Catherine McQuade

"The three personality types I matched with were Developer, Explorer, and Investigator. The learning new skills aspect of being a Developer is something I massively enjoy and is part of the reason I love the job I do; I am always learning and improving my skillset! This paired with the curiosity of the Explorer personality type and the understanding abilities of an Investigator, makes solving engineering problems an enjoyable and rewarding task for me. "

"I am a Graduate Mechanical Engineer working in the Nuclear Fuel Cycle team at Atkins, an engineering and project management consultancy. Working for a consultancy means that my work can be very varied depending on the client and what they are trying to achieve. Being based in the North West of England means that a lot of the work my team and I do is for Sellafield Ltd. Sellafield is a complex site with a few obscurities, meaning the work I do is always interesting.An example of some work I have been doing recently involves the use of 3D modelling. I communicated with designers and collected information from engineering drawings to create 3D models of various items. I could then collate them into one master model to illustrate a new concept design that Atkins is now pitching.Other work I have done includes creating engineering drawings, completing design risk assessments, and report writing, but whatever the task, I can be sure it will be interesting and something that I can learn from and use to make me a better engineer."

"The job I have now is the first I have ever had in Engineering, and I started the September after I graduated from University where I studied Mechanical Engineering. I chose to study Engineering because I enjoyed Maths and Physics at school but neither of them had the appeal of solving every-day problems like Engineering did. I could also see the effects that engineers have on our society and wanted to be a part of that.Ultimately, I think that whatever career or education you pursue it needs to be something you’re interested in and enjoy. I knew I had the interest but having not studied Engineering at college, I enrolled on a week-long summer course that introduced me to the different types of engineering and gave me an idea of what I could expect from an engineering degree. After completing the course and enjoying it thoroughly, I knew Engineering was the one for me.With some help from the university in my final year, I sent my application to Atkins, completed their online competency test, and finally attended an assessment centre where I completed a technical test, a writing test, a group activity, and an interview."

"I love all things music and like to spend my spare time learning new pieces on the instruments I play. I recently bought a second hand drum kit and I’m really enjoying picking up the basics, even if it does mean putting on my big coat and scarf to go in the garage! I love listening to music too and there is no place I enjoy being more than a concert. I also enjoy running and try to fit a run in my lunch break most days now that I have the flexibility that comes with working from home."

"Whilst the work I complete can vary quite a lot, the structure of my day is largely the same. At the moment I have a morning check-in with my project team every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, where any progress or set backs are raised and action plans discussed.I then make sure to catch up on any emails that I might have received since I last logged on, and then I continue with whatever project work I have. Throughout the day I invariably have questions about how to do things or what something means. Usually I will jot these down and once I have a list of a few items I phone someone on my team that I think will be able to help me. Everyone I have worked with has been very friendly and are always happy to help or to point me in the direction of someone else if they don’t know themselves.Once a week there is a ‘business briefing’ where we are kept up to date with how the business is performing, and information and resources are shared on topics such as, mental health and wellbeing, and equality, diversity, and inclusions.At the end of the week, the Mechanical team has an hour-long meeting where project information and any learning is shared. This could be anything from how to use a tool on a piece of software, or the reporting of a health and safety issue that we should look out for."

"Degree: Mechanical Engineering - The University of Sheffield (1st Class MEng)A Levels: Maths, Further Maths, Physics (A*BB)AS Level: Music (A)"