Nicola Parr

"I have always been the person to want to get stuck in and get away from the desk as much as possible. My personality type fits with Quality Controller, Influencer and Manager. I reflect with this a lot, as a Broadcast Engineer, because this is what my job is all about! My role includes a lot of site work, ensuring Digital TV is always available around the UK. I work on the large masts across the country designing and implementing the equipment that goes to site. As a 'Quality Controller' I look at our current infrastructure to find new and more efficient ways of broadcasting TV, as TV is constantly changing, and I have to work with my team to make sure we're keeping up with new technologies. As a Design Engineer working on site, I also have to manage small teams that work with me depending on the project that we are working to. "

"My job is to go to a large broadcasting mast and design and implement the equipment on site. I could be working on anything on site, from monitoring the incoming TV feed, to the Transmitters that send the signal to the antenna, and everything in between. I work with other Engineers to make sure Digital TV is always broadcast from our masts. I enjoy being on site and the wide variety of what I need to learn. I need to be an electrician, Network Engineer and project manager all at once, and I know I will still be learning things in 20 years time! TV and broadcasting is always changing, so I need to be constantly learning to keep ahead of the curve. A starting salary for my role is £35,000. There is a lot of training for the role (and it doesn't end), but it covers a lot of disciplines of Engineering, so it's accessible for anyone! I love my job, and I hope I can continue to do it. I also continue to volunteer as a STEM Ambassador and lead STEM Outreach sessions in my area, when I can. "

"When I was in Secondary School, I loved Science and Maths, but I didn't know a lot about Engineering. If someone was to ask me about jobs in Science or Engineering, I would have described someone in a white lab coat, or working on cars. I wasn't sure what I could do in a STEM field, I didn't really consider it because I didn't know enough about the jobs I could do. I carried on doing Physics and Maths at A-levels, along with Music as I thought I could work as a sound engineer. I worked in a theatre as a technician during my gap year before university, and started a degree at Solent University in Music Technology. I then discovered how much I enjoyed Acoustics and Broadcasting, so I changed course from Music Technology to Acoustic Engineering. Solent University is a vocational university, so I was able to get work experience as an Acoustic Noise Monitor at various festivals during my time. I also worked as a Technology Ambassador and as a Widening Participation Ambassador for Solent. I graduated Solent with a degree in Acoustic Engineering and started my role at Arqiva straight afterwards. My degree didn't teach me a lot about Broadcast Engineering, but I have been lucky enough to have a great team around me who have taught me everything I need to know (although it's been difficult to keep up with it all). I have been with Arqiva for almost 2 years, and I am still learning so much! Don't think you need to know it all before you arrive at a job, I certainly didn't! From Day 1 there is so much to get involved with, so take the opportunities available to you. "

"I’m a cub scout leader, and I’ve been involved with scouts all my life. Being a cub leader is a hard role, but it’s very rewarding. I get involved with lots of events, from camps to district Chess Tournaments and it’s always lots of fun trying new things. I also love Geocaching. If you don’t know what that is, it’s basically a treasure hunt around the world. I use GPS to look for Tupperware in the woods! It’s great for problem solving as there are quite a few puzzles to solve to find the hidden objects. I started doing it with my family and it’s grown ever since. I’d recommend it to anyone. Despite being a Broadcast Engineer, I don’t really enjoy electronics or coding. Although I’ve always liked working out how something works, I didn’t start working on electronics until I was doing my job. I used to think I needed to know everything about electronics and coding before I started in Engineering, but this wasn’t the case. I’ve learnt what to do whilst doing my job, and I would encourage anyone who wants to try something new to just give it a go. I wouldn’t have thought I would be an Engineer, due to my skill set. But I have opened my eyes to new possibilities working at Arqiva. "

"There isn’t a typical day at work for me. I go to the large TV masts across the UK and design and implement the equipment on site. A typical day would involve driving to the site, getting my health and safety briefing from my site manager for the day and then looking through my design pack to understand what I need to do. Most of the jobs I do on site take 2-3 days to complete and I work in a small team to complete them. I could be driving anywhere in the country, and it’s up to me to know how to operate and test the equipment on site to ensure TV is still broadcast from the mast. There’s a lot to it, and I must be on my toes all the time. It’s a fun job as I get to play around with loads of different things, get outside of the office, and I have the opportunity to learn on the job. From the mast, TV is sent via lots of different channels and I'm currently working on a large project to change the frequencies that TV channels are broadcast on. I'm working with a team to clear the 700MHz band, so that this band can be used for 5G mobile data. This involves upgrading and replacing around 40 main station antennas and re-tuning the broadcast transmitters on site."

"A-Levels: Music, Maths, Physics, Psychology. 2011-2012(Gap year): I worked as a theatre technician doing sound engineering and lights, in preparation for my university degree, as I hadn't had experience of the Audio Engineering industry. This role taught me a lot about Time Management and improved my communications skills as a result. Degree Qualification: BEng Audio and Acoustic Engineering (Solent University). 2015 - 2018(During my degree): I volunteered as a STEM Ambassador, offering myself for STEM related activities in my local area. I also worked as a Student Ambassador and a Widening Participation Ambassador for Solent University. This role focussed on improving the amount of students going to university from disadvantaged backgrounds, or may feel their demographic isn't recognised in a specific subject, for example girls doing Engineering subjects. Job: I started my 2-year Graduate Scheme training at Arqiva in September 2018, as a Main Station Design Engineer. This scheme ended in September 2020. "