Graduate Engineer placement with OSS

Happy Women in Engineering day!

My name is Sandhra. I recently started working as a Graduate Engineer with Banagher Concrete in Offaly. 

OSS recruitment team helped with getting me on my career path. Read my story as to why I chose a career in Engineering!

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Notion has been that true and everlasting motivation is always fuelled by an individual’s passions. I had always wondered what I would be passionate about – a passion that would never die out or be degraded by time. After many failed quests to discover it, my thoughts were about when I would find it or at the worst, if I ever will. I decided to keep an open mind and wait for it to come to me.
As a child, I always looked forward to my ‘Arts and Crafts’ classes. To achieve perfection in whatever was being created in the workshop, maths was an essential component. 

Maths has always been my favourite subject as it is challenging and there is so little to learn by heart. It is said that mathematics itself is an art motivated by beauty. Reading Dan Brown’s ‘The Da Vinci Code’ took my love of maths beyond the curriculum and instilled in me an insatiable hunger for knowledge. I was encouraged to explore the world of architecture and was captivated by the ideas of the golden ratio and Fibonacci series and their presence not just in art, but also in the real world.

In school, I had got an opportunity to participate in a Science Camp organised by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India. Here, I got to witness innovations and experience latest advances in technology. I got an insight into the field of research, and the interactions with various scientists and researchers taught me that apart from talent, it requires a great amount of hard work and perseverance to achieve results with the desired level of accuracy and precision. I realised that it is not always necessary that we find what we are looking for; many great discoveries were serendipitous or from experiments gone wrong and there is a lot to be learnt from the process itself.

It was mostly my love for maths that got me into choosing engineering after school. However, when I had finally completed my undergraduate in Civil Engineering, I had lost all interest in it ( …) and was willing to choose any career path but engineering. I took a gap year as I was indecisive of my career path and started to explore opportunities within and outside my field of study. I strayed away from engineering as much as I could, only to realise later that most of the available career options, although capable of making one’s life secure, were monotonous, lacked innovation and creativity and presented no real challenge.

Following the urge to be part of the construction industry, I worked my way into securing the post of Engineer Assistant in Kerala State Construction Corporation. This was a turning point in my life. I was fascinated by the diverse and versatile nature of this profession. Every project had its uniqueness. Each day presented new challenges, opportunities and experiences. Working with the contractors in a hostile environment, I found my determination to excel and desire to learn reach new heights.

Having to deal with multiple projects, each in their different stages of completion and to meet deadlines and deliver assignments in perfection seemed an overwhelming task at first. But with guidance from my boss and working extra hours, I trained myself to be a conscientious person. Although physically and intellectually demanding, the satisfaction of seeing dimensions being added to ideas itself is rewarding.

Having worked in the industry, I realised the inadequacy of an under-graduate program that was excessively exam-oriented and the need to go for higher studies, which led me to do a Master’s in Structural and Geotechnical Engineering at Trinity College Dublin.

I have only recently joined as  a Graduate Engineer at Banagher Precast Concrete to continue my journey……..

In my opinion, engineering is a career that is challenging, rewarding and above all, capable of making a difference to this world