• Question: What kind of engineering do you do and how diverse is it

    Asked by callum f to Priyanka, Chris, Paul, Ryan, Sarah on 7 Mar 2016. This question was also asked by 226fuee26, 872fuee39, xXHoyXx, SVEN, SB1738.
    • Photo: Priyanka Dhopade

      Priyanka Dhopade answered on 7 Mar 2016:

      I’m an aerospace engineer, which means I get to work with aeroplane-related things! Although it sounds specialised, it’s actually pretty diverse because I get to work with:
      – structures (how durable is it?),
      – aerodynamics (how well will it fly?),
      – electronics (how can I automate it?)
      – finance (how much will it cost?)

    • Photo: Sarah Hargreaves

      Sarah Hargreaves answered on 13 Mar 2016:

      This is a good question as engineering covers a whole load of different subjects and specialisms. I would say that I am a nuclear engineer and my specialism as a nuclear engineer is structural integrity, which means I look at structures behave so we can predict if and when they might break and so decide on the best materials to use to build a design. But even within my specialism there are more specialisms such as:

      – materials, understanding how to make and shape them
      – fracture mechanics, looking at how materials break
      – Finite Element Modelling, looking at using a computer programme to understand what forces are acting on a structure

      and the list could go on……. engineering is a really diverse subject which means that it gives you lots of opportunities to learn new skills and move around in your career. Most importantly it mean you will never get bored as there’s always something new to learn!

    • Photo: Christine Coonick

      Christine Coonick answered on 15 Mar 2016:

      Good question Callum,

      I work in solar engineering and I am luckily enough to work in a job that allows me to cover all aspects. Typically I work in the design, testing and operation of systems, which covers a wide range of activities from designing on CAD, to testing components on a rig, to fire investigations (when things go wrong). I also get involved in disseminating information, so writing research papers, having input into policies etc.

      I am currently looking at the interaction of solar technologies with energy storage and smart grids.

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