We chat to Senior Electrical Engineer, Dale Fisher, to learn more about his passion for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and why a childhood hobby helped to put the building blocks in place for his future career.
Dale originally started his career as an electrical apprentice 20 years ago before climbing the career ladder and moving into a consultancy role which involved creating lighting designs for highways.
His next step saw him join an MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Public Health) design consultancy as an Electrical Engineer, where he has found gainful employment for the past eight years.
Quality assurances
In his current role as Senior Electrical Engineer, Dale’s duties include checking work produced by others as part of his firm’s quality assurance processes, carrying out site surveys, producing reports and detailed design packages.
His work also involves producing fee proposals and attracting new clients, monitoring building services installation progress on-site, as well as attending regular design team, client, and site meetings. He also acts as a technical source of information for clients. Beyond this, Dale is keen to grow his client base and project portfolio.
“The most enjoyable part of my job, by far, is mentoring and seeing Junior Engineers develop and grow in confidence,” he says. “Second to that, I enjoy seeing my designs come to life on-site.
“As an Electrical Engineer, I like the huge variety of project types that I get to work on, which can include mortuaries, schools, hospitals, high-end hotels, private houses, golf clubs, fire stations, railway stations, commercial premises, retail outlets, the list goes on.”
So, where does STEM come into the equation and how has it influenced Dale’s career and life to-date? He explains: “Although I’m essentially an Electrical Engineer by trade, science, technology and maths all play a part in my job.
“STEM is a fascinating subject area, especially when you dig deeper, and there are so many roles, career paths and differing journeys attached to it. The amount of individuals that I’m now connected with in that space, and about whom I think “I’d love to do their job”, only further highlights my passion for so many aspects of STEM careers.”
Such is Dale’s dedication to STEM that he’s taken it upon himself to spread the message to wider circles with the launch of the regular STEM & Beyond Spotlight newsletter, showcasing a varied spectrum of professionals, features and stories.
“I’ve always enjoyed reading industry magazines so being able to create my own newsletter is something that’s really growing on me – I almost feel like I could’ve been an Editor in another life,” explains Dale.
“I love being able to converse with, and learn from, so many wonderful and inspiring individuals. The fact that people actually want to feature in the newsletter is something that still blows my mind.”
Despite grappling with ‘imposter syndrome’ at times – “that little voice that tells me I’m not good enough and that people don’t care what I produce” – Dale has lofty aspirations for the newsletter, including producing it as a book, in Braille and other inclusive formats.
He says: “I’d love to place the newsletter on the desks of every student and child in the UK so that future generations can see the vast variety of opportunities that are out there. If just one person chooses a career that they otherwise wouldn’t have known existed, then my newsletter has done its job.
“I’d also like to collaborate with other STEM initiatives and combine our voices so that we can increase the profile of STEM across the board.”
Building blocks to a successful career
Although it consumes a significant proportion of his thoughts and everyday life, STEM is not Dale’s only passion – a fact that his parents can duly testify.
“My love for Lego started many moons ago,” he says. “My parents always tell me how much Lego I had as a child, so you can imagine how it pains me when they tell me that they can’t remember what happened to it all!
“Now I get to share my love of Lego with younger family members who always ask for the Lego box whenever they visit, and when my son is old enough to (safely) enjoy it, I can’t wait to build with him.” He continues: “One thing I’ve always enjoyed about Lego builds is the fact that whilst there is a way to build a set, the endless outcomes of putting pieces together is amazing. Put two bricks together and you have a shape. Spin one brick round and you have another shape. Then you have the different colours, sizes, shapes. I could go on forever…”
Interestingly, Dale believes that this simple childhood hobby is intrinsically linked to his interest in engineering and the way he approaches his job, stating: “I’ve always had a fascination with architecture and the construction of buildings, and this is most definitely linked to my passion for Lego.
“The inner engineer in me means that I struggle to freestyle when I’m building Lego. For me, it’s all about following the instructions step-by-step and then admiring the finished article. The same can be said for my electrical designs. I approach my projects service-by-service – from power, to lighting, to life safety, to electrical infrastructure and all the gems inbetween.
“I need things to be closed out so that I can move onto the next task. I don’t like any project being unfinished because this is when mistakes happen or important items get missed.
“In engineering, I find that too many spinning plates and not enough time is a recipe for disaster. It’s not the scattered bricks that would cause me to feel unorganised, it would be the absence of the instructions that I’d struggle with.”
When considering what gives him most satisfaction from his career journey to-date, Dale responds: “There’s lots of things. Firstly, I’m extremely proud of where I’ve got to through sheer grit and determination, which has all been helped by an extremely supportive partner.
“I’m also really chuffed to be deemed to be of enough interest to feature in magazines and articles like this one.”
He adds: “Being able to virtually meet so many wonderful and inspiring individuals through the creation of my newsletter is also amazing to me, as are the occasions when someone reaches out to say that I’ve inspired them in some sort of way.”
And is there anything he’d change? Dale responds: “I often ask myself that question and the answer is simple: I’d like to drive around in a Lego minibus, creating the opportunity for children (and adults obviously) to have access to and enjoy playing with Lego.
“For those who were born in the 80s, imagine a Lego edition of Playdays. In fact, I’m humming the theme tune as we speak…”
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