Becoming an engineer takes years \nof hard work and dedication, and while the rewards may seem intangible \nat first those who persevere embark on an exciting and challenging \ncareer than will take them across the world.We spoke to i3Works Director\n Terry O’Dowd about his career so far, and what insight he would give to\n aspiring engineers.Terry was part of the award winning 2012 Olympic \nPark Project team and has over 30 years experience behind him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Author: Martin Paver Director at i3Works<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Q. What first attracted you to Engineering?<\/strong> Q. Which countries has your work taken you to?<\/strong> Q. How many years did it take to complete your studies?<\/strong> Q. How did you stay motivated through your studies?<\/strong> Q. Did you ever feel like giving up?<\/strong> Q. What was your first job after graduation?<\/strong> Q. What area (if any) do you specialise in, and how did you come to select this specific area?<\/strong> Q. What has been your greatest career achievement so far?<\/strong> Becoming an engineer takes years of hard work and dedication, and while the rewards may seem intangible at first those who persevere embark on an exciting and challenging career than will take them across the world.We spoke to i3Works Director Terry O’Dowd about his career so far, and what insight he would give to aspiring […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":171,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":215,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128\/revisions\/215"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nI started out wanting to be an architect, but I soon realised that \nengineering suited me better as it covered everything I was interested \nin. Being an engineer gives you lots of opportunities to travel, a huge \nchoice of jobs and it’s very varied. The role involves any number of \ntasks, from solving technical matters to managing people.
\nAlso the knowledge that engineers create the society we live in makes me\n feel that my role is important. Without engineers there is no modern \nworld. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nI have worked in Singapore, Malaysia, Oman, US, Middle East, Poland, Denmark and the Isle of White! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n4 years at University and 4 years apprenticeship\/training on the job. \nThere were also two six month periods of work experience in the summer \nbreaks. That meant lots of variety, but the down side was the course was\n intensive with no time off for holidays.
\nThe professional interview at the end of training comprised a \npresentation and an essay exam. My structures exam took another 2 years \nof study and culminated in an 8 hour exam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nMost of my fellow students were from overseas and they all worked \nincredibly hard I’m naturally competitive and that kept me motivated!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nI couldn\u2019t give up as I had invested too much time and effort. I always \nhad a goal. The potential rewards are worth the effort in the end and I \nhave always believed anything worth having needs hard work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nI started as a trainee engineer on a construction site. The money was \nterrible at the start and I had to learn on the job quickly during the \nday and study in the evening. At 23 I was a site engineer supervising \nthe building of new bridges and roads and because I worked 12 hour days,\n I slept at night in a caravan parked on the construction site as we \nwere in the middle of nowhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nI specialised in structures design. I started in the design office at 25\n and trained on the job whilst helping to design a seismic qualified \nnuclear facility at Sellafield.
\nI qualified in structural engineering at 28 and became a senior engineer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nManaging the design of the 2012 Olympic Park. This included 35 new bridges and 15km of new road amongst other things<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"