Well, that was 2005! Didn't it go quick!
I thought today that rather than adding to my memoirs, I would see if there any comments or questions that you may have. Although these can not be directly sent to me, you can always leave comments at the bottom of the posts or alternatively contact the IChemE through the link on the whynotchemeng website. To hear some of your views would be valuable also to the contents of the BLOGS.
The reason I ask this is that I know that I would have found these BLOGS invaluable resources had I had exposure to such things in my pre-university days. To hear about both chemical engineering from both the student and graduate perspective in really useful to grab a taste of the industry and subject. To this end, I most probably would have exploited this type of scheme for all of the information possible had I had the chance!
Anyway, I now look forward to a well deserved Christmas vacation with it being the first in years that I have not had to revise for exams in January; for those of you who do have this pleasure, I feel mortally sorry for you! Due to this extended period of liberty, I believe that I shall revert back to being a student for the 10 days where I can eat and drink as much as my body can take, where I don't have to do any washing up or cleaning, and there is no danger of waking up late for work due to the ill-effects of the sauce!!!
I wish you all a merry Christmas and hope to come back to read about The Life Of....... in 2006!
Christmas as I mentioned before is quickly going to be upon us! As this is my first festive season spent in a corporate environment, I thought that I would share with you some of the things that happen at this time of the year.
Well for starters, it appears that I have been getting a far lot busier as of late. Whether that is because people's budgets have to be spent before the year's end, or just to rub in the fact that people don't want you to be outside of the office during the hours of light, i'm not quite sure. For me personally, the latter definately seems more valid!
Although it sounds like i'm complaining i'm actually enjoying the fact that I am busy. I am getting lots of variety in the projects i'm working on: I am doing everything from running simulations, to writing reports, giving technical presentations, the list is endless. The competencies that you are able to gain from such exercises are invaluable and I am confident that my final year at university will benefit because of these.
And now to the fun stuff, for those of you who aren't druelling over the thought of running mathematical models and explaining the fundamentals of thermodynamics to a group of non-engineers.........
This weekend gone the company I am on placement with had a very plush ball in a very famous (and expensive) London hotel for the employees and partners of the business segment that I belong to. I did have my preconceptions that this would be a little out of my league but once I arrived I felt right at home, not in terms of the luxury!, but in the sense that I met so many different people that I had not bumped into before. Again it comes back to the point I made in an earlier post about networking. These events aren't just there for you to enjoy yourselves (although this is the main reason) they are there for people in a similar profession to meet others who they normally wouldn't through their usual jobs.
This for me was great as I met many chemical engineers who were both graduates and long-term employees and to see the variety of jobs available, even inside just one business function, was a real eye opener and inspiration. Unfortuantely though, this jovial feeling was short lived as by the time I got home I didn't really feel like myself. That is to say that these functions really shouldn't hold free bars!!!
So, just anjother day in the life of a chemical engineer!!!
