Andrew Pickles

Andrew Pickles from Earby, near Skipton, graduated in July 1997, having taken the four-year sandwich course in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. He is now working for Filtronics plc, in Shipley, specialising in cable communications.

After leaving school I took an apprenticeship with Rolls Royce in Barnoldswick, doing ONC and HNC in electrical engineering. Then Rolls Royce sponsored me to come to University. I chose Bradford because of the good reports I'd had about the course, the employment prospects, the campus and the cost of living (just the rent I was paying was a good £10 a week cheaper than friends I had at universities less than 100 miles away).

The course suited me well as I did not have any particular specialism in mind. You cover a broad spectrum of electrical engineering subjects: analogue, digital, telecomms, control systems, power electronics. Also useful was the practical and laboratory work. Perhaps most useful of all was the work with software tools. I use a lot of design software in my current job. My final-year project concerned hardware and software; looking at different designs for a battery-powered electrotherapy unit, and investigating the possibility of incorporating a programmable microcontroller. Whatever your project, you learn skills of time and project management, how to work steadily to predefined goals, how to make presentations, and how to get into the habit of good logbook keeping - essential in the world of work.

I intended to go back to Rolls Royce after graduating, but the situation had changed during my four years at University, so I applied for other jobs too. I was very pleased to get this one with a new high-tech subsidiary of Filtronic plc concentrating on cable communications. Basically, we are developing new equipment for use on the cable network; specifically to allow simultaneous transmission of two-way multimedia, thus potentially allowing people using cable television to, say, access the Internet. There are plenty of opportunities in this growing field, and I envisage staying here for some time. I am working towards gaining Chartered Engineer status, and am also hoping to start a part-time MSc.

I had a good time as a student. The key to success is time management. If you can get out of bed in the mornings, get your head down and work steadily during the day and not leave everything to the last minute, then there is plenty of time for leisure activities. In my case, this included regular inter-departmental football matches and subsequent socialising.

Whether you are coming straight from school, or via work like me, this course is worth doing. The career opportunities are excellent, and you can have a good time too!

[Contents] [Student Life] [Home]

University of Bradford, Bradford, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Content last updated 13 December 1999
HTML last changed 25 September 2000