Amy's Story

My journey into Engineering                          

My interest in Engineering was initially sparked by a school trip to Jaguar Land Rover in Solihull, at this time I was 15 years of age and had never even considered Engineering as a career path. Jaguar Land Rover was quick to change my perceptions of engineering, given how clean their factories were and how highly their engineers spoke of a career in engineering.

Following this, I contacted universities to help me select the best A-Level choices. I studied Maths, Physics and Business at A-Level and it was during this time that my passion for agriculture blossomed. I have always had links to the agricultural industry, however it was during these two years that I became interested in feeding an ever-growing world in a sustainable manner.

By combining my love for agriculture with my interests in engineering it has created the ideal career choice for me, which I continue to enjoy studying at Harper Adams University, Shropshire.

Amy is passionate about more women studying engineering, "I want to promote engineering to women."

“At present, approximately only nine per cent of all UK engineers are female; this is a tiny figure! Attracting more females into agricultural engineering would provide much more interesting ideas and solutions because the pool of talent among all engineers would be so much more diverse. I witness this every day. It’s not unusual for me and my female peers to see and think things through very differently to our male peers.

“I believe the majority of young females believe that agricultural engineering involves putting on a boiler suit, fixing tractors and getting covered from head-to-toe in grease; that’s what I used to believe too. My opinion was changed when I went on a business trip during year 11 to Jaguar Land Rover in Solihull.

“During the tour around the factory, I was beyond surprised and my perceptions around engineering were completely changed. I realised that engineering could involve being at the forefront of innovation and solving tomorrow’s problems today.

“I’m an agricultural enthusiast so it made perfect sense when looking for courses to study for me to combine this interest with my ambition to study engineering, leading to agricultural engineering. I chose my A levels (maths, physics and business studies) based on the fact that I intended to study engineering at university and having done my research on different universities, I found that they were the most desirable subjects to study.

“The engineering I study is about designing things, solving problems and making things better for future generations of farmers, so they can keep supplying the world with food.

“Throughout my time studying A levels, and starting university, there have been many ups and downs. It never fails to surprise me how amused some people can be when I tell them that I’m an agricultural engineer.

“It’s been a difficult journey, as most of my time is spent surrounded by a male dominance. And as a female it is sometimes hard to get your voice heard and hold your ground, but I do believe engineering is a fantastic area to work in, and other women should be encouraged into it."