I’ve always been inspired by engineering. My dad’s an engineer and so it was just always something that was in my household. We used to take computers to bits and it was explained to me how things like  the internet worked, websites, work, programs and everything.

And I was always fascinated – like all engineer stereotypes, I was obsessed with Lego when I was a child – building things and just creating things with my imagination.

I got really into Stargate when I was quite young. Me and my dad used to watch that together. There’s this character, Samantha Carter, who was the Hollywood version of engineering – she could do all sciences and all types of engineering. And I just thought she was the coolest thing ever. So I got really obsessed and inspired.

But it wasn’t until I was a teenager that I actually got my hands on robots for the first time. I applied and attended a space summer school. It was my first experience of programming Lego robots and from there, there was just no turning back.

Once I’d actually programmed a robot to do a small task like solving a maze, going back and forth, I just knew that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

A typical day really varies from one to the next. As lead developer, I’m responsible for looking after the team, deciding what we need to do, who’s going to do it and how we’re going to do it.

So, some days I’m planning, some days I’m writing code and some days I’m in meetings all day. And so it’s quite nice that my job is very varied.

The other great thing about my job is that we use quite a lot of different technologies to make Marty work. From one day to the next I could be using completely different programing languages, which for me is really interesting and keeps the job really exciting.

I love working with Marty and I really enjoy solving the issues that Marty sometimes has. But more than that, I really enjoy creating new features and making Marty more and more capable all the time.

I’m a real believer that young people really need to get their hands on, in terms of engineering, as early as possible to give them the confidence to know that engineering is for everybody. And so I really believe that Marty is changing things.

Young people today are generally getting the opportunity to learn how to code from a much younger age than I was.

I didn’t write my first proper programming until I was at university. I had had a small amount of experience with a similar tool to Marty when I was a teenager, and it made such a difference to my life. I was already 15-16 by that point.

It’s brilliant to see children learning to code from as young as primary school age and grow up in a very different world with many more skills than I did and I’m really happy to contribute to that.

Make sure you pay attention to maths and physics at school, but also don’t worry if you didn’t. It’s something I got back into a little bit later in life, but it does really help set you up.

Also I think problem solving is a really important part of engineering – if you really enjoy puzzle games and puzzle apps on your phone, a real puzzle or Sudoku or anything like that, all that helps develop problem-solving skills, which are extremely useful in engineering.

But the other thing I would say is that really don’t worry – engineering has the stereotype of being really hard and really niche, but it’s actually a lot of fun. You learn by doing and everyone around you is very welcoming and will always help you out.

So just really don’t stress it.

The other thing I’d maybe say is that engineering is so varied and there are so many different types: construction, electronics, software, mechanical, you can work for Formula One, you can work in robotics, you can design apps.

Since it’s so varied I wouldn’t worry too much about exactly where you want to go because it’s easy to move between the different types.

Tell us about your job…
As an engineer at the Thorpe Park Resort we ensure the safety of our guests at all times. Safety is of paramount importance and always our number one priority. To ensure this level of safety is achieved, every attraction is rigorously inspected and tested before each day of the operating season. Any malfunctions or repairs that require assistance are prioritised and rectified by the engineering team.

My role as Electrical Area Manger is to organise the preventative, reactive and winter maintenance tasks and to ensure the smooth running of the attractions within my area.

Throughout the winter when the park is closed to guests, each attraction is disassembled down to component level and inspected by an independent inspection body to ensure they’re all in a satisfactory condition. When the inspection is completed and the components have passed all the relevant checks the attraction is then rebuilt. A full functional test must then be completed and once everything has passed inspection, we’re issued with a ‘declaration of conformity’. This certificate proves that each attraction is safe to operate.

How does your work affect people’s lives/the world around us?
I like to think that as a team we ensure families can come and enjoy a great visit to Thorpe Park. These visits are remembered and a great time for everyone to create fun memories and prove their courage by going on some of the terrifying rides we have – like ‘Stealth’ or ‘XX’.

Our umbrella company, Merlin also runs a charity – Merlin’s Magic Wand. The charity arranges days out for seriously ill, disabled and disadvantaged children and this also has a positive impact on people’s lives around us.

What do you like most about engineering or your job?
Engineering involves finding solutions to problems or tasks. When a problem is rectified and the results are noticed, it gives me a great sense of achievement.

How did you first become interested in engineering?
Starting at a young age, I became interested in finding out how everything works – this basically meant I would take everything apart with no idea how to put it back together!

I also became interested in motorcycles and boats, which later on fuelled my interest in engineering.

There are a number of different routes you can take into a career in engineering. What route did you take (and why)?
I was successful in securing an Apprenticeship within a small engineering team responsible for the maintenance of a complete printing and binding factory at Benham Goodhead Print BGP in Colchester. The training program lasted four years, and involved attending college and onsite training to develop my skills and gain a qualification. Once my training was complete, I was lucky enough to be offered a fulltime job within the team.

How important was studying maths and science in school for what you do now? Did you enjoy it at school?
A good understanding of maths and science has been essential throughout duration of my career. The skills I developed throughout school and college have formed the basis of all the engineering decisions and projects I am able to undertake here on the resort.

What personal qualities do you think are important for being an engineer?
The engineers at the Thorpe Park resort enjoy working within a team. Most have personal hobbies or interests relating to engineering outside of work. Many of the team have classic cars, boats or motorcycles, whilst others naturally enjoy working on computers, Hifi’s or other electronic equipment. I believe that if you have these an interest in technology (which is not hard as it’s all around us) you could well be already on your way to becoming an excellent engineer.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I have recently been spending my spare time restoring a speedboat (an ongoing project spanning about seven years). This year, the boat was launched into the water and successfully used throughout the summer. My other interests include Music, Fitness and eating lots of food!

If you could go back in time and be the inventor of any product, what would you choose?
If I could claim to have invented any product it would have to be the computer processor. This is because the computer has now become such a useful tool in our everyday lives. It has so many uses both socially and technically.

I’m Hiba. I work at Mott MacDonald, and I’m an engineer on a mission to keep people safe and healthy by protecting their homes and environments.

The project I think that means the most to me is the one that I’m still working on at the moment. It’s a project in Bangladesh and it’s to combat river erosion. In Bangladesh 20 percent of the country floods every single year on average. They’ve got these huge rivers. They’re like 16 kilometres wide. They can erode 900 metres over the year. That’s like a whole village has just fallen into the river all of a sudden, which obviously is catastrophic for health.

So our project aims to reduce that riverbank erosion by stopping it in certain places. The great thing about the project for people’s health is that once you stop the water coming in and stop their houses flooding you don’t get as much standing water which obviously is a breeding ground for mosquitos, malaria and all sorts of diseases. Also if the roads are there and permanent they can always get medical supplies in and take people out who need help.

This is one of the things that we use a lot on site. It’s called a geo bag. So Bangladesh doesn’t have many rocks, and normally you’d use rocks to stop riverbank erosion, but we have to make our own. We fill these with sand, we stitch the top, and we push then out of barges and they fall in layers underwater to protect against erosion.

Engineering makes me really happy. It was really important to me to feel like I’m part of something that’s working towards the greater good, and I really feel like that in engineering. You can see what you’ve done at the end of the project, which is great.