Tara Scott turned her childhood love for building things outside into a career specialising in something we鈥檝e got 20,000 miles of – track.
罢丑颈蝉听, Tara, a principal engineer, track, joined nine colleagues working in and supporting engineering to inspire girls and young women to explore dynamic and varied聽careers聽in engineering:
鈥淲hatever your passion is, whatever you鈥檙e interested in, you鈥檒l find a home on the railway.鈥�
Tara tells us what she鈥檚 most excited about in engineering in the next 10 years and that legacy is important to her…
Why is now the best time to be an engineer?
The innovation鈥� the investment we鈥檝e got. Not only the innovation in research and development 鈥� you can think of these outside of the box ideas 鈥� but we鈥檙e embarking on building a new railway. HS2 is coming on board. Not only do you get to create your ideas, you鈥檒l probably be able to see them put into track. If you join engineering now, you鈥檒l get to see that innovation.
What were you like as a child?
I very much lived outside, either gardening, building something in the garden, just generally not being anywhere near inside as much as I could. Inquisitive is a nice word my mum and dad would use 鈥� why are things like this? What could we do differently?
What鈥檚 the first thing you ever built?
The first thing I ever took to pieces was in my dad鈥檚 workshop. I took part a radio to understand how it worked; I wasn鈥檛 so good at putting it back together again鈥� The first thing I ever made was my dad let me loose on a lathe, so I made a lampshade holder for my mum.
How did you come to work on the railway?
I emigrated from Zimbabwe, that鈥檚 where I grew up, I was coming over to England to do something very different and had a bit of a gap before I could start鈥� I got a part-time job on the railway and absolutely fell in love with it and quite quickly got offered a role within 51爆料.
I got an opportunity to join 51爆料 as part of their foundation degree in engineering. You joined 51爆料 but you went straight off to university to do a sandwich year 鈥� you went to university for seven months and then you came into industry for five months to put into practice what you learnt, then you went back to university to finish off the foundation degree.
Which project are you most proud of in your career to date?
I鈥檓 most proud of being the track maintenance engineer at Euston鈥� I鈥檓 so proud of it because of the people I worked with鈥� We made Euston a better place to work. It was leading engineering but it was more about the people.
What are you most looking forward to in engineering in the next 10 years?
The innovation 鈥� challenging what we have now and working with the rest of Europe and the universities within Europe and the UK鈥� about challenging what we鈥檝e always had and how we can make it different and how we can make it safer and more reliable for the customers. I鈥檓 really looking forward to how we鈥檙e going to challenge those boundaries.
We鈥檝e got new and exciting opportunities with data, with all the innovation that universities are coming out with that are really making us think outside the box.
Why would you tell a young person STEM is exciting?
Education is developing as much as the rest of the industry – how do we teach people differently? You can put it into practical terms. If you find a career you love, it鈥檚 so easy to tie STEM subjects into that.
I鈥檓 passionate about making rounded individuals. Whereas STEM is really important to get that base knowledge, it鈥檚 those other subjects that make you a rounded person鈥� It will make us much better and more diverse engineers in the future than just concentrating purely on STEM subjects.
What would you tell a young person who doesn鈥檛 think engineering is for them?
It may not be, but I think look at the railway as being a huge family where whatever your passion is, whatever you鈥檙e interested in, you鈥檒l find a home on the railway. Engineering is exciting, it鈥檚 innovative, it鈥檚 pushing boundaries. There are so many different roles within the railway that your passion can come out鈥� We need everyone.鈥�
What did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a paramedic. I鈥檝e always been fascinated with making things better, making people better鈥� One, I鈥檓 petrified of blood and two, I have a huge phobia of needles鈥� I found the next best thing, which was being an engineer. I can still help people, I just make the railway safer for them to travel.
What does the railway mean to you now?
It means everything鈥� It鈥檚 an amazing opportunity and there are amazing things we鈥檙e doing鈥� It keeps us going as a country. Every small little bit we can put to make something better, that鈥檚 really important to me. Making sure Mrs Jones gets from A to B on time and we don鈥檛 have any incidents so she doesn鈥檛 even think about her journey. I think that鈥檚 where we need to drive to be.
What advice would you give to a young person who鈥檚 finding their engineering career challenging?
Don鈥檛 give up. Try and find someone to talk to. There are lots of us within the business and within the industry who are more than happy to take time out to sit down, go through what you think are the challenges and help you find the solutions to or be able to create those opportunities that maybe you can go and experience a different part of the business.
I mentor graduates currently and it鈥檚 about finding what they love and what they鈥檙e good at and matching them into the part of the business they鈥檒l flourish in.
What do you really want to achieve by the end of your career?
It鈥檚 a legacy thing鈥� a legacy of mentoring a graduate and they become incredibly successful in their field and they turn around and go, 鈥榯hanks Tara, you helped me on my journey鈥�. It definitely involves people. Legacy for me is important.
