What Got You Started in Your Career in Engineering?

I currently label myself as a maker rather than an engineer. I've a strong background in electronics but have spent most of my career in software and currently manage a team of 5 engineers. In my spare time, I design award winning electro-mechanical contraptions and write about them for the Workshopshed blog, Element14 and a range of magazines.

I got into electronics at an early age when my parents got me one of those electronics kits where you connect up transistors etc using short bits of wire and sprung connections. This was suplimented with some old Practical Electronics Magazines from friends of the family. I continued at school with the Craft Design Technology course where I built an X-Y plotter driven from a ZxSpectrum. My teachers also persuaded me to take a GCSE in electronics. This was completed in my spare time with help from the physics teacher. For my project I created a door alarm with anti-tamper device, key switch, loud alarm and a silent indicator so you could see if it was triggered whilst you were out.

Due to a full timetable in the 6th form, I could only fit in an A/S level in electronics which again was done in my spare time. This time the project was a metronome with a tone generator and headphone amplifier, made with a custom PCB that I etched at home. For all of these projects the process was the same, Research, Design, Experiment, Build, Test, Review.  A technique that has proved quite useful over the years.

On leaving school I got an apprenticeship with Dowty Aerospace. I had applied for many different companies and had some massive application forms to complete and some grueling interviews.

Dowty gave me a year in industry and paid work in the holidays. They also taught me loads such as drafting (pen and paper precursor to CAD ), electrical fitting, machining and all of the processes needed to engineer aeroplane parts. Projects during this time included a tracking solar panel and a fairground ride both which required models to be created. I also helped out my room mate with a high voltage switcher for an Electro-Luminescent panel which was needed for his project. They also allowed me to work on some cool kit such as a de-icing heater for propellor and a test rig for a tank controller.

After the year in industry I studied at Imperial College and despite almost failing mathematic in the first year, I graduated with  BEng Electronics . My final year project was an investigation into battery charging.

Whilst I was a college a couple of things happened. Dowty had been bought out and was restructuring. This meant no jobs for electronic engineers.  I had also got involved with the Student Television station, initially as a presenter but in subsequent years the marketing manager and chairman. In the summer between the final years we gutted and refitted the studio, rewiring the lighting, editing suite, audio and video amplifiers.

After trying to get a job in media, I was contemplating my options. Whilst sitting in the computer lab, my mate Simon asked how to build compound documents in MSWord.  I explained but advised him not to use that for his course work as it was overkill. He told me it was for his part time job teaching the clients of a small software company. I responded with "I could do that", and that's how I got into my career in software.

I currently label myself as a maker rather than an engineer. I've a strong background in electronics but have spent most of my career in software and currently manage a team of 5 engineers. In my spare time, I design award winning electro-mechanical contraptions and write about them for the Workshopshed blog, Element14 and a range of magazines.

I got into electronics at an early age when my parents got me one of those electronics kits where you connect up transistors etc using short bits of wire and sprung connections. This was suplimented with some old Practical Electronics Magazines from friends of the family. I continued at school with the Craft Design Technology course where I built an X-Y plotter driven from a ZxSpectrum. My teachers also persuaded me to take a GCSE in electronics. This was completed in my spare time with help from the physics teacher. For my project I created a door alarm with anti-tamper device, key switch, loud alarm and a silent indicator so you could see if it was triggered whilst you were out.

Due to a full timetable in the 6th form, I could only fit in an A/S level in electronics which again was done in my spare time. This time the project was a metronome with a tone generator and headphone amplifier, made with a custom PCB that I etched at home. For all of these projects the process was the same, Research, Design, Experiment, Build, Test, Review.  A technique that has proved quite useful over the years.

On leaving school I got an apprenticeship with Dowty Aerospace. I had applied for many different companies and had some massive application forms to complete and some grueling interviews.

Dowty gave me a year in industry and paid work in the holidays. They also taught me loads such as drafting (pen and paper precursor to CAD ), electrical fitting, machining and all of the processes needed to engineer aeroplane parts. Projects during this time included a tracking solar panel and a fairground ride both which required models to be created. I also helped out my room mate with a high voltage switcher for an Electro-Luminescent panel which was needed for his project. They also allowed me to work on some cool kit such as a de-icing heater for propellor and a test rig for a tank controller.

After the year in industry I studied at Imperial College and despite almost failing mathematic in the first year, I graduated with  BEng Electronics . My final year project was an investigation into battery charging.

Whilst I was a college a couple of things happened. Dowty had been bought out and was restructuring. This meant no jobs for electronic engineers.  I had also got involved with the Student Television station, initially as a presenter but in subsequent years the marketing manager and chairman. In the summer between the final years we gutted and refitted the studio, rewiring the lighting, editing suite, audio and video amplifiers.

After trying to get a job in media, I was contemplating my options. Whilst sitting in the computer lab, my mate Simon asked how to build compound documents in MSWord.  I explained but advised him not to use that for his course work as it was overkill. He told me it was for his part time job teaching the clients of a small software company. I responded with "I could do that", and that's how I got into my career in software.