We chatted to our highly experienced Field Service Engineer, Colin, who started his engineering career in 1976.
Q. How long have you worked in engineering?
A. 46 years!
Q. What motivated you to work in engineering?
A. I always enjoyed figuring out how something works and repairing faulty items.
Q. What route into engineering did you take?
A. The only route to take when I left school really was an apprenticeship so I started a 4 year apprenticeship with Michelin Tyres.
Q. How has engineering changed during the course of your career?
A. Engineering has changed a lot over my time in it. Instrumentation was mainly electrical or mechanical. PLC’s and computers were only just starting to appear in industry.
The engineering role was much more rigid, you were either an electrician or a mechanical fitter and you had to stick to your role. Now it is very much more multi-disciplined, which is a good thing in my opinion.
Another change is how many women now work in engineering and at a senior level which is brilliant. Back when I first started out it was a very male dominated industry.
Q. How do you think future engineers will change the world around us?
A. Engineering is all around us and with the climate problems and energy crisis needing to be solved it will be through innovation and implementation of new technologies to which engineering will be at the forefront.
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