• Question: What skills are especially important for someone in this position?

    Asked by tbonesteak to Becky, Carrie, Kelly, Robin, Usaid on 14 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: Becky Selwyn

      Becky Selwyn answered on 14 Mar 2012:

      For any engineering job you need to understand the basics in maths and physics, and then add to that some applied theories that you learn on engineering courses. For a PhD you need to do well at uni (usually you have to get a 2:1 or more which means getting at least 60% in all the exams and coursework).

      Once you get on to the PhD course, you need to be very self-motivated and organise your time well. You also need to be able to communicate with other people so you can ask for advice and present your work. And of course you need to be very interested in your subject – studying one subject in a lot of detail for 3 whole years would be impossible if you didn’t like the subject!

    • Photo: Robin Stafford Allen

      Robin Stafford Allen answered on 14 Mar 2012:

      It is important that you can work with others, and are technically good at making the things that are asked of you. The only other skill is a bit of computing and maths!

    • Photo: Usaid Rauf

      Usaid Rauf answered on 23 Mar 2012:

      You have to be good at the technical stuff. Ensure you have a sound understanding of maths and science (physics usually).

      You have to be a good communicator, in speech and in writing. You could have a great idea, but if you cannot communicate it, you’re stuck.

      You need to be able to work in a team, who may not all be engineers and may not all think like you.

      You’ll need good organisation or time management skills too.

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