would be so Fun but of course hard work ! What do you do in your spare time if you have any ?

    Asked by peggy graham to Rob, Gemma, Carys, Abigail on 4 Jun 2021.
    • Photo: Gemma Singer

      Gemma Singer answered on 4 Jun 2021:

      Hi Peggy, I think you should definitely go for it! It is both fun and hard work, so I think you’re well prepared.

      Ignoring the fact that I spend far too much spare time watching YouTube … I love to spend time with friends and family and going for walks – if it’s late summer I especially like it if there are blackberries to forage!

      I also like sewing and mending clothes; I love getting creative with patching holes or embroidering cool designs over worn areas. I’m slightly obsessed and it’s super satisfying knowing that I’m saving something from landfill.

      Sometimes I just like to put on some music and dance about the living room… I’m not very good but it is very fun 😛

    • Photo: Carys Kelly

      Carys Kelly answered on 5 Jun 2021:

      Hey Peggy! It’s so important to give yourself time to have fun and relax when you’re working. I love gettting outside for walks or running, I have just moved house and I live next to a park which is great. I also love watching movies, baking and listening to music. The best thing I do outside of work is dance – I have been a dancer since I was 10 and I’m now a dance teacher. I absolutely love it – its great to be creative and work with lots of dancers of all ages to improve their skills.

    • Photo: Rob Gilbert

      Rob Gilbert answered on 7 Jun 2021:

      Hi Peggy, it is great being an engineer, and sometimes the hard work can even be fun! However like most people in engineering we’re employed for a certain number of hours per week. Eight hours a day is common, so that means I have late-afternoons and evenings free to do what I like which at the moment is going climbing, seeing friends, or reading.

      Sometimes when projects are busy I will work longer hours but this is rare. The project / company should really be managed in a way that means people aren’t working long hours as this can result is health problems such as stress.

      It’s also worth remembering some people change their working week to fit around other parts of their life. For example I currently work a 4 day week and always have Wednesdays off. This helps me look after boat tasks, or go to galleries and museums when they are less busy. People who have children sometimes work a 3 or 4 day week to help with childcare, however at the start of your career it’s probably best to work 5 days a week as there’s so much to learn!

    • Photo: Abigail Seager

      Abigail Seager answered on 7 Jun 2021:

      Hi Peggy. Being an engineer is great fun and though it can be hard work, the fun bits make the hard work worth it!

      In my spare time, I love baking cakes for friends and family. I like getting creative and coming up with new designs and themes and then figuring out how to make them out of cake. I also love spending time with my friends (though that’s been tricky lately – we’ve done a lot of zoom quizzes!). I also like watching telly, reading and doing the occasional jigsaw puzzle.

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