My Motivation To Be Involved In Mechanical Engineering

Coming from a family with relatives that are mostly in the engineering field, I have always wondered what was so interesting about being an engineer, It was not until my last year in primary school when we had a STEM event in our school that I started understanding and discovering how mechanical products work. I started to like and get interested in engineering and my growing love for engineering continued in secondary school where I picked up the subject Maths, Physics, Engineering science, Chemistry and a scqf level 6 Foundation apprenticeship (Mechanical engineering). I started to get intrigued by the intricate designs engineers make, the mechanics of structures and how dynamics played a big part in every moving object. I would always watch videos on cars, f1 car racing and I always wondered how the car worked up to high velocities? Or how they are made as I learnt from school that physics and maths plays a big part in it like how centripetal force affects them as they go round corners. I had the benefit of doing work experience with Weirs Oil and Gas for a week. Here I was able to observe the roles of different of engineers in the working environment of an Oil and Gas industry and I was also able to work very closely to them, I got to see how a lathe milling machine milled a pump part. After doing this job I felt like it was a very competitive industry and I thought to myself that I am more than capable to be the best.

Doing the Foundation apprenticeship has given me a step ahead of everyone else. It is a newly started course that required pupils to stay at school and go to college and do a two years engineering apprenticeship, theory and practical work. Doing this for two years have shown my dedication to being an engineer. In this course I learnt so many things in class and in the workshop, in class we learnt about the most interesting topics: strength of materials, bending and shear force, Hooke's law, Young's modulus and so much more. In the workshop, we learnt how to use different machines like the lathe, drill press and sanding machine.

I have taken part in many activities that have helped to build my teamwork, leadership and organization skills. I finished Duke of Edinburgh Bronze and Silver Award where strong teamwork is essential in order to be successful, especially during the expedition. I have also represented my class on the school council for two years where I had to demonstrate good time management and thinking skills which I used when I helped to give ideas on how to help the schools improve their social spot for the pupils in the school.