Engineers Week 2020 is in full swing with activities happening in schools and companies across the country. The idea of the Engineers Week campaign is to get kids interested in engineering and consider it as a possible career choice. We have been actively promoting the profession visiting local schools to work on projects, explain the different types of engineering and encourage the children’s curiosity.
This week we took some time to speak to our engineers and find out what got them interested in engineering, why they chose it as a career and if they had any advice for anyone thinking about it.
Padraig Buckley is currently here on our graduate programme. Originally from Cork, studied in Galway and now living in Dublin he chose us to start his career with because we offered him real hands on experience that the larger companies can not. He splits his time between our head office in Balbriggan and our second office in the Dublin city.
What first got you interested in engineering?
“I loved maths, physics and applied maths in school. I wanted to study something where I could continue to be challenged and learn in these areas. I viewed engineering as a career in which a person could have a real, measurable impact in their field and in society and this appealed to me.”
Why did you choose electrical engineering over mechanical?
” I studied mechanical engineering in university, coming towards the end of my degree, I felt that electrical engineering would be more suitable as my interest moved to power systems and particularly sustainable energy. I felt that electrical engineerings knowledge and experience would give me a platform to branch into the sustainable energy industry in the future.”
Mhairi-Therese Gallagher, mum of 4 from Duleek, embarked on her career as an engineer in order to help her son navigate through the course himself.
Who got you interested in Engineering?
“My son Dylon gave me the push I needed to go for it, as he was interested in Computer Engineering and attending Coderdojo since he was 8, but also with Asperger, Dyspraxia and ADHD I knew if he was going to succeed in following his goal of becoming an Engineer, he would need help that only someone who has done the course could give him, so I went back to college to study the course he is now studying, the experience I gained definitely helped him.”
What advice would you give young students considering a career in engineering?
“Be organised, don’t leave assignments till last minute, get them done the day you get them, print exam papers at the beginning of the semester and read them so you can answer them as the topic comes up in lectures, Form study groups. Avail of the help that’s on offer wherever you can. Keep your life outside college simple, in order to maintain focus and commitment. Engineering is a very consuming area of study, I witnessed many students failing or dropping out due to juggling part-time jobs, or socialising too much, you need to be highly committed and motivated to study this area. But it is so worth it.”
Engineering is a career that can take you all over the world and allows you to experience cultures and places you might never have gotten the chance to. Sean Blake is originally from Cork, but engineering has taken him all over the world.
What has a career in engineering allowed you to achieve?
“Since graduating, my career in engineering has allowed me to work both in Ireland and in the U.S. on a wide variety of projects, from high rise towers, hospitals, college campuses, museums, pharmaceutical plants, data centres, industrial facilities. It has enabled travel to work in different countries and to work with engineers, clients, project managers from various backgrounds and cultures.”
While everyone’s story of how they became an engineer and where it has taken them is different, a common thread throughout has been that it all started from a curiosity to understand how things work. And that is the basis of engineering, whether its electrical, mechanic, civil etc… its figuring out how things work, how to improve them and creating solutions to fix problems. If that is something that interests you then a career in engineering is definitely something to consider. See what some of our other engineers said about what got them into engineering here.
