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Rachel Barron

Product Engineer at Cirrus Logic

STEM Ambassador Neurodivergent Role Model
Don't worry if you aren't sure which career to follow. Just keep looking for new opportunities and you will learn more about yourself... and who you want to be.
Rachel is a...

Campaigner

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Communicator

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Coordinator

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About Rachel...

Who am I?

"I agree with my quiz results! As part of my job, communication is very important. This could be presenting some data I've analysed, leading a productive meeting or planning a project schedule which works for everyone. I enjoy storytelling when it comes to explaining something technical: to make it feel interesting and engaging."

What do I do?

"Being a product engineer can be very satisfying if you like to do lots of different things. I can be a detective when a product doesn't work, a public speaker when presenting what I've found to the rest of the team or even an analyst (the numbers will tell us what's happening if we look at them the right way). The starting salary for an engineer is around 25 - 35k depending on your experience."

How did I get here?

"I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up.I changed my mind often, taking a number of retail jobs over the years, as well as some more science-focused internships. Eventually, I decided to do a joint degree in chemistry and physics (I just couldn't choose). Finally, I ended up doing a Masters project on guitar strings and realised I wanted to do something with music and sound. Now I work for Cirrus Logic, helping make audio devices in the form of tiny integrated circuits. There's always something new to fix or discover as an engineer."

The life I live

"I'm pretty curious and like to learn. Reading, drawing and knitting are some of my hobbies."

My typical day

"The sun rises - or well, usually... Scottish winters can be quite dark - and I'll answer emails with my morning coffee. Sometimes I'll go down to the lab to fetch or inspect some devices which have been tested to make sure they work. If something is amiss, I will bust out some analysis software and look through the electrical measurements to try and narrow down any issues. I might have some meetings about this, with other teams weighing in to help solve the problem. Finally, I'll write an email about the issue to the team, maybe including some pretty graphs and clear explanations... or make suggestions if we still have some work to do."

My qualifications

"A Levels in Chemistry, Physics, Maths, Further Maths and the Welsh BaccalaureateIntegrated Masters Degree in Chemistry & PhysicsSummer research internship at St Andrews University"