• Question: Do you ever struggle when given a task at work?

    Asked by branflakes123 to Al, Emma, Ivanka, James, Omar on 14 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: James Vokes

      James Vokes answered on 14 Mar 2012:


      All the time. That’s what being a engineer’s all about. You’ll be given a task and you’ll have to work out how to complete it. Sometimes it’s easy because it’s something you’ve done before or you’ve done something like it but other times it’s a real struggle because you can’t quite find the right solution.

    • Photo: Emma Bould

      Emma Bould answered on 14 Mar 2012:


      Sometimes I do – I find the best way to tackle a difficult problem is by breaking it into smaller parts and trying to solve each bit at a time.

      I also think it helps to talk to other people you work with – some of those might not be engineers, but seeing as everyone has different ideas and ways of thinking, it can sometimes help.

    • Photo: Omar Mustufvi

      Omar Mustufvi answered on 14 Mar 2012:


      Yes, if I’m finding something too easy then they are probably not getting their moneys worth out of me! I like to be challenged and this is usually when the best ideas are dreamt up!

    • Photo: Ivanka Brown

      Ivanka Brown answered on 14 Mar 2012:


      I agree with the other engineers – I view the tasks I get given to be a puzzle that you have to find an answer to. Sometimes I will have done something similar and it will be a case of running through the same process and changing my previous answer to fit my current situation/confuguration. However, a lot of the time I won’t have done anything like it, so I’ll have to go back to my textbooks or go to the library to see how others have tackled similar things. Often there are several ways to tackle the problem, but I have to find the most appropriate, most efficient, safest, popular, sustainable, cheapest option, which don’t always go together.

    • Photo: Al Bartlett

      Al Bartlett answered on 14 Mar 2012:


      Hello again Branflakes123,

      Yes, all the time – This is why we have lots of engineers here – sometimes an engineer cannot see things but to get someone elses point of view is great. We always get things sorted in the end even if it takes us a little more time!

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