I always knew I wanted to go into aerospace engineering. Completing an internship gave me a chance to explore the ‘real world of work’ and confirm my interests and enjoyment in aerospace outside of the academic environment. I didn’t know what department to consider before joining, so my internship also helped me to discover a specialism I really enjoyed.
"I started the BAE Systems Accelerate Graduate scheme in a placement within the Aerodynamics department. Through this time I undertook placements around the department, including in propulsion integration and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The Graduate scheme gave again me a chance to explore the specific areas around aerodynamics and gain more knowledge and grounding in the application of engineering. Alongside this, I undertook a range of stretch assignments outside of my main role in order to gain additional skills.”
Completing the graduate scheme with BAE Systems in April 2022 Becky went on to gain Incorporated Engineer professional registration status just one month later. In order to attain this accreditation Becky had to evidence her competence and commitment to engineering in several areas including; problem solving, engineering knowledge, project management, safety and the environment, leadership and developing technologies.
Over the last two years Becky has been embedded within the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) team at Warton, working on developing propulsion and air intake systems for the next generation combat aircraft, Tempest.
I work in such a high paced environment, but going through the professional registration process has really given me the opportunity to step back and look at how much we’ve done and what we’ve achieved. I really enjoy what I do. The work I’m doing is really interesting and I feel like I’ve learned loads since joining the team. It’s such an exciting time to be involved with working on a programme like Tempest.”
Speaking of her career highlights so far Becky went on to say:
There’s been many highlights for me already in a relatively short space of time, but the most significant has to be winning the Baroness Pratt of Writtle Award 2023.”
“The application involves presenting my evidence to a panel of judges and I gave them an overview of some the placements I’d completed, some of the work I’ve done to support my team’s propulsion intake work, including development of wind tunnel models and rapid concepting toolsets, stretch assignments exploring critical materials usage within the company and the work I do to support young engineers.
One of my favourite things to do is helping others by sharing my experience and advice with them. I’ve enjoyed being able to co-produce a career development tracker, provide support to the University of Liverpool 4th Year Capstone Projects as an industrial assessor, and mentoring other engineers seeking their IEng.”
Becky’s award was presented at presentation dinner held at Plaisterers’ Hall on 11 July. Of her award win she said:
“Winning was completely unexpected, and I am grateful to my line manager Kieran and IEng sponsor Richard for supporting me through the process. It is a great experience getting to share your passions with others, and to receive recognition for all of that at such a great event was a massive bonus!