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Wandering into engineering


Boss

As a child, I was always taking things apart and making things. And this has not changed!
At school, I was fortunate to be able to do both woodwork and metalwork and enjoyed maths and physics. Against career advice, I followed this route rather than the "Business Studies" route advised and then went on to do an Ordinary National Diploma as I wanted the hands-on practical route.

At this point, I wanted to do electronic design as a career, this time following the advice given I did a broad-based engineering degree, also covering electrical power and mechanical engineering, both of which added to my broad knowledge and subsequently became very useful.
Then into the big wide world, I gained experience in several industries, but I never dropped electronics and software as a hobby which again provided diversity and helped throughout my career.

The most difficult decision and hardest to stick to for me was the promotion route, to progress, you seemed to be forever pushed into a management role which was looked upon as being a higher level than a designer. This may be true for many, but luckily for me, I was in a small team and able to continue to apply my engineering skills and manage the team (most of the time!).

I cannot say I actually ever had a career plan! I just "went with the flow" taking opportunities that arose that I felt suited me. It may not be the best advice but at least I enjoyed the journey.

So from where ever you start, follow your intuition and a career in Engineering can be a great experience.

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