Profile

I was born in the UK, but am of Chinese descent. I was born in Manchester, and have spent a lot of my life here. But, have also spent time in Northern Ireland, Scotland, London, Cornwall and Hong Kong.

I have always been interested in science and learning (and I don’t see that changing in future). Although, I didn’t really have an idea of what I wanted to do until about the end of Year 10 and even now I am still unsure about my future.

Though one thing I am sure of is that I am proud of the work I do as a process engineer.

A process engineer is a bit like saying you’re a doctor. It can sound very serious, but without further details, it is quite vague on what they actually do. For example, if you had a problem with your eyes you wouldn’t go to see an Orthopaedic Surgeon (bone doctor), you’d go to see an Ophthalmologist (eye doctor).

Process engineers, can work in all sort of industries from mining, energy, food, pharmaceuticals, to academia, semi-conductors, and water etc.

At this moment, I am focused in the water industry, working at a consultancy (a company that tells other companies what to do/how to do things). Though I have spent time working in the mining industry as well.

My job consists of designing the processes that either produce wholesome water (drinking water) that could come out of your taps at home, or taking the stuff in your toilets (sewage) and treating it, so it doesn’t pollute the environment.

This usually means, a lot of designing, calculations, meetings, and site visits.

My days can vary a bit, as usually I’ll be at home, other days in the office. Sometimes I need to travel across the country to view a site, other times there may be a meeting in the client’s office. I often find I need to be flexible with my time, and willing to travel.

If I am home I will usually put on music/a documentary (this usually helps me focus) if I am doing a task where it is just me such as calculations (sizing of equipment), researching (new technologies), designing a process flow diagram (similar to a map of showing how water will flow through a site/plant) or writing up a report.

Although, the tasks can be similar across the different projects, each project can be unique, and have its own challenges. I find that keeping a note of everything can really help, to avoid confusion whilst working on different projects (similar to how you’ll have different books/files for your revision notes).