I started my educational career majoring in Chemistry at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY. I found chemistry to have a wide array of areas that allowed me to branch out and try different things. I decided to continue my education by doing my masters in chemical engineering because I found the engineering an intriguing subject.
I moved to England in September of 2006 to continue my education. I attended the University of Leeds and studied chemical engineering for my masters degree. A person with a chemistry background in an engineering world could be unique and helpful in understanding the complex chemistry involved in the chemical engineering processes. I enjoyed my experience at the University of Leeds and absorbed as much as I could from my course. I found that there are many areas of chemical engineering that do not necessarily need a chemist’s point of view but an engineer’s mind for a taste of problem solving and calculations. Not all problems can be solved in a lab but might have to be thought up in your mind.
AMEC approached me in March of 2008. I was doing a contract position with Smith & Nephew as a lab technician in their New Product Development Team. I have found AMEC to be open and friendly yet very diverse. Many employees here have started out as graduate trainees and they understand how hard it is to start your career from the spoon-fed world of academy to the cutthroat world of commerce. Many people are always willing to help yet allow you enough room to grow and strike out on your own. AMEC’s Graduate Development Scheme teaches and educates you on areas of business that a university education can not provide.
I chose AMEC because the opportunity to learn and develop with a company that is in a period learning and develop itself was something I could not pass up. I will be able to try different things and experience new areas of chemistry and engineering that I have not had the chance to try.