• Question: Can you tell us the highs and lows of engineering please?

    Asked by c8lincfm to Alex, Chris, Harriet, Jed, Ken on 14 Mar 2012. This question was also asked by 11mgazelshigh, cheeselord360, lauraabc11, u28daviesc, sam987, emilyg, katie.
    • Photo: Ken Gibbs

      Ken Gibbs answered on 14 Mar 2012:

      I can only speak for my type of engineering (water supply and sanitation).

      The highs are usually associated with having solved a particularly difficult problem like eventually getting the design of the Tara handpump to work really well; or having decided how to arrange piped water supplies for communities that kept taking illegal connections in a way that would not cut other users off from the supply.

      The lows were almost always associated with something other than the engineering like when a small child dies despite the community having received a safe supply of water. Like when local staff steal cash or equipment from the project when they already have more than everybody else. Like when years of work are destroyed by war or floods, and the community realises that it will have to start all over again.

    • Photo: Jed Ramsay

      Jed Ramsay answered on 14 Mar 2012:

      I’m always amazed by Ken’s answers – I think he has done some incredible work and seen so much around the world.

      The highs in my job are lot more simple but also similar. They revolve around solving difficult problems and then seeing your solution last for years and years. Like when I repair river bank in a new way that then becomes the norm, or when I have researched ways to stop flooding and people have taken my research and done the same in other places.

      The lows for me usually come from working in a large organisation which can mean you have to jump through a lot of hoops to get things done. So I might need to get a lot of people to sign forms for me to approve what I want to do, or have to persuade other departments that what I want to do is OK. This can get a bit tedious – but it is worth the effort in the end (usually!).

    • Photo: Alexander Zacheshigriva

      Alexander Zacheshigriva answered on 18 Mar 2012:

      I think in simple terms a high is when I see something that I designed working and working well. And a low is when it is rusting away and not actually serving the purpose, for what ever reason. Whether is is my fault or the situation that changes it is upsetting.

Comments