Case studies: Trainee research technologist: Rebecca Gregory-Clarke

More case studies

Rebecca studied for an MEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Bristol. She graduated in 2008 and is currently working as a trainee research technologist at the BBC.

After graduation, I worked as an antenna engineer for six months, for a company I had worked for as an intern. After a few months travelling, I applied for this two-year traineeship with BBC Research and Development through the BBC Jobs website. I am currently completing the last of three eight-month placements, at the end of which I will become a technologist.

My subject of study has given me a strong technical background and prepared me well for this type of traineeship. Some of the more specific subjects I studied have also proved relevant, including my final-year thesis into multiple-view camera calibration. Not everybody has the same background though, with other trainees coming from physics, maths and computer science backgrounds.

A typical day starts with emails and a quick catch-up with my supervisor about my current project. We also have a weekly team meeting where I report on my project, plans for that week, and discuss any problems. My current project involves developing new features for an existing tool used by production teams, which involves background research, talking to users, trying out new software and writing computer code. I am expected to document my work either for internal distribution or possibly for an externally published research paper. Near the end of a project, I would also expect to be giving presentations or demos of my work to interested people, both inside my department and beyond.

I have gained a range of new technical skills, through formal training courses and on-the-job learning, and have developed my approach to tackling projects and getting my ideas onto the table. I have also become involved in a number of ‘extracurricular’ projects. On completion of the traineeship, I hope to develop an in-depth understanding of a specific area and drive forward innovations of my own.

I enjoy exploring the creative side of engineering and it’s great to see something you’ve worked on being used by other people. The job requires a wide breadth of knowledge, so you constantly have to learn and absorb new things, which can be tough, but I enjoy it. I love working in research and having the freedom to explore new ideas. I also appreciate the great breadth of applications that working in the broadcasting sector offers.

My advice would be to gain as broad a range of technical and non-technical experience as possible, over and above your degree studies, because these extra skills can give you a useful perspective when approaching creative engineering challenges. People with different experiences also tend to make for the most interesting teams to work with.

AGCAS