WHAT and WHO inspired you to become an engineer

Hi Suzanne,  so initially a Maths Teacher at my secondary school, he was the one who told me I was capable when everyone else told me I was stupid.  Later I was told by careers staff that my only options for career was as a teacher, but knew (much as I respect the teaching profession) that this was not for me.  I was offered a place on an EITB, one day introduction to engineering course at Manchester Polytechnic, the only reason our school offered this was because it was free.  I was hooked - later the same year (I was already 17) I went on a one week course, again with the EITB to Bradford Uni.

I never looked back. :)



Vikki

Good old EITB!    Glad you wnet on that course.

I was one of the few girls at my convent grammar school (St Bernard's, Westcliff-on-Sea) who really enjoyed Maths and Physics (and English and Geography because we had wonderful teachers).  I thought the electricity part of the 'O' level course lacked something (as did the chemistry course, but that's beside the point). So I spoke to a friend (Derek, a young man, seven years older than I was) who lived in our road; he was an electrician, and lent me his books: I was hooked. The result was that I loved the electricity part of 'A' level Physics better than the rest, so electrical and electronic engineering were the obvious choice. I built a wireless during my 'A' level years - with a "transistor"!!! This was 1961 to 1963 when transistors were just taking over from valves for some uses. I should add that my teachers encouraged me in this unusual calling. A friend from my primary schooI had been accepted for Northampton CAT, so I applied the following year and was accepted. By this time N CAT had become The City University. In 1969 I was the only female to graduate from the faculty of engineering, although four other young women had started with me.

I guess it was my Dad who first inspired me to become an engineer - he was a painter & decorator by trade, but also an enthusaistic radio ham. When I was a little girl (in the 1950s) he made our first televison set from an old army surplus 5" green CRT and  big cabinet full of valves!  We watched the Coronation on it and it was one of only two TVs in our village at that time! My grammar school was a girls school and engineering was never mentioned - I was supposed to become a Maths teacher.  However, having taken O & A levels a year early and not having very good results for the A levels I went to the local Tech for a year, before going to Uni. It was there that the Career's Adviser suggested that what I really should do at Uni was engineering, not maths, as I wanted to make things work!    I ended up doing a Cybernetics & instrument Physics degree at Reading Uni from 1965 -68 and it was a most interesting course with a mixtures of electronics, control engineering and computer science.  It was only the third year that this course had run and we were the first group to include girls - all three of us graduated in '68. 

Susan Boyle wrote: I guess it was my Dad who first inspired me to become an engineer - he was a painter & decorator by trade, but also an enthusaistic radio ham.



WOW! My father was also a painter and decorator, and encouraged me to make things. He was never a radio ham - but he was a radio operator during WWI. So I learned Morse code (and forgot it) at an early age. Having left my convent in 1963, I worked for two years getting an HNC in Applied Physics before attending City from 1965 to 1969.



So I think I'm two years older than you.

I think I just had a series of really good science teachers who made sciences (except maybe Chemistry which I've never got the hang of!) really interesting and enjoyable. 



My Dad was very suportive of me learning about science and put up with me scouring the garden for bugs and loosing them in the house when I was little or mucking about with the contents of the kitchen trying to grow crystals. My parents got me varoius science related toys etc even though they are not very sciency themselves.