Case studies : Decision support consultant: Victoria

Victoria graduated with a Masters degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Loughborough University in 2009. She now works as a decision support consultant for QinetiQ.

From a young age I was always fascinated with aircraft and how things work. When a guest came to my school and spoke about her job as an aerodynamicist at Ferrari, I decided that aeronautical engineering would be my future career of choice. I did A-levels in physics, maths and business studies and was selected to compete in a wind turbine competition which helped me to gain more experience in aeronautical engineering. 

I chose Loughborough University as it was highly ranked in the league tables for aeronautical engineering and was one of the only universities with a Royal Aeronautical Society accredited MEng degree.

Following my third year of university, I did an industrial placement year with the aim of getting valuable experience in the aerospace market and potentially gaining future employment. I was offered a number of jobs and took a placement with QinetiQ - a leading defence and security company. My role was in the Human Performance Protection Enhancement department, with a view to providing technical knowledge to aircraft integration programmes. I chose this role as it was a new subject matter area and would allow me to apply and develop my skill set. It also provided me with insight into a number of military programmes. I was promoted and took up a role in the decision support consulting practice where I was one of the lead consultants on a number of high profile military aircraft programmes. Following my 14-month employment at QinetiQ, I was offered sponsorship for my final year at university and a higher level position if I wished to return after graduation.

I did return to QinetiQ after I graduated and am currently a decision support consultant. I help my clients to make difficult decisions using a number of robust analytical, modelling and simulation techniques. As part of my role, I do operational analysis looking at the performance of equipment, change management, programme management, business development and sales.

I am currently ten months away from achieving chartered engineer status with the Royal Aeronautical Society. This will provide me with added credibility in the defence market and help me to achieve a business development and programme management based role where I can really make my mark on the defence and security industry.

I would advise any student studying aeronautical engineering to get as much industrial experience as they can as early as they can. These experiences can be invaluable. My own experiences enhanced my CV and helped greatly when I applied for industrial placement roles and jobs after graduation. Also don’t be afraid to ask your lecturers questions. They have a wealth of knowledge and actually do some really exciting stuff. Don’t leave applying for jobs to the last minute - the majority of the best ones will have gone.