• Question: what got you to where you are today?

    Asked by lily lake on 16 Mar 2021. This question was also asked by fast133new, MiracleA.
    • Photo: Sarah-Jane Potts

      Sarah-Jane Potts answered on 16 Mar 2021:

      Short answer:

      A Levels in Maths, Art & Physics (As in English Language), Masters in Product Design Engineering, a Doctorate in Materials Engineering entitled “Advanced manufacture by screen printing” and now my current job as a research engineer on printed electonics.

      Long answer:

      When I was in school, I thought I wanted to go into Art but really enjoyed Maths and Physics so I did Art, Maths and Physics at A Level. I also did As in English Language as I knew if I were to go for Architecure instead, some courses wanted English Language too. During sixth form I found out about Engineering and realised I could still get to design and make things while using my understanding in science and maths. I then looked into all of the different types of engineering available, going through prospectuses and doing internet searches. I found Product Design Engineering which seemed to perfectly combine the things I enjoyed so I did an undergraduate Masters in it at Swansea University. At the end of my course, I realised I really liked it at Swansea Uni and I had a friend starting his Engineering Doctorate at the time. The job seemed really interesting and a title of “screen printed biosensors” came up which I went for and got the job. Early on my project was changed by my sponsor to the science of screen printing of functional materials in general. Although this was not what I signed up for, I made the most of it and turned it into something I enjoyed, so much that I wanted to keep going down that route. At the end of my doctorate a job came up for a screen printing expert to work on printed solar cells. It seemed like such a great way to use the skills I had gained while working on a form of sustainable energy that could help reduce our carbon footprint, so I went for it. Which brings you to where I am now.

    • Photo: Mia Richardson

      Mia Richardson answered on 17 Mar 2021:

      I did A levels in French, Maths and Physics and then a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering, then applied for the graduate scheme! A lot of people at my company didn’t do a degree and came into the company as an apprentice, or are getting a degree at the same time as working here, so there are lots of options.

      To be honest, for most of uni I hated engineering and didn’t want to do it as a career, but then I did a module in 3rd year that I found super interesting (it was about electric vehicles) and I loved working on it. As a result, I got work experience in the renewable energy industry and picked modules in renewable energy in my 4th year, and decided I did want to do engineering after all! I would finding what interested me and working hard to learn more about it had the biggest impact on where I am today 🙂

    • Photo: Anna Garcia-Teruel

      Anna Garcia-Teruel answered on 22 Mar 2021:

      I work at the University as a researcher in offshore renewable energy.
      My path to get there was a Bachelors and a Masters in Mechanical Engineering specialised in energy systems, and a Doctorate in wave energy.
      On the way I used any occasion to try different engineering jobs and go abroad. At uni I worked as research and teachning assistant, and did two internships in industry (which I had to do to get my undergraduate degree). When I started my masters, I started with a semester abroad in Sweden, which was really enjoyable where I met people from all over world, but it was also really interesting to study in a different uni system. I quite liked the research work so I also did a 6 months research visit in the USA during my Masters degree. For my final MSc thesis, I went to the German Aerospace Centre, to be able to do research in a different context outside of the university, which was also a really interesting experience that gave me more perspective on what I wanted to do. After all of that, since I thought I wanted to do research I started my doctorate. During my doctorate I also spent 3 months abroad in Oregon in the USA working with a professor there. I find going abroad and seeing how other people work, what their approaches are, getting to know new cultures, is really important and useful to put my work and my life into perspective, learn from others things that they do better, and things that you would do differently, and also build a network of people that you can/would like to work with. So I think travelling and getting to know other working systems has been a big part of of my path.

    • Photo: Emma Robertson

      Emma Robertson answered on 23 Mar 2021:

      I have always been interested in how things work and problem solving. I did my A-levels in Maths, Physics and Geography which is when I got interested in engineering. From there, I studied Product Design Engineering at university, and applied for my current job while studying. I then did several placements around the company before doing a placement in the team I am in now and staying there.

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