J 4jobs.telegraph.co.ukTHURSDAY, MAY 7, 2009THE DAILY TELEGRAPHCAREERS IN ENGINEERING PEOPLEThe Daily TelegraphFor the love of the job Life can be full of challenge and creativity with tangible benefits for others, too. Four engineers tell Natasha Mann what’s so good about what they do MALCOLM RICHARDS 59, A STRUCTURAL ENGINEER AND DIRECTORWITH CAPITA SYMONDS “I’ve been doing this work for over 30 years and, quite simply, I can’t think of a more amazing job,” says Richards. “Where else would I get to build stage sets for the Rolling Stones, work on the Olympic Stadium, the new grandstand at Epsom racecourse, or with the likes of Norman Foster? There’s just such a tremendous variety that crosses your desk. Recently he was project lead for the stage sets on AC/DC’s current tour. “I was approached by a set builder and asked if I could design a train wreck — a ‘Runaway Train’ to go with their 2008 hit single. “Between us, we created this six-metre high train that slides down the stage in a blaze of lights, smoke and pyrotechnics, rotates and turns into a staircase from which the lead guitarist steps out and starts the show. We also had to work out how to get a quarterton inflatable woman called Rosie out of the train and then back in it again — one of the most technically difficult bits. “Over the years I’ve done everyone from U2, Tina Turner, Queen, Paul McCartney in Tel Aviv and Bruce Springsteen, and I even did Live Aid as a freebie. Currently I’m designing the stage set for a Take That concert in June. “I just love the variation and challenge of engineering. Really, you are only limited by your imagination. I was good at maths at school and I do like the practical and intellectual challenge, the fact that you’ve got to think outside the box, come up with solutions and make things work. “An awful lot of what you do benefits other people. I’ve done schools, offices, industrial units and hospitals. You also get to leave something tangible behind for the generations after you. I’ve already worked on a number of buildings that have been listed. “Engineering is an unbelievable occupation for anyone who needs to express themselves.” MARK FISHER STUDIOSPAUL BURY 41, ROV INSTRUCTOR “Every morning when I wake up I am so grateful that I don’t have to turn up to some office in the city,” says Bury. “I started out as a solicitor, but switched to being an ROV [remotely operated underwater vehicle] operator, flying ROVs off ships and oil rigs to fix and install essential equipment. You could say being an ROV operator is a bit like playing with million-pound toys — although of course they are not toys. “ROVs — which can be as small as a handbag or as big as a transit van — enable companies to carry out essential work on everything from oil rigs to internet fibre optic cables on the seabed.” Bury currently works as a chief instructor, training ROV pilots at the Underwater Centre in Fort William. “Every day can be different,” he says. “Sometimes I am in the classroom training students. Most are like I was, people who get to a certain stage in life and want to change career. “They could be former air force technicians or people who worked in the electronics industry or on the factory floor with machinery. You could say they are the sort of people who like to look under the bonnet of a car and figure out how it works. “If I’m not in the classroom, then I am out on the pier in one of the two ROV shacks giving a practical. The pier is 800 metres long and the water 50 metres deep, and it is as close to simulating what it would be like flying an ROV off an oil rig as you can get from land.”Train set: The dramatic backdrop which Malcom Richards helped to create for heavy metal band AC/DC for their current world tour@ “It just seemed like one of those mad challenges,” he says. “We’ve built a prototype of the electric bike and we’re just at the stage when we are going to build it for real. “Ollie Linsdell, an IET engineering student, is going to be riding it in the race. My head’s been buzzing with the excitement and I’m finding it very difficult to sleep. It’s been a rollercoaster ride, but the project hit a number of buttons for me: it’s a design challenge, motorsports are a massive part of my life and it’s about having a positive impact, being good for the planet. “Mostly though, I think the bike has to be funJOBS ONLINE: jobs.telegraph.co.uk/ careers-insiderVICKI STEVENSON 38, GREEN ENERGY ENGINEER AT THE LOW CARBON RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT THE WELSH SCHOOLOF ARCHITECTURE, CARDIFF The human angle is one of the most fascinating things for Stevenson about her career. “I worked for British Steel once, specifically looking at preventing the corrosion of steel. That might not sound likea very exciting job, but if you think about it, if the steel in a building corrodes it could fall down and that would be a catastrophe. For me engineering is very much about benefiting society. I am very enthusiastic about that.” Today she is a researcher at the Low Carbon Research Institute and is also chair of the Welsh organising committee for WISE (Women Into Science, Engineering and Construction). “One of the things we are working on is how to get more women into engineering. We’ve noted that the way thesubject is taught is what matters. For example, if you talk about things like how to make a car go faster, then girls switch off. But if you show them how it can benefit society they become more interested.” Stevenson’s work targets environmental issues. “Climate change is one of the biggest challenges we face,” she says. “Where we get energy from, and how much it’s going to cost, are important issues. We don’t want energy to get so expensive that old people die of hypothermia because they are too frightened of turning the heating on. “RICK SIMPSON 35, FOUNDER OF EVO DESIGN SOLUTIONS, IS DESIGNING AND BUILDING AN ELECTRIC BIKE TO RACE IN THE WORLD’S FIRST ZERO-CARBON GRAND PRIX ON THE ISLE OF MAN’STT CIRCUIT As soon as Simpson heard about the zerocarbon Grand Prix he phoned the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), who have been appointed technical advisers to the race.to ride. I don’t think people want the environmental side forced on them. They have to think, ‘that’s nice, I want one of those’. It has to be desirable, then the fact that they are being environmentally responsible is an added incentive. “Most of all I thrive on the challenge of engineering. My father was an engineer so basically I was brought up in a workshop. I enjoy learning and trying to make things better, and the fact that there is always more to do. And when I see someone using something I’ve built it gives me enormous pleasure.”
THE DAILY TELEGRAPHTHURSDAY, MAY 7, 2009CAREERS INThe Daily Telegraph IN ASSOCIATION WITHjobs.telegraph.co.ukJ 3EngineeringThursday, May 7, 2009 jobs.telegraph.co.uk/caProduced byTelegraph Special ReportsVital cogsThe nation is in urgent need of young men and women with flair in the technical sphere
J 4jobs.telegraph.co.ukTHURSDAY, MAY 7, 2009THE DAILY TELEGRAPHCAREERS IN ENGINEERING PEOPLEThe Daily TelegraphFor the love of the job Life can be full of challenge and creativity with tangible benefits for others, too. Four engineers tell Natasha Mann what’s so good about what they do MALCOLM RICHA
THE DAILY TELEGRAPHTHURSDAY, MAY 7, 2009jobs.telegraph.co.ukJ 5The Daily TelegraphOPPORTUNITIES CAREERS IN ENGINEERINGWhere the work is Sir Anthony Cleaver is chairman of the Engineering and Technology Board (ETB). Here he talks to Lisa Sewards about the sector’s increasing demand for new talent in
J 6jobs.telegraph.co.ukTHURSDAY, MAY 7, 2009THE DAILY TELEGRAPHCAREERS IN ENGINEERING ALL-ENERGY’09The Daily TelegraphSun rises on a new generation The All-Energy exhibition and conference is growing in significance as the search for renewable power intensifies, says Thea JourdanABERDEEN EXHIBITION
