By request, here is the story of my mechanical engineering education and career path working on renewable energy engineering technologies for fifteen years so far. I chose this career because of my concern about climate change. Being an engineer is great because it does give you the power to work on something that will change the world to be more the way you wish it would be!
I actually recorded this interview nearly a year ago while I was still working for a wind turbine blade manufacturer. Now I am an independent consultant working on innovation strategy and new technology development for all kinds of energy transition technologies (get in touch via LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/rosemarybarnes/ if you have a business proposal for me!).
If there are any parts you would be interested to hear more detail about then let me know and I can do a follow up. Just tell me what you’re interested in: job search and networking skills for engineers perhaps, or more details about the kinds of projects I’ve worked on, what my PhD was about… anything at all.
In the video I start with the hobbies I had as a kid, my early STEM education starting with doing maths with my dad, my first part-time job in a bike shop, my love of physics and how I chose between studying physics and engineering at university. Then the jobs I have had working in solar energy, startups, other renewable energy, sustainability and circular economy projects I worked on before deciding to go back to university to get a PhD in composite materials structural design and analysis so I could get a job working for a wind turbine blade manufacturer.