Caroline Rose

"My personality types were coach, manager and quality controller. All three very closely align with the work I do. I have a team of people working for me who I encourage to do their best and develop their careers, I also support graduate engineers during their first four years working within our company.One of my key areas of responsibility at work is health and safety and the key characteristics for quality controller seem to match really well with this area of my work. "

"I am responsible for the safe operation of the key maritime test facilities in the UK, supporting the design of ships and submarines. I have a team who work directly for me maintaining these facilities (a giant Ocean Basin, a long ship tank and a cavitation tunnel are amongst the test facilities I look after), and we are usually supporting trials and experiments testing scale model of ship and submarine designs to ensure their safety and that they perform in the water as the designers expect them to.I love the variety that my job as a marine engineer and naval architect has provided. Only a few years ago I was running the experiments in the ocean basin, now I am responsible for running the basin itself (it is huge, the size of a football pitch (120m x 60m and 5.5m deep).A graduate Naval Architect or Marine Engineer can expect to start on a salary of between £25,000 - £30,000. Which can rise to over £50,000."

"I joined the Royal Navy as one of the first female Marine Engineer Officers in 1992, and spent a very enjoyable 17 years serving both at sea and on land. I then spent five years as a maths teacher before joining QinetiQ as a Naval Architecture. In the last 5 years I have changed roles 4 times, being promoted to become a group lead with responsibility for all the Naval Architects and Maritime Engineers in QinetiQ and then taking over responsibility for all the maritime test facilities.Although I planned to study mechanical engineering at university, I never thought I would follow the career path I have. I took opportunities when they arose because they looked interesting and have never looked back."

"I enjoy dancing, and even competed in the Grand Finals in the Over 25 Rock and Roll class! I am not of the standard for Strictly - but I enjoy it."

"A typical day for me does start with the routine activities of looking at e-mails, but then I will put on my safety shoes and go and see what is happening in one of the facilities I am responsible for. I am also responsible for the budget to ensure they are all maintained correctly and that everything is operation as required by the team undertaking the experiments. I may even need to get involved in the experiment!Unfortunately, at my level there are lots of meetings, some are interesting, some less so, but the variety of work undertaken within my facilities always makes every day different, interesting and challenging."

"I have 3 A levels - Maths, Physics and ChemistryI studied for a BEng in Mechanical Engineering at the University of SheffieldI studied for an MSc in Naval Architecture at UCLI am a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers"