• Question: Why did you want to be an engineer and do you like it?

    Asked by 537envf35 to Ashwanth, Jeni, Mark, Natalie, Stephen on 10 Jun 2016. This question was also asked by 526envf36, BISMa, Tjptaylor, JleonardN, Zoomer41, Raspberry jam, Mah, Maryam123, aswat, LOZZY- JAY ??, keks.
    • Photo: Jeni Spragg

      Jeni Spragg answered on 10 Jun 2016:

      I sort of stumbled upon it, to be honest!

      I knew I liked science-y subjects so I was looking for that sort of thing at university. When I saw chemical engineering in some of the university booklets, it caught my eye. When I learned more about it, I was inspired. I’ve always liked to know where things come from and how they’re made.

      I also saw it led to great job opportunities all around the world, and good salaries. Of course a career isn’t all about the money, but if you can earn a good living doing something you find interesting, that’s even better!

      I’m glad I chose it, it suits me well 🙂 Some of my friends who did the same degree chose not to become chemical engineers after university, but all of them were glad to have studied the subject as it opens so many doors.

    • Photo: Stephen Richardson

      Stephen Richardson answered on 10 Jun 2016:

      I love finding out how things work. When I was younger, whenever anything broke at home – a toaster, a buggy, a radio – I’d always take it apart and see what was inside. (I usually wasn’t able to put it back together again though!)
      So doing something related to engineering – which is all about how stuff works – was an obvious choice really.
      And yes, I do like it!
      I still love finding out how stuff works. But I found out that I also love understanding how people work and the combination of people and technology is really interesting. Its an area that more and more engineers and engineering companies are getting interested in – they’re realising that its not enough to just design a fancy widget if no-one wants to use it or can understand it.

    • Photo: Mark Gowan

      Mark Gowan answered on 10 Jun 2016:

      I thought I wanted to be an Architect, designing buildings and bridges, but then I found out that it was Engineers that did all the good stuff and solved the problems. So I changed my mind and studied to become a civil and structural engineer.
      It is a job I love and I often think of ways to do things when I am not at work, by observing how other things work or are put together

    • Photo: Natalie Wride

      Natalie Wride answered on 11 Jun 2016:

      When I was younger I thought I wanted to be an Architect but at 13 I was watching TV and a program came on called ‘Megastructures’ and it was awesome!! It showed you how the tallest skyscrapers and longest bridges were built and I realised that the job I wanted to do was a Civil Engineer not an Architect. I loved finding out how all these complex problems, like building in an earthquake zone, were solved. That program, combined with wanting to study something ‘mathsy’, lead me to study Civil Engineering.

      In my opinion I have the best job! At the moment I get paid to learn which is pretty cool and I have the opportunity to travel all over the world. I really like knowing that what I’m doing benefits people like you and me. It’s so rewarding being able to point to bridges or buildings or things on TV and say “I was involved in designing that and making it stand up!”

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