A Day in the Life of an Engineer
Tristan Downing (2012), the former JPC Food and Bar Officer, shares some insights into the world of a 4th-year Engineer.
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6:45am - Alarm
6:46am - I reconsider why I decided to cox this outing
6:47am - Trousers and hoodie on
6:48am - Socks and shoes on
6:49am - I really regret deciding to cox this outing
6:50am - Out the door, on the bike to the boathouse
7:00am - Outing with the novice women. I used to row. Now I don’t, and realised coxing is much more fun anyway.
7:57am - Pass Pembroke novice men crashed into bank
9:00am - Breakfast. Omelette with cheese, diced ham, mushrooms, and salsa. Side of hashbrowns, “Grape Escape” fruit smoothie. Very good. I talk with the rowers about the river swarming with novices.
9:30am - Head to lab. My 4th year project is building an energy storage flywheel with superconducting magnetic bearings. Basically a disk that levitates and spins really fast to storage energy. Since renewable energy can be quite intermittent, efficient energy storage is necessary if we want an entirely renewable grid.
9:41am - For the fifth time this morning, I realize that I have no clue what I am doing.
10:32am - I break the £100 motor I have been using.
11:05am - Time for a lecture – Electrical and Nano Materials. My project supervisor is lecturing; falling asleep is not an option.
11:55am - Lunch time. I go to the JP and get a panini. I am early – there is ample selection and I choose the ham and cheese, a classic. While not particularly exciting, the ham and cheese offers a welcome consistency in a busy and unpredictable day. I accompany my panini (or panino, as one may point out) with a chocolate macaroon, another staple of my largely unhealthy diet. I also get apple juice. I sit and chat with friends.
1:00pm - Meeting with SOWTech at the Union. They’re a local company that makes anaerobic digesters for biogas production in the developing world. We discuss the best way to integrate fertilizer production into our biogas and simplified sewerage system. They’re a vital partner of the Cambridge Development Initiative, with whom I went to Tanzania this summer. I’ll be heading back this December and next summer, to check up on our sanitation work, and work on new pilot projects.
3:00pm - Head to the DPO. It’s like a library for engineers – full of computers, the site of many a late night frantic scramble to finish a project. I meet Freddy, we work on our CFD program.
3:07pm - We both realize we have no clue what we are doing, ask the demonstrator for help.
3:15pm - The Food for Thought facebook group is suddenly very active. Debate regarding fruity chicken, mayonnaise, and goats’ cheese rages. Eventually I try to calm things down. As Food and Bar Officer, I get to see the dark underbelly of college – aggressive food complaints. But I also see its shining glory – the catering department in action. Despite any disagreements on the feedback page, I think most students here can agree that we have it pretty good food-wise.
4:30pm - I talk to John, a student from Tanzania, on Skype. He updates me on the project. Apparently lizards have been puncturing our biogas digester (essentially a rubber bag the size of a bus, partially underground and full of sewage). We brainstorm ways to prevent lizards from damaging the digester.
5:30pm - I go to the gym, really just so I can eat more at trough afterwards.
6:00pm - I eat more at trough afterwards. We go to the GP to eat and chat, where the seats are comfier and there is a large TV.
7:00pm - I play a game or two of Star Wars Battlefront II on LAN with Freddy.
7:30pm - Should probably do some work. I write more of CDI’s summer report, I try to read some article about Technology Management. A bit dry.
8:23pm - I remember that I have cookies that are about to go off. I eat them all.
10:00pm - JP. I grab a bagel to snack on, and meet friends to have a drink and play some pool.
10:58pm - Bar is about to close. I panic and buy another drink.
Sometime after midnight - Bed.