Laura’s interests ranged from the quiet, gentle art of origami to the smoking tyres and roaring engines of F1 races. She took part in science competitions, painted and learned Latin. Engineering wasn’t on her radar. The daughter of asylum seekers from Vietnam, who built a new life in Leeds, Laura tried her hand at just about everything. And, all along, she says, she pushed back against the more traditional side of her family, that didn’t believe women needed careers.
“I wanted to do something,” she explains. “I just wasn’t sure what.”
That changed when a new physics teacher recommended a programme run by the Engineering Development Trust. It was a six-month scheme – an after-school club – where students met working engineers. Those who visited her school were from the National Grid.
“We came up with some far-fetched solutions to real-life problems,” she remembers. “That was the beauty of it.”
Momentum for outreach
For someone who stumbled into engineering “by accident,” Laura (32) is now an active and proud ambassador. She’s a council member at the Royal Aeronautical Society and is involved in equity, diversity and inclusion. She’s on the team at SheCanEngineer, an organisation that promotes diversity in engineering. And she’s helping a new STEM outreach charity, Epistemic, build momentum. After spending more than a decade at BAE Systems, she’s recently joined sustainability consultancy ERM (Environmental Resources Management).
After discovering engineering at school, Laura spent a year getting some hands-on experience. She joined a civil engineering firm where her first big design was a car park in Manchester. Laura studied systems engineering and found an internship that opened a door into BAE, where she spent the next 11 years. There, she dabbled in all kinds of design work, often involving fighter jets. She worked on electrical power or fuel systems, designed cockpits and tested software. She won a prestigious award. And, once, she got invited to speak to military leaders in Washington, DC – the coolest-but-scariest thing she’s done.
By then, Laura had taken an interest in the way engineers and pilots were trained to use F35 fighter jets. There was a complex, intricate system – a service – around the global training centres and the materials they used. She unfolded the entire operation and found ways to improve the design.
She presented her ideas using a systems engineering-based model and the next thing she knew she was on a flight to DC. But Laura had a fear of public speaking. In the past, she’d found herself up on stage, frozen or in tears. Now, she’d be addressing senior military leaders, pointing out gaps in their training system.
Delivering under pressure
It got worse. As a secondary partner on the project, BAE wasn’t traditionally given a speaking slot at the conference she was attending. And those in the audience were not engineers, so they’d need a simple explanation of a technical system.
The pressure was on, and Laura had to deliver. Which she did. The feedback was great. Her company got invited to fill more speaker slots. And something about that experience “switched on a light” for the ambitious engineer – a light that boosted her confidence in front of an audience.
“At an early age, I was told engineering wasn’t for me. And only because I’m stubborn, I decided to stick with it,” Laura explains. “I could easily have said ‘I’m not going to do it’ and then miss out on this amazing career.”
This year, Laura left the world of F35s, Hawks and Typhoons to become a senior human factors consultant at ERM. Her focus is safety, and her clients are spread across all kinds of industries.
Laura’s parents are by her side at engineering shows or STEM talks, smiling for photographs and beaming with pride.
For Laura, no experience is ever wasted. She believes in the power of transferable skills and the benefits of joining professional institutions. Laura is proof that engineers can shape their careers to fit their passions. One of her latest passions is roller derby – where roller skating meets a human pinball machine. She’s learning to play the game, but also to become one of the many referees it takes to keep everyone safe.
“No two engineers have the same job,” says Laura. “So I always say: ‘try it’. You’ll always find something you love.”
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Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.