Megan McLaughlin

"My personality types;-Coach-Influencer-ManagerInitially, I did not agree with this fit as I believe I am not at this level in my career yet...but when I thought about it more I enjoy helping people, advising where I feel fit, and if I am unable to advise I am honest about it and will offer direction on where to get answers.I believe my personality fits my role as a Design Engineer as I am a quietly confident person that is always willing to help, learn and explore new avenues, I enjoy assuring details are exact, that all the required information is provided in e.g. in a drawing, and that I have organised my work in a way that can be easily understood e.g. order of drawings in packs. Other important qualities to have are patience, curiosity, creativity, and most importantly critical thinking. An engineer that critically evaluates their reasoning behind a decision to assure it is the most sound."

"I am currently an Associate that is managing a project through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership, this partnership aims to transfer knowledge from South West College academics to industry, and vice versa. As the associate, it is my role to communicate all knowledge, challenges, and findings to both parties. As my project is a Research and Development (R&D) project this requires me to complete research around the project guidelines to assure this product will not conflict with existing competitor's products, to find design ideas, and to source new technology that can optimise the operation of the product.As I am continuously researching I am always learning, this is what I enjoy the most about my job! With knowledge, I am then able to have confidence in my project and I can share it with both partners for purposes that may help them currently or in the future."

"When I was studying for my GCSE's and A levels I worked part-time in the retail, hospitality, and private care sectors. As a result, I knew that I didn't want a career in these sectors, so through further work experience in a veterinary practice, a solar panel installation company, and attending STEM insight workshops, my experiences pathed my way into selecting subjects that led me into an engineering degree.During the last semester of my final year I set out to find a career that suited the aspects of my degree that I enjoyed the most, this was designing products to meet a specification. After some research within the manufacturing and engineering sector, I found a job description that best suited me and what I enjoy. This was a Design Engineer. Once I knew my direction I set out to find a company that required a Design Engineer, that interested me, and one that had goals and values that aligned with mine. I found Ecohog, this is a small family-run company that manufactures waste separation equipment, this allows for the valuable resources to be removed for regeneration, therefore keeping finite resources in the economy and minimising material that goes to landfill or incineration. Ecohog's contribution to a more sustainable planet, valuing of family, community, and quality products aligned with what I wanted from my job. "

"In my spare time, you will find me running on the road or up mountain trails, hiking the Sperrin or the Mourne mountain ranges, cycling from town to town, or studying for a course that I have taken on to be continuously learning.In general, I like to keep active by being outdoors as much as possible as work requires me to spend a lot of time at my computer at work. I also find when I am out running or walking I can take time to think about different design concepts, solutions, or more efficient ways to carry out a task."

"My workday includes; -Regular correspondence with suppliers, whether I am asking for a quote for a certain service/component or I am just asking for advice. -Solidworks, modelling of new parts/products, formatting of part/subassembly/assembly drawings, producing Bill of Material and part lists, and further evaluating the design.-Progressing my Research & Development project to provide a new product to the company, this product will be a new technology to Ecohog and will bring a new level of material processing capability to the product range.-Testing of prototypes, with a new product development proof of concepts is required to verify each element of the design. This is to save time and money in allocating resources to a concept that may not work.-Working as a collective team to solve problems that arise in my project and my colleagues' projects, it is good to bounce ideas, problems, and solutions off each other to make sure all options are explored for the best outcome."

"A-Level.Environmental TechnologyConstruction Technology and DesignBEng Hons in Clean TechnologyCert in Leadership and Management (L5)PGCert in Engineering Management "