Rebecca Newson

"One of my favourite things about my job is working together with people who bring different strengths and approaches to projects. There is a lot of variety in the job I do and employees can tailor their roles to suit their personalities and preferences. I think my 'personality type' results describe me well:Coordinator: As a consultant, it is important to be able to prioritise different projects and work well with others. I often have to juggle different deadlines and pitch in on projects where needed, which I enjoy as it means every week is different!Developer: I chose to study physics at university because I was interested in the world around me and learning more about how it works. I have carried that inspiration with me at every stage of my career - I decided to work in the nuclear industry because I wanted to help solve the challenge of sustainably powering our planet.Investigator: My job is one where I am constantly learning. When I joined Quintessa, I didn't know much about the nuclear industry or computer modelling, but started to learn from day one. I am constantly picking up and developing new skills by getting stuck in on different projects and love getting to apply my new knowledge."

"I work for a scientific and mathematical consultancy called Quintessa. Being a consultancy means we solve scientific and mathematical problems for clients on a project-by-project basis. Most of our work is in the low-carbon or nuclear energy industry, so our main clients are people responsible for nuclear reactors or nuclear waste in countries across the world, including government bodies and private companies.My role is varied but generally falls within the category of \"assessment and decision support\". I apply mathematical models and software tools to help assess the safety of nuclear reactor components and investigate potential solutions for the disposal of nuclear waste. This is not something I ever saw myself doing but I really enjoy the challenge and variety of the work. I get to use my maths and science skills to investigate real-life problems affecting our planet. Quintessa is a small employee-owned company, which means all the employees have some responsibility for the management of the company. This means my role is wider than just technical scientific work and I also get insight into how a business is run."

"I've never had a clear idea about what I wanted to do for a living. I struggled to decide on GCSEs, A Levels, a university course and a career. At every stage, I tried to keep my options as open as possible - in sixth form, I studied a real mixture of A Levels (English Literature, Philosophy & Ethics, Mathematics, Physics). I eventually decided that I was interested in studying physics further and learning more about how things fundamentally work - with the awareness that a physics degree would keep a lot of career options open to me even if I didn't want to stay in science (including law, education, finance, publishing). As it was, I really enjoyed my degree and wanted to apply the skills I had learned in it.The best decision I made was to do a placement year while at university. I applied to the University of Bath specifically because they strongly promoted industrial placements and offered a physics course with an integrated placement year. My hope was that this would give me a taster of a potential career before I graduated, so I could either target that sector or rule it out when applying for graduate jobs! The university provided a list of companies which offered placements to students, and I worked through the list focusing on careers where I could use my physics degree in the \"real world\". It became clear that the energy sector was one of the biggest employers that fitted the criteria, and I liked the idea of helping to tackle the issues of sustainable energy and climate change.I applied to several companies and was offered a placement at Quintessa. I loved my year there - everyone was so friendly, the work was interesting, and I enjoyed working on real projects rather than the theoretical problems at university. Quintessa offered me a job after graduation and I was very happy to return in 2017. I have been at the company ever since!"

"My main hobby is playing clarinet in a concert band. I also play the piano, but don't practise as often as I should."

"My day varies depending on which projects are currently ongoing. Apart from meetings with clients or coworkers, and the occasional international conference(!), my work is generally computer-based. I run calculations using specialist software, write and review reports, and communicate on projects with coworkers or clients. There are generally a few internal meetings per week - deciding whether to bid on a new piece of work, discussing progress on a project, or making strategic company decisions."

"AS Level (first year of A Level): French, English Literature, Further MathsA Level: RS Philosophy & Ethics, Maths, PhysicsUndergraduate degree: Physics (BSc) with placement"