Herding Engineers

A question I get asked a lot by my friends is “what is it like to work with engineers in that building?”. That building is, of course, The Diamond. The beating heart for engineering practical education at The University of Sheffield. For the first part of the question I can offer up some insight here. 

February 2017 was my first month in post as Departmental Manager in Multidisciplinary Engineering Education (MEE). A department I knew almost nothing about due to its infancy within the Faculty of Engineering as well as, at that time, a limited online presence. My entire work history has been within either the third sector or in voluntary organisations along with time served in a local FE establishment, which anyone who has made the same transition will tell you, is vastly different to HE. 

I am 4 and a half years into my professional journey here in MEE working alongside 45 staff all of whom are engineers. I work with mechanical engineers, bio engineers, aerospace engineers, electrical engineers….the list goes on. I am surrounded by capable and fiercely intelligent team members who occupy technical and academic roles. What is day to day life like in this job? In short: it's very process oriented. 

Each day I have been here I have learnt something new. I confess that what I’ve learnt is not in the field of thermodynamics but more what I have learned about myself and how I’ve learnt to adapt to deal with others. In my experience engineers love efficiency. They want things to happen quickly, smoothly, with as little waste as possible. They find solutions quicker than you can imagine and can find a counter argument to almost anything you suggest. For an emotionally driven, affiliative, non-confrontational  person such as myself I’ve had to quickly master the art of putting my views across in a way that they will be heard and understood. I’m still learning in that respect. I find raising my voice in meetings often helps. 

I hope that amongst my closest colleagues I’ve been able to influence some of the most steadfast engineers. I hope we’ve found new ways to to discuss things in a consultative fashion, and been open to finding new angles to see things from and dare I say it… with feeling. I often feel like the fun police in meetings, slowing down the thought train as it leaves with several members on board excited about the next stop, the next idea (one that will change the world!) whilst I stand in the corner waving the “but what about this policy we need to abide by” flag. Although in this metaphor perhaps I should have chosen a more engineering based example rather than a train, I should be more specific with which engine parts I meant and how they interact with one another. 

That said, I have laughed more in this job than any other I have ever had. Sometimes through exasperation, most often with others. I have learnt that having a good process can provide stability and structure sorely needed for teams and that routine and order can also allow for freedom and creativity to blossom. I have found engineers to be surprising in the way they approach challenges, most often it's with a willingness to get stuck in. They shy away from literally nothing, they do not fear failure. I believe this has rubbed off a little on me and taken the edge off my once slight tendency to catastrophize when a problem arose. 

I find myself caring about elements of practical experiments that, in the early days in the job, I couldn’t get excited about. I’m invested in each lab area and genuinely pay attention to the growth and development of teaching in the department. I even found myself referencing Occam's razor in a recent conversation with my husband. I don't think either of us recognised who I have become. 

To those of you in MEE, thank you. I have learnt more than I ever expected and I’m grateful that on that day back in 2017 I was offered the chance to come and be one of you here in engineering. Also,  I promise I’ll contribute more at the next staff quiz as long as the questions aren’t about molecules or galvanized steel.