Engineer a Career

Alan Sinclair joins The Engineer a Career Podcast to share what it actually looks like to go from engineering student to graduate engineer — and what nobody really tells you about the journey in between. Alan is a Graduate Design Engineer at Vital Energy, working in building services, and is five months into his first role after completing his mechanical engineering degree at UWS. His path wasn&#3...

Josh takes Engineer a Career to the University of Glasgow for a live podcast, bringing together a panel of engineers at different stages of their careers to share how they got started. From discovering engineering later than expected, to changing paths at university, to landing that first role in industry, this episode explores the real journeys behind the job titles. The panel share what sparked...

Josh sat down with Ivona and Ondrej at the University of Edinburgh to break down what an engineering career actually looks like after university. From their first interest in engineering to where they are now in industry, they share the real journey, the decisions, the challenges, and the moments that shaped their careers. They talk about placements, mentors, career changes, and why your degree do...

Josh sat down at the University of Dundee for a live podcast in front of students to hear Reese’s story and it’s not the typical engineering path. From leaving school with no qualifications, working at McDonald’s, and going through college, to eventually breaking into university and now working as a Project Engineer in subsea engineering, this conversation is about what it really takes when things...

Josh sat down with Ryan to talk through his journey into building services engineering and how he ended up working at the University of Glasgow. What stands out about Ryan’s story is that it isn’t a straight line. He didn’t think engineering was for him at school, spent time working in an admin job, and only found his way into the industry after being given an opportunity to apply for an apprentic...

John Kraus joins The Engineer a Career Podcast to explore what engineering needs to become if it is going to meet the challenges of the future. John is the CEO of Engineers Without Borders UK and has built a career across policy, climate and the built environment. Although not an engineer by background, his work is focused on one clear mission: helping engineering create better outcomes for people...

Engineering careers are often framed as a simple question: apprenticeship or university? But what if that’s the wrong debate? In this solo episode of The Engineer a Career Podcast, Josh explores why engineering has never relied on a single pathway and why the real challenge facing the profession isn’t which route people choose, but how effectively we transfer knowledge to the next generation. From...

What if the thing holding you back wasn't your grades, but your belief in what you were capable of? Abby joins Josh on The Engineer a Career Podcast for one of the most honest engineering career conversations we've had on the show. From leaving school with a B in English and a C in Chemistry, being rejected from art school twice and nearly not making it through third year at Strathclyde, t...

Kate Barnard joins Josh on The Engineer a Career Podcast to share the unconventional path that took her from failing her A Levels to leading engineering teams at Rolls-Royce, and why mindset matters more than grades. From leaving school with just three UCAS points to discovering engineering by accident during a foundation year, Kate explains how giving it “a go” changed everything. Josh and Kate e...

Rob Cussons joins The Engineer a Career Podcast to share his route from astrophysics to offshore wind, and what it really takes to build a career in the energy transition. From being inspired by an unforgettable physics teacher, to studying physics with astrophysics at the University of Leeds, Rob explains how early exposure to industry shaped his thinking long before he ever joined a renewable pr...

Another week, another episode. Welcome to The Engineer a Career Podcast Sarah Graham. Sarah joins Josh to share how a high school work placement opened the door to electrical engineering and ultimately led her into offshore wind. From discovering the real world application of maths and physics at school, to studying at the University of Edinburgh and completing a PhD in power systems and marine en...

Graeme Jackson joins Josh on the podcast to share his route into engineering, and how it took him from a Strathclyde lecture theatre to offshore rigs in the North Sea, and eventually to leading data and AI in the energy sector in New Zealand. From almost choosing architecture, to a physics teacher spotting his potential, Graham explains how maths, physics and creative subjects became the foundatio...

Erin joins The Engineer a Career Podcast to share her route into engineering and the real story behind it. From being inspired by her dad’s offshore work and travel, to discovering engineering through school subjects like maths and physics, Erin explains how a single opportunity changed everything: a University of Strathclyde summer school for girls that helped her commit to the path early. We als...

New year. New colours. Same mission. This is 2026, and this episode is about direction. Engineering doesn’t have a motivation problem or an ambition problem. It has a visibility problem. And this year, that’s the issue that needs to be confronted properly. Too many people who could thrive in engineering still can’t see it clearly enough to move towards it. They see job titles, entry requirements a...

2025 was the first full year of Engineer a Career operating with intention. A year shaped not by strategy documents or long-term roadmaps, but by people. Students. Engineers. Educators. Industry.   Hundreds of voices, each revealing something about what engineering really looks and feels like today. It was a year of travelling across the UK, from Aberdeen to Dundee, Edinburgh to Glasgow, and even...

Molly's journey into engineering didn't begin with a plan. It began in her grandad's garden shed a workshop that quietly sparked her fascination with how things are created. At school she followed her curiosity, leaning into both maths and art, and eventually typing a simple phrase into Google: "engineering and art combined." That search led her to Product Design Engineering at the University of G...

Across the UK, employers are struggling to find the engineering talent they need while thousands of young people and mid career professionals are still looking for the right opportunity. We talk about a skills gap, but what if the real problem is how the system is set up to develop and connect talent in the first place. In this special episode, Josh brings the full recording of a live webinar he h...

Why I Started Engineer a Career, What We've Built, and How We Fix the Skills System Gap Starting Engineer a Career was never about creating content. It was about closing a gap I kept seeing everywhere across industry, a gap between the talent we have and the opportunities that never reach them. In this first solo episode, Josh reflects on his own journey: from a chartered mechanical engineer shape...

A fascination with the world beneath our feet sparked Lucy's journey into geology. Encouraged by an inspiring geography teacher, she explored the subject through university taster courses and went on to study at the University of St Andrews, where hands-on fieldwork in Scotland's quarries and landscapes cemented her passion for understanding the ground we build on. After graduating, Lucy discovere...

Leaving school with no qualifications could have been the end of Faye's story but it was only the beginning. Starting on a factory floor, she watched engineers fix problems and realised she wanted to be one of them. Determined to change her future, Faye worked days in manufacturing and studied at night, earning nine GCSEs before securing an electrical engineering apprenticeship. Five years later,...

Dyslexia made traditional learning difficult, but time spent in his grandfather's workshop and a single school project sparked a lifelong passion for engineering. Neill's path began with an NC in Mechanical Engineering at North Glasgow College, followed by his HNC and HND. This was all after a series of early rejections that could have stopped him in his tracks. Neill went on to earn a cadetship w...

Rob Bell joins Josh to explore the engineering mindset. Curiosity. Problem solving. The joy of figuring out how things work and how to make them better. Rob shares how a hands on childhood and parents who fixed everything set him on a path to mechanical engineering at the University of Bath, a year in Annecy, and eventually a career in broadcasting that opens secret doors into the world's most fas...

Welcome to The Engineer a Career Podcast! In this episode, Josh is joined by Andrew Aveyard, Energy Sector Lead at The University of Edinburgh. Listen now as Andrew shares his career journey into engineering and how he has built a career both within industry and academia, particularly focusing on the energy sector.  Josh and Andrew discuss the skills gap across UK engineering, the untapped technol...

Welcome to The Engineer a Career Podcast! In this episode, Josh is joined by Alessandra Triscari, a Trainee Building Services Engineer at Survey Design Consult and an engineering student at the University of Strathclyde. Alessandra shares her passion for engineering and her journey from Sicily to Glasgow, studying at New College Lanarkshire and now at the University of Strathclyde. Alessandra is p...

Welcome to The Engineer a Career Podcast! In this episode, Josh is joined by Stuart Thomas, a Stress Engineer at Rolls Royce . Stuart reflects on his journey into engineering, from the early challenge of struggling to secure his first job after graduation, to building the skills and experience that led him into a career where he now applies his university developed skills every day. Join Engineer...