My course was structured in a way which allowed me to develop a lot of new skills. Prior to my degree, I had never been involved in programming, but by the time I had finished my first year, I had built a solid foundation which would later see me picking up multiple programming languages with ease. I also developed my skills in CAD, report writing and laboratory work. While my course allowed me to develop my technical skills, I was also able to develop my team working skills as we had a few group projects. Really, this is what engineers do, work in teams to deliver projects, so it was good to have that small scale experience before going into industry.
In my final year, I applied and got accepted onto the Siemens Engineering Graduate Scheme, which lasted two years. Shortly thereafter, I became a Project Engineer, where I manage the engineering work packages on projects. This involves ensuring technical standards are maintained in all aspects of project work, participating in and monitoring the planning and progress of works (both at the office and on site) in relation to timeline and budget, and assisting with evaluating the quality and technical accuracy of tenders. At Siemens, I’ve had the opportunity to get involved in a variety of things, from data analysis and app development to hardcore on-site engineering. It’s been an interesting journey so far.
Loughborough really is where history begins. My time at the university saw me develop a massive can-do attitude and a hunger for success. The university prides itself on its sports excellence, and even just seeing the athletes train as you walk-by is inspiring. They are already one of the best, but they still always put in maximum effort, and you can see that. When you stay in an environment like that for a long time, it starts to positively influence your work ethic, which is exactly what happened in my case.