Combining a passion for STEM and problem-solving
After having her own Professional Registration Advisor to support her application, Sadie Peacock wanted to give the same support back to others.
Getting into engineering
Sadie has always enjoyed STEM subjects, particularly topics with a problem-solving aspect. When it was time for her to pick her desired career path, she wanted something that would combine her passion for STEM and problem-solving that creates a physical output. Engineering was the perfect combination, propelling her to start her professional Journey.
Sadie was initially drawn to the idea of becoming Professionally Registered because she craved a clear goal to strive for. Moving into the professional realm, she looked for something to focus on achieving within the workplace.
Pursuing Professional Registration not only provided Sadie with a concrete target but also aided her career progression.
“It forced me to think about my development more critically and to reflect on how I could do my work to a higher standard”.
Currently, she is an Assembly Engineering Manager at Renishaw with a BSc (Hons) in Physics, where she has worked with a dedicated team for ten years. However, after her getting her Chartered Engineer (CEng) title, Sadie felt she still had more to give.
“I found that working towards Professional Registration helped me progress in my career. But it did give me an extra incentive to volunteer.”
Becoming part of the IET
Once she had gained her Chartered Engineer title “It gave me an extra incentive to volunteer for challenging opportunities” she says. She then goes on to say that it she can now “push myself out of my comfort zone in my role.”
When deciding to become a volunteer with the IET, Sadie had two main motivations, “giving back to the engineering community and growing my skill set”.
Not only does she volunteer as a Professional Registration Advisor, but Sadie also has experience in other areas of the IET. “I currently volunteer as a PRA and on the committee of the Manufacturing Technical Network and have held various other roles previously.”
Sadie tells us “My PRA was really helpful during my application process”. They provided her with lots of insightful feedback. The support she got from her PRA inspired her to give back to the engineering community.
How to be a supportive Professional Registration Advisor
Sadie tells us how she supports fellow engineers as a Professional Registration Advisor (PRA).
“Provide clear specific feedback with examples”. She also says, “having a genuine interest in learning about the engineering work that others do” is also key.
To be able to understand your candidate, you need to know what questions to ask she says.
“If the information provided is vague, a good PRA will ask questions to understand if the person has the right experience to meet the professional registration level they’re applying for, or if they need more experience”.
The benefits of becoming a volunteer
Volunteering at the IET provides a number of great benefits, it opens doors to invaluable networking opportunities. Sadie tells us - “it’s given me lots of networking opportunities, allowed me to grow my soft skills, and given me an understanding of the wider engineering community”.
Being a volunteer like Sadie, allows you to create connections with professionals throughout the wider engineering community. It also offers a wealth of opportunities and events. Better yet, volunteering significantly contributes to her Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
Advice from a volunteer
If you are looking to give back to the engineering community, the IET has a variety of volunteering roles ready for you.
If you’re ever concerned about your availability like Sadie was, there’s no need to worry! It’s a very flexible role, she tells us “it’s worth knowing that you can pause your role in very busy periods at work and in a lot of the roles there is scope to vary your workload to match your availability meaning you can make adjustments to suit you.”
“Definitely go for it. I’ve found it such a beneficial and enjoyable experience”.