What did you study and where?
Before I joined Eurofins, I was doing my A-Levels: English language, economics, accounting, and Spanish. I’ve always been interested in science, but I didn’t study science at college, so it was great that I could still work in a scientific environment at Eurofins.
What are your main responsibilities as an Apprentice Calibration Engineer?
My main responsibility is to test the different electrical equipment we receive at the lab. Essentially, this means running calibrations on the equipment and testing it to ensure it works as it’s supposed to. Our customers tend to be manufacturers and electricians etc., and the equipment could be digital multi-metres, high frequency oscilloscope equipment, or three phase CDNs, for example. I’m also responsible for ordering in all the stock for the lab.
Tell us about your team.
The laboratory has a team of 15-20 engineers, and most people started off as apprentices, like me. I’m currently one of three apprentices, and we’re a pretty young team.
What does a typical day look like for you?
It totally depends on the workload! No day is ever the same because you don’t know what equipment is going to come in for testing – I have challenging days and relaxed days.
We have equipment coming in every day of the week and an internal programme tells us which jobs we have pending. I use this to set my priorities for the day, and aim to get everything done within a seven-day turnaround time. However, my working style is quite flexible – there’s no official way to do things right, and I’m free to work at my own pace. I also currently train once a week at college on an electrical engineering course.
What's your favourite thing about working for Eurofins?
The flexibility of my work and the possibility to find new opportunities, even when I’m not expecting to find them. I’ve been here for two years so far and I’d say I’ve had five different significant opportunities come my way, from joining other departments to taking on new responsibilities.
What are your goals for the future?
My apprenticeship will finish with a guaranteed job, so I’m looking forward to taking on more responsibility and discovering different departments, particularly the radio frequency department, which is very interesting in terms of its complexity. I also want to pursue a foundation degree with Teesside University, which I can complete remotely alongside my work.
What skills come in handy as a Calibration Engineer?
You need to be someone who’s curious ad interested in solving puzzles, as things don’t always work how you’d expect them to and you have to think on your feet. Maths skills are also a big help.