The subjects I took in school were: English, Irish, Maths, Physics, Music, Social and Scientific, History and  French. Having not realised until late in 5th year that I wanted to study engineering in college, I then took physics as an 8th subject at the minimum required pass level. As I had an interest in engineering and the right mindset, the pass physics course was relatively straight forward. As my wise physics teacher advised me, if I didn't enjoy the physics course I most likely would not enjoy engineering.

In hindsight, I should have chosen a science subject as part of my core subjects - all students should. But sometimes school timetables can simply not facilitate everybody's preferences and choices must be made - the important thing is to choose the subjects that are right for you. It is also important to note that it is not essential to have either science subjects or honours maths to achieve a degree in engineering. There are many routes of entry to suit all levels and skills. However, the important thing is to have an interest and enjoyment of these subjects in order to become a good engineer.

• Loreto Abbey Dalkey Secondary School, graduated 1998
• University College Dublin, Bachelor of Engineering Degree, graduated 2002
• Chartered Engineer status with Engineers Ireland - 2007

Continuing Professional Development - as an ongoing part of my career I attend regular courses and lectures to keep my engineering skills up to date. An example of some of these are:

• Eurocode 3 - preparing for the changeover - team leader to prepare a series of lectures to roll out within the company in preparation for the new codes of practice in 2010.
  
• Use of Ledite in Construction of Radiotherapy Bunkers - traditional radiotherapy bunkers have traditionally been constructed with 3.0m thick concrete walls. The composition of Ledite blocks results in walls just 1.0m thick and provide the same, and sometimes better, protection to the damaging properties of radiotherapy

• MPP Centre of Excellence - Deep Basements.
• MPP Centre of Excellence - Precast Construction.

The two presentations above were inhouse within MPP and summarised the applications, advantages, disadvantages and specific design issues associated with the increasing use of precast elements and deep basement construction within the industry. Presentation by Bamtec (external company) - an alternative to traditional reinforcement in concrete elements. Proprietary systems such as Bamtec are keen examples of the use of modern technologies to provide a structural solution that is more time efficient, more accurate and more cost effetive than traditional methods.

Studying engineering in college is clearly a crucial first step to becoming a good engineer. The essential thing that I took from my college education was not learning off formulae and computing complicated arithmetic in my head. It was to learn to THINK like an engineer, to acquire the skill of knowledge application and engineering principles to different situations.

While I am now working as a structural engineer, the electives I took in addition to the base engineering subjects in college were Transportation and Unit Treatment Processes which involved water treatement. These were the subjects I favoured at the time although I was still unsure of what aspect of civil engineering I wanted to specialise in.

While I now specialise in structural design, it is very useful to have the basic knowledge on these other subjects as there are always interfaces and overlaps between all the engineering disciplines.

As a STEPS to Engineering Champion I am often asked if it is essential to do any or all of the subjects, honours maths, applied maths, physics and chemistry. The answer is that they will all be useful subjects to have as an engineer and will certainly make the early parts of your degree course easier as the Leaving Cert syllabus is typically covered in these subjects as part of the college course.

But I myself did pass Physics and did neither Applied Maths nor Chemistry and am now a Chartered Engineer. It is often not what you know that is important - knowing where to find it will provide an equally good answer.