Efficient engineering

Meet Taha, a manufacturing engineer working hard to make engineering as efficient as possible.

Company: Thales

Job: Graduate hardware engineer

What do you do? Tell us about your job:

I am currently on my first placement in a four-year scheme. My current role is manufacturing engineer, and I help improve things to make them better, faster or more efficient. This is usually referred to as lean engineering.

This could involve making things more automated, which has a number of benefits, for example it can get rid of tedious tasks, allowing our technicians to work on more difficult problems.

How did you become an engineer?

I became an engineer by studying Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering at the University of Southampton. It was an integrated masters and I specialised in Spacecraft Engineering.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to be an engineer?

My advice would be to explore as many areas of engineering as you can. Get a good idea of what engineering is and what exactly you want to do. Once you have a goal in mind, research how you can achieve that. There are lots of websites which can show you how you can achieve your goals, regardless of your starting point. This made it much easier for me as it gave me a path to follow, I could always remind myself that I was on the right path and motivate myself to make a change if I was not.

What do you love about engineering?

I love the endless opportunities available in engineering. With such a diverse range of disciplines, there is always room for you to use your skills regardless of the background you come from.

With a little bit of effort, you can introduce a device that can change how we live. It gives me a purpose and a sense of achievement when I meet my objectives after a long day at work.

I also love how the basics of engineering are the same across lots of types of engineering. With a bit of experience in automation, you have already built-up skills that will make you fit for a job in aerospace. This is true across all the disciplines. Through this combination of skills, you can always create something that has never been created before.