At Cambria we are always enthusiastic about teaching and inspiring the next generation of engineers. We were recently joined by Adam Day, an A-Level student whose interest in engineering led him to secure a work experience placement here at Cambria. With the placement now complete, Adam reflected on the experience and what he enjoyed most.
I have been interested in many types of engineering for some time and wanted to experience a few of my favourite areas in engineering, civil and structural, to see what kind of environment a post education job entails, and what happens on a day-to-day basis. I am currently studying maths and physics at A-level and want to pursue a career in engineering of some kind.
I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity to visit Cambria and I have enjoyed an extremely beneficial couple of days that really opened my eyes to the processes that take place in an organisation such as Cambria. Everyone was so warm, allowing me to ask questions regarding my future, and paths I’m considering, offering their knowledge and past experiences. I really appreciate the time taken by the staff to show me how to use engineering software, and a big thanks to George Kenyon, who really helped guide me through the process, offering amazing help when I needed it.
During the first few days I spent time with the structural engineers, learning how to use software such as Tekla to design and carry out analysis on the structure of a school. I was shown how to create a 3D model of the steel frame structure of the school, and how to appropriately assess where is best to put supports, and optimal beam formations. I was then shown how to appropriately test my design, by finding appropriate loads for each layer of the school and testing to see if my model would withstand them.
On my third and fourth day I joined the civil engineering team, which was really enjoyable and gave me the chance to learn about different opportunities including highways and soil surveying. I also spent time discussing and designing drainage design and techniques with Neil, who was both patient and really kind to answer all my questions in detail and help me with any troubles I ran into while designing it.
I’m taking so much away from this week at Cambria – the guidance I received was constructive and will definitely help me progress with my career choices. I would like to thank everyone on the team for making me feel welcome and taking the time to show me what they do. Having no previous experience in this area, the taste I have had amongst real engineers in their working environment has encouraged me to look further into civil engineering!
