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Early Beginnings
My younger years were spent moving around the UK and Europe as my dad was in the RAF, so I grew up around aircraft and military vehicles. My parents have said that as young as four or five, I would pull my pedal car and toys apart to put them back together to see how they worked, or to try to make them better, or I would make things out of Lego or Meccano. At school I was extremely sporty, representing both Cornwall and Norfolk schools in Rugby, I also loved Maths and Physics, but my dream was always to be a Navigator or Aircraft Engineering officer in the RAF.
When leaving school I followed the BTEC route in engineering rather than the conventional A-level path leading on to university, as I liked the appeal of the hands on aspects as well as the academic side, with the ambition of getting an RAF officer scholarship in Engineering.
It was whilst at college I came in to contact with computer aided engineering and control systems and this led me down a completely different path and towards Oil and Gas Engineering and being lucky enough to be living and studying in Norfolk, and close to oil and gas engineering hubs in Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and Bacton, so finding a career start was never an issue.
1991-2000 Early Career, Mechanical Engineering, Baker CAC
After graduating from the BTEC HND my first proper job was as a draughtsman at Baker CAC (now Proserv) working on Topside control units, although after 2 years my path took me into mechanical and project engineering, which really put my studies into practice, such as material selection, generating drawings, hydraulic and structural calculations, report and procedure writing, as well as hands on practical aspects involved in testing.
This also opened my eyes to different cultures and working methods from working away in many countries especially around the Middle East. It was in this time I was exposed to the becoming a professionally recognised engineer with either the IET or IMechE and at the time, as I was more controls orientated, I joined the IET, then the IIE, and, without a degree, it took a lot of supporting evidence of my work experience and duties, which really gave me a sense of what engineering meant, not just being technical but also the many aspects that engineering has to interface with, from safety, quality, procurement to manufacturing and operations It does not matter how good you are technically, if you cannot interface with these other functions, you might as well pack up and go home, so an early lesson was communication and openness are equally as important to technical ability.
2000-2007 Ongoing Career, Mechanical Engineering Management
Following my time at CAC I had the opportunity to test myself further and try engineering and manufacturing management within different industries, these being Fire Safety Products and Marine engineering. This assisted in my development of the softer skills, such as, financial, planning, mentoring, managing and delegation, but I found how important the grounding I had received in oil and gas engineering was, especially towards aspects in safety, materials and reliability of equipment.
However oil and gas must have been in the blood and I moved back to the industry as a proposals and business development manager at SMS (Alderley Controls) working across many countries from Europe to the Middle East, providing engineering direction and training to facilities and customers alike.
2007-2012 Ongoing Career, Contract Engineering
It was in early 2006, I decided to use my knowledge and experience I had gained to start up my own consultancy / contracting company providing engineering and project management support and in 2007 I made the leap of faith and contracted to a number of companies from Aker, Malta Shipyards Ltd, AMEC and Shell, working and living in mainly Aberdeen and Valleta (Malta). This drew on my past engineering and technical knowledge and it was this I found I had really missed, in my later management roles.
It was during this time I became more deeply involved in Subsea Controls and engineering, and I found this extremely interesting, especially as the control mechanically is relatively straight forward, but the reliability and the environment provided such a challenge. I also transferred from the IET to the IMechE, as I was more and more involved in the mechanical aspects of controls and subsea materials.
2012 - Present, Principal Engineer, Weatherfords / Proserv
Whilst contracting I was approached to work back at the company, although under a different guise, where it all began and as I had had such a bond with the company and the people there, I jumped at the chance to take on the role as Principal Engineer, Subsea Systems, overseeing the then 40+ mechanical engineers. I have found that my experience and knowledge gained in all my past positions and different industries has really helped in the mentoring and guidance I can pass on to the engineers and graduates alike, assisting them in their own continual development to improve and become professionally recognised within their chosen discipline.
I have also had the opportunity in working with the IMechE, Society of Underwater Technology (SUT) and the local University of East Anglia, as well as schools and colleges, in arranging open days, workshops, training presentations and organising internships and work placements. I feel the professional recognition and ongoing support the IMechE has provided me through my development has provided me with the tools to help others, and this continual development is still as relevant today as it was when I started out nearly 30 years ago.
The competencies that you are required to meet within the IMechE have aided me enormously to become a very well-rounded engineer, and given me the confidence and support to progress from being an engineer, and then a manager, and now as a Fellow of the Institute I feel I can now put something back and develop the future generations to enjoy a career in engineering, although not as glamourous as some, has certainly been very rewarding and taken me to locations I would never have dreamt about visiting.
It also highlights that if university is not for you, there is more than one route to obtain progression within an engineering career even without obtaining a degree, it takes some skill but a lot of hard work and drive to push yourself to better things but it proves anything is achievable with the right support and guidance which being a member of the IMechE has given me.