Hi, I'm Ruby!
I'm in my Third Year of a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Mechanical and Aerospace). I caught up with the Women in Engineering team to chat all things engineering and offer my advice to new engineering students.
What or who inspired you to choose engineering?
I’ve always been a fixer; someone who wants to find out how things work to be able to repair them of make them better. Engineering combined my knack for problem solving with my love for science and mathematics, it was a no-brainer for a long time.
Why did you choose the discipline you are studying?
Mechanical engineering is all about moving (and static) parts, that come together to make a solution. It’s what was the most interesting to me!
What is one thing about university or engineering that you wished you knew earlier?
Don’t limit yourself to one career path, engineering and university in general exposes you to so many different disciplines. Be ready to learn and gain as much knowledge/experience as you can from this advantage.
What made you pick engineering at the University of Queensland over other universities?
UQ has a reputation for providing a high-quality education, not just in the state but in the country. I also thought the rest of the services also provided would best support my journey to graduating.
Give us your best tip for first-year engineering students?
Build friendships with your fellow engineering students! You’ll find each other being a support network through challenges and late nights, but also good times.
Tell us your favourite example of amazing engineering?
Space X’s historic rocket catch from earlier this year is incredible. With one manoeuvre of the booster back safely to the launch pad, the cost and of sending payloads into space has reduced dramatically! This advancement in technology brings us so much closer to the eventual affordable space travel, and (most likely sooner) the mission to mars.
What's your dream engineering job when you graduate?
My dream job is to work with anything fast! I would love to work with an aerospace company, on planes and jets, most likely in the defence industry, however even working in development for automobiles sounds exciting to me!
What do you hope to achieve as a WE student leader?
My main goal is to help empower more women in engineering! However, I also want to acknowledge my own weaknesses and work on them to become a better engineer. One example of something I strive to improve on is public speaking, as I always get very nervous.