STEM SUSSEX

Tell us a bit about your work history

I started as a computer designer in military systems, working on a variety of areas including communications and missile defence for warships and using computers in the air defence of the UK. I also worked in the computer control of radiotherapy for cancer treatments.

I undertook various other jobs until I moved on to a commercial company who were working on control of energy recovery systems in commercial buildings. This was a "green" project for Hewlett Packard that aimed to minimise the energy consumption of office buildings by taking waste heat from people and using this to heat the building.

I later joined a spacecraft company building optical instruments for space craft, particularly navigational cameras known as star trackers, and earth observational cameras which produce the kind of images seen in programmes such as Google Earth. With this company I worked closely with the European Space Agency and NASA.

In 1998 I set up Proneta Ltd., taking what had been learned in the aerospace industry and delivering this knowledge to applications in the engineering of the energy industry. The company has a number of oil companies as customers including BP, Shell and ExxonMobil.

What do you do at the moment (in broad terms)?

Currently I do a mixture of hands-on engineering and risk analysis. My work helps engineering teams in large companies identify high risk aspects of designs and suggests ways of risk mitigation.

Previously, the company used aerospace technology to design an advanced camera that could be used to inspect the insides of oil wells for failures, sponsored by several major oil companies.

What skills do you use in your job?

Communication: I have to communicate with a wide range of people with varying ages and experience, where each has an important part to play in the projects.

Presentation: these skills are crucial as I have to build and lead a team that I have never met before through a workshop process.

Interdisciplinary: I have to have the ability to understand and relate to multidisciplinary engineering as, although I was previously a computer designer by trade, I now deal with mechanical, hydraulic and electrical systems.

Building credibility: I must be a credible individual to sustain the business. I regularly meet people who may be potential customers and first impressions are very important. My business is heavily based on recommendations repeat business which means I must build credibility with customers.

Give some examples of things you do in your day to day work

90% of my time is spent working on engineering drawings – I have to understand and process drawings from customers, changing these in to a form that can be used in risk analysis. This involves a lot of liaising with customers which is now largely by e-mail rather than in person.

10% of my time is taken in the building and running workshops. These are critical and intense periods but are relatively infrequent, with much more time going in to the planning rather than the execution of workshops.

Those workshop sessions are all over the world – where the customers are based.

How has your perception of STEM changed when moving between education and work?

I was told by my first boss "Your engineering education starts the day you leave university", though I have found that I would not have coped with the learning I did on the job without the education beforehand.

I have found that the subjects I studied at school – the basics of physics, maths and chemistry, has been the thing that has stayed with me and been the most useful. Simple problems require a good understanding of maths and physics at GCSE and A Level standard to understand and solve. Each generation has its own revolution to lead – when you get to the real world you will be doing something that nobody has ever done before. My first jobs were working on the very first computers.

I think that engineering is much better than any other career – it is a very creative career and the things worked on are often completely unknown. It is a very intellectually rewarding career, though the best jobs might be the least well paid!

What do you do in your spare time?

I enjoy sailing and sail a 19ft Drascombe lugger and a 30ft Christina. I also like hiking, for fitness and enjoyment, particularly on the South Downs.