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Asked by hannahx to Emma, Al, Ivanka, James, Omar on 13 Mar 2012. This question was also asked by missalice.
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Emma Bould answered on 13 Mar 2012:
There are lots – not all of them are engineering!
Being in the Navy means you have to be ready for just about anything….. it can be quite exciting, but not always!
Leadership is one of the most important skills for my job – I have 27 Engineering Technicians working for me, so making sure I set a good example, make good decisions and do my best to look after them is my main job. I also have to make sure I tell them what I want….. communication is very important when you have a busy job!
Because my day is always so varied, Problem Solving is probably the best way of describing what I do! I use my Maths and Physics knowledge quite a lot. I also use my English skills (lots of my job is writing reports and preparing briefs) but I also have to be able to consider thing like risk (for keeping people safe when they are doing dangerous things – that might be making people wear a harness when they are working up the mast) and I have to make decisions sometimes when all the solutions to a problem are less than ideal (they aren’t always popular, so sometimes you have to be firm!).
It’s a challenging job, but really rewarding!
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Al Bartlett answered on 19 Mar 2012:
Hello Hannahx and missalice,
Like Emma’s job – Lots of skills are required and they are not all related to engineering.
As an aircraft engineer it is important that I learn on a daily basis – This doesn’t mean sitting in a classrom for hours on end, it means understanding my job and looking for better, more efficient ways of doing things.
As far as school subjects are concerned, Maths and English Language are vital – Engineers use maths everyday to work out distances, volumes, flow rates etc – Its not complicated maths but you should have a good grasp of it. English is very important becasue it is the ability to communicate with other engineers and customers so that they understand what you mean and there is no miscommunication leading to hazards or a disapointed customer!
Decision making is another skill that is required in my job – If a plane is ready to leave and developes a fault, it is my job to make the decision as to whether the aircraft is safe to fly.
There are many skills that are needed to be an engineer not just the ones i’ve written about but you’ll learn these in life and during your career.
I hope this helps Hannahx & Missalice
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