Profile
Daniel English
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About Me
I live in Hertfordshire and work as a Systems Engineer. I studied Rocket Engineering at University. In the evenings I Play Ultimate Frisbee and Football.
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In my spare time I like to play Ultimate Frisbee, this sport is very intense which involves a lot of running, throwing and catching frisbees. You can throw a frisbee in ways you didn’t think were even possible! When I was 10 years old I wanted to be an astronaut and go into space. I have always wanted to go to Mars and love everything about space. I really wanted to find life somewhere else other than earth and wanted to go and live on Mars. The next best thing was to work with rockets which is part of what I do now!
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My pronouns are
he/him
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My Work
I make sure rockets are built and work correctly before they are launched. This can involve me setting up and running tests on the computer or doing test firings with actual rockets to make sure they are safe to use.
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Here is a youtube video of an interview of me and my job: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6vP5Afb1Vs&t=38s
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My Typical Day: I wake up and get ready for work, I start at 8.30am and finish at 5pm. I work at the computer simulating rocket flight and testing whether everything is working as it should do.
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I get into the office and have a chat with my co-workers, we talk about what we need to do for the day. I start testing the rockets on the computer to make sure they are safe to use, this might involve designing new ways of testing to check different bits of the rocket. I may have a meeting with different groups that work on different parts of the rocket to see if everything is ok and what we need to test. I might need to go into a lab to test parts of the rocket in-person to see if it matches what the computer is telling me. When someone tells you it isn’t rocket science, it actually is!
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What I'd do with the money
I would go into schools and run a "build your own rocket" engineering day and launch the final designs with my water rocket launcher
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I would use the money to buy the resources to go to schools with and run water rocket building workshops. This is something I have done before and launched the final designs built by students with my custom-made water rocket launcher. To do this I need a bunch of resources to build the rockets with and provide the students with the right materials. These sessions are great because they allow me to teach students about rockets, how they fly and also get practical experience and putting the taught concepts into practice.
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Education:
I went to Freman College for GCSE’s and A Levels, then Kingston University for my Masters Degree
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Qualifications:
I did GCSE’s in Triple Science, History, English, Maths, German, French and Geography. I did A level Chemistry, Biology, Maths and Geography. I did a degree called Aerospace Engineering, Astronautics and Space Technology
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Work History:
I have worked for an engineering company for 2 years called Synoptix Ltd
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Current Job:
Systems Engineer
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Employer:
We work on a range of things from Rockets, Artificial Intelligence, Submarines and Trains
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Engineer, Ultimate Frisbee, STEM
What's the best thing you've done in your career?
Testing rockets
What or who inspired you to follow your career?
NASA and the moon missions
What was your favourite subject at school?
Maths
What did you want to be after you left school?
Astronaut
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Rarely, only for answering back when I thought I was right!
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Astronaut or Teacher
Who is your favourite singer or band?
N-Dubz or Katy Perry
What's your favourite food?
Sunday Roast Dinner
What is the most fun thing you've done?
Drive a Rally Car
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Go into space, Live on Mars, Move to America
Tell us a joke.
What would happen to you if you broke the law of gravity? You would get a suspended sentence...
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