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There are dozens of engineering career paths to choose from, and we’re working with our amazing partners to bring you insight into just some of these. This time, we caught up with Harriet Houghton, a Systems Engineer at Leonardo, one of the UK’s leading aerospace companies. She told us all about working for them and the route she took to get where she is today.

Hi Harriet, please tell us about your role at Leonardo and how you ended up working for them.

I am a systems engineer working in systems architecture & requirements. I came into the company with a background in avionic retrofit & maintenance and in business development management. I felt that I wasn’t putting my degree to best use, so I applied to the Leonardo Graduate Scheme. I didn’t know what I wanted to do specifically, and the scheme offered lots of placements in different projects, so I was able to get a better idea of what I wanted.

Can you share with us a typical day working in your role?

There are no typical days; my job changes from day to day, writing reports, coding, coding models, and deep diving into new topics so that I can apply what I have learned later. The same is true in my role as a STEM ambassador; one day I could be doing outreach in our local community, another day I may be demonstrating project work. The common denominator is meeting people to understand and solve problems, but the way this is done depends on the problem.

What is your favourite part of your role and why? 

I love that it is my job to learn new things. I really like the feeling when the penny drops on a new topic. I think this quote by Arthur C. Clarke sums up why I like engineering: 

‘Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.’

Creativity is important in coming up with novel and elegant solutions to engineering problems. Arthur C. Clark, a Sci-Fi author, predicted geostationary satellites in 1945. In 1964, the first geostationary satellite was launched; such satellites are key to global communications and GPS today. I just think it’s neat that, if you can imagine it, there’s a chance we’ll get round to making it real one day!
 

What are the top 3 skills that you need in your job?

Transparency: not just being open and honest, which builds trust, but also being able to communicate well to get key information across effectively

Problem Solving: an ability to solve problems is important, so too is the determination to stick with it. If ever I’m stuck, I say to myself, ‘I will not lose!’.

Focus: being able to get into the zone and hold lots of relevant information in mind while doing so to get things done.

Have you faced any setbacks during your career? How have you overcome these? 

I had a really tough time with A Levels; my home life was going through an upheaval, and my grades suffered. I knew I wanted to be an engineer, so I looked at alternative options and did a BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Engineering at a 6^th college. The style of study suited me better, and the facilities were beyond anything I’ve ever seen in a school. I left with a Triple Distinction Star.

How did you end up pursuing a career in engineering? What steps did you take during school to get there?   

I always loved to build dens as a kid. I built a high-rise cardboard box city for my toys to live in, which took up one corner of my room, complete with a lift system! 

I enjoyed myself at GCSE; I did the core subjects: 3 Sciences, Maths, English Literature, and English Language.  My optional subjects, Art, Fine Art, were fantastic for creativity and focus, and Spanish actually ended up helping me with my French when I got into the industry. When working with international partners, it was incredibly helpful to have a basic grasp of the languages being used. This comes back to effective communication and the use of precise language in engineering. In my role at Leonardo, I have picked up some conversational Japanese. Though opportunities to use it are rare, I hope to get the chance to use it more in future.

Engineering is a massive field, and it’s really hard to know where to start, but like all problems, it’s best broken down. I researched and found that I had an interest in aerospace, which seemed to apply a diverse mix of the fields I was interested in, so when I finished college, I went to university to study Aerospace Engineering at UWE Bristol. I was lucky enough to get a year in industry with a company that kept me employed part-time while I finished university, then full-time despite the COVID-19 lockdowns.

What are your top tips for a young female interested in a career in engineering? 

• Play to your strengths and what you enjoy; your strengths are good to fall back on, but the things you enjoy will continue to develop with you as you grow, and you may find unexpected uses for them.
• Things might not always go to plan, but if you keep getting back up and trying again with your goal in mind, you will get there. And once you have reached a goal, find something new to pursue.
• Be curious and never stop asking questions. Engineering is a field of continuous learning and problem solving, with new technologies, methodologies and challenges emerging all the time. No one ever has all the answers, but understanding the perspective of others can be half the battle when finding the right approach to a problem.

The Smallpeice Trust is privileged to once again partner with both Leonardo and GE HealthCare this summer to deliver Girls Into Engineering, an immersive and enriching, three-day residential course at Loughborough University.

Learn hands-on skills such as soldering and circuit building, discover the different areas of engineering open to you and explore the future of exciting technologies such as AI.

We have spaces remaining for aspiring young female engineers aged 12-14, including some fully-funded places, thanks to the generosity of our partners.

Click the link below to reserve yours.

https://smallpeicetrust.org.uk/course-page/8be0063a-b9d4-ef11-a72f-002248423015