Rebecca Harwin

"I really enjoy talking about my projects and explaining them to other people, so that fits with the 'communicator' personality type. I like the challenge of finding ways to explain my work in a way that makes sense to someone who doesn't come from the same technical background. The 'developer' and 'investigator' personality types fit well with my day to day work, I spend a lot of time solving problems and learning new things, regularly working with a team to come up with solutions. I definitely like to work things out logically, and when I'm looking for the best way forward I will go around my colleagues and gather information from them to make a decision. "

"I am an Instrument Development Scientist at RAL Space, currently working on a small satellite (cubesat) to demonstrate new technology in space. A lot of my work is coming up with tests and experiments to do to make sure that everything on the satellite will work together in space and that we can successfully send signals to our ground station. I also write a lot of code, mostly in Python. Satellite development needs a team of people working on the different areas of the satellite, so I spend a lot of time in meetings with the team to make sure we've all understood each other's plans and needs. I really like the variety of my job and the fact that I get to spend a lot of time solving problems and learning new things. My starting salary was just over £30k pre-tax, but this was after a PhD."

"Since a very young age, I've always been interested in space. At school, I enjoyed all of the subjects I studied, and found it hard to give up subjects when I was picking my GCSEs and A-levels! My physics teacher in particular encouraged me to take an interest in Physics, helping me read around the subject and answering all my questions. By the time I was applying for university, I knew I wanted to study science or maths, but wasn't sure exactly what, so I applied for an integrated Masters in Natural Sciences. This was the perfect degree for me to get an idea of which subjects I enjoyed studying at university level! In my first year I took courses in Maths, Physics, Materials Science and Chemistry, choosing to specialise in Physics from my second year onwards. I originally thought I'd like to continue in academia, as I enjoy problem solving and learning new things, so I did a PhD in superconducting detectors. About halfway through my PhD I decided that academia was not the right path for me, and wondered if I could find something that combined my interest in space with my technical abilities. I was fortunate enough to be able to take part in the European Space Agency concurrent engineering challenge, which I loved. I followed this up with a 5-week online course with the International Space University and started applying for roles in the space sector. I had worked on the Harwell Campus as a placement student during my university summer holidays, so was already aware of RAL Space. When a job came up there that combined my technical abilities with my scientific background, I applied straight away and have been working there since."

"In my spare time, I enjoy staying active, particularly if I've spent a day in lots of meetings. I regularly run, workout and do yoga in the mornings before work and like taking part in the weekly 'Parkruns' in my local area. I also play Ultimate, a sport which I started playing at university, and love the team nature of it.I also bake a lot - every year I do a 'Bake Off Bake Along' challenge where I challenge myself to try some of the challenges from the Bake Off TV series. I enjoy making cookies and cakes for family and friends.Since the age of 10, I have been a church bell ringer, and recently have taken a course to allow me to teach other people how to ring church bells. I ran a course of lessons for new learners recently which was lots of fun.I like doing creative things and keep a series of scrapbooks, make birthday cards and take my camera on holiday (when I remember)."

"My job means I can work either from home or in the lab, although at the moment I spend the majority of my time in the lab. If I'm working on-site, I'll typically spend 15-20 minutes in the morning planning my day and answering emails, then I'll often have experiments I want to set up or work on in the lab. Those will take a few hours, and I may take breaks for meetings depending on my schedule. I'll go for lunch with the rest of the team and then return to running experiments, analysing data or attending meetings.If I'm working from home, I'll often use this time to analyse data, plan new experiments and catch up on planning and writing up my work. At the moment I'm working through an online training course so I'll try and spend one afternoon a week doing a module from that."

"A-levels:PhysicsMathsFurther MathsChemistryFrenchCombined bachelors and masters' degree:Natural Science, specialising in PhysicsPhD:Microscopic Physics of Transition Edge Sensors"