Netsebrak’s career profile
I always enjoyed science at school and studied maths and physics at A-level. I always wanted to be a pilot for as long as I could remember but unfortunately my eyesight wasn’t good enough. I realised that if I couldn’t fly the planes I could still be involved in designing them. I chose to study Aeronautical Engineering at Imperial College and immediately loved it. Engineering is a hard subject to learn but it is really rewarding finding out how aeroplanes work.
My current job is as a Performance Team Leader working on the Trent 1000 launch engine for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. I have a team of 9 engineers working for me which keeps me on my toes! I am responsible for modelling what the engine will do in flight so we can predict how hot it will get at takeoff and how much fuel it will burn at cruise.
One thing I have noticed though is that university is very academic and theoretical. It is important to know these basics but you learn so much more when you get some practical experience. I first worked for British Airways Engineering as an industrial trainee between my 2nd and 3rd years helping them keep jumbo jets flying by maintaining their spare parts. I would advise everyone to apply for industrial placements whilst at university as you really get to see what the industry is like.
I worked for Rolls-Royce as a vacation trainee in the summer holiday before my 4th year. One of my jobs was to make the Trent 500 engine accelerate as fast as possible without stalling! I found this sort of work really exiting particularly when I got to see the engine being run on a test bed with the changes I had made!
