Engineers Week, 2021

Engineers Week is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers, according to the NSPE. In celebration of this years’ Engineers Week (February 21–27, 2021), we asked five Engineer’s, who operate at various levels across a range of disciplines at Rolton Group, to share with you what inspired them to become an engineer, the challenges they faced along the way and any advice they have for people who are considering engineering as a career.

From an early age Isaw a lot of my family members pursue careers in engineering and I alwaysthought their work was interesting and never the same! At school I foundMaths and Science as challenging and interesting subjects and I was goodat it too, so I knew this career path would suit me very well. In my lastyears of school I was introduced to a company that was contributing to designsfor sustainable buildings by implementing energy efficient systems and howimportant that is in the long-term in order to protect our environment. Fromthat point onwards I knew exactly which field of engineering I wanted topursue. I graduated with Mechanical and Architectural Engineering degree andnow work as a Graduate Building Services Engineer. Althoughthere were some challenges along the way, I love to see how our designs come tolife and I have never looked back! To anyone who is considering an engineeringcareer,I would say make every effort to get some work experience/internship in theindustry before or during university and eventually your light-bulb moment willcome!

What brought me intothe world of engineering was looking at Ireland’s (my homecountry) energy supply and wondering where the future would lie for it. Fossil fuels are a finite resource and would not be able to keep up withthe worlds demand for energy. This led me to undergo a one-yearRenewable Energy course at a local college. I enjoyed the classes andbegan looking for electrical engineering degree options, which was when Ifound a Sustainable Design in Electrical Engineering course in the city of Dublin in Ireland.

Attending the course wasn’t easy, I wasn’t driving at the time and the only wayto get there was by public transport. Moving closer to the university wasn’t anoption and the journey to attend the university would start with a 5am wakeup call and a near 2-hour bus ride to attend the 9am classes, sometimes Iwouldn’t be home until 8pm at night. Doing that with a part time job wasn’teasy but I don’t regret the choice I made and where it’s led me. Thecourse opened my eyes to electrical engineering and I learnt how, with theright philosophy, we can make a difference to how energy is used andsaved. After I had completed my degree, I moved to Englandand began working at Rolton Group. I have been here justover three years and it’s been great! I’ve had great exposure to projects Icould have only dreamt of. I am hoping that with more experience and exposureto the engineering projects I will work my way up the ladder. What Ilove about my job is that no two days are the same, you always learnsomething new! My advice for others who are debating a career inengineering is to do your research, find out what youlike, attend university open days with a prepared a list ofquestions to ask and check out websites and STEM.

From a youngage, I have always had a keen interest in knowing how everything worksaround me. I used to create my own toys such as cars, tractors, boats and manymore from metal, wood, cardboard and plastic. I migrated to the UK at the endof 2002 and was unable to speak any English at the time. I started tostudy the English language at Newcastle College for a few years but in myspare time would always find myself intrigued by engineering documentarieswhich then motivated me to study for an engineering degree. Myparents never had a chance to finish their schoolingbut they were very supportive and insistedthat I should attend and finish my studies. I faced many challengesthroughout my studies due to the language barrier and havingto learn to adapt to an entirely new education system.Despite this, I graduated with a degree in MechanicalEngineering MEng (Hons) from Northumbria University in2014. Currently, I am working as a Project Engineer and my aim is toachieve Chartership in the near future and keep pushingto progress my career.

Around the time I wasmaking big decisions about what to do with my career, the dot-com bubblewas in the process of bursting. It influenced me to find a career in afield that was going to have value in perpetuity, for myself but also forwider society (as corny as that sounds); I liked the idea that the work Iproduced would result in something physical that would benefit a person, agroup or a community.

Having previously worked with smaller consultancies whilst growing up inthe South-West, I decided to work for a smaller company as soon as Igraduated with a MEng from Loughborough University, it was a decision thatgave me opportunities to involve myself in aspects of the business that mighthave been otherwise inaccessible. It wasn’t just how to get a project frombrief to completion that I discovered I wanted to learn, but also looking ateach step and asking whether there was a better or more efficient way to do it,who is involved in each part of the process and do they have what they need todo it well, and are we making the best use of the tools we have at ourdisposal.

When delivering projects on the scale of residential extensions and smallbuildings, I was producing every aspect (consultation, calculations,drawings, etc.), which gave me an invaluable attention to small detailthat has persisted throughout my career. This combined with the desire touplift, not just my own efficiency but of those around me, haspropelled me from those small projects to now producing the structural designof the UK’s first Gigaplant, which on completion will become the 16th largestbuilding in the world by plan area. I believe that being an Engineer isabout solving questions, and the questions are set by the Engineer; where canyou add the most value? How do you want to do it?

Ever since I was a young child I was always into practical toys. I can recall Duplo, Lego and Lego Technic. At a young age I was building Lego Technic models on Christmas Day that were 6-8 years above my age in terms of complexity. I used to complete them in a matter of hours. I suppose you could say I was always destined to be an engineer. I recall building an electronic battery powered door alarm so my mum could tell when the back door had been left open at around the age of ten, this clearly defined my path to being a Chartered Electrical Engineer.

If you are an engineer, you are an engineer 24/7, hanging a shelf or designing a multi-million pound project, it’s a passion and believe it or not there are few true engineers out there. My route to success wasn’t easy, part-time education whilst working meant putting my career first at every step. Becoming Managing Director of Rolton Group within 18 years of joining as an Assistant Engineer proves hard work, dedication and staying at the top of your game pays off.

My advice to any up and coming engineer is to stick with your passion, be the first in, last out and look back every day knowing you made a difference. Differentiate yourself, be the very best you can be no matter how small or large your task is, aim to be right first time every time.

If you are considering a career in engineering but are unsure for whatever reason, then please do not hesitate to get in touch and we can put you in contact with one of our engineers who will be able to answer all of your queries!