How I Became a Chartered Engineer (CEng)

For years, becoming a Chartered Engineer was something I kept meaning to do but never quite started.

I had the qualifications, the experience, and the professional membership. What I really lacked was momentum.

I just lacked the personal motivation to get my finger out. I was "comfortable" in my job I didn't need to be chartered. It would be nice but not a must-have.

Why I Put It Off for So Long

The biggest blocker was compiling my experience in chronological order on the application form. I had been working for 20 years so remembering and cramming it all into a few pages was daunting.

I think a lot of experienced engineers fall into the same trap. The more experience you have, the harder it feels to summarise it all into a few pages.

What Finally Changed

The shove I needed was when I looked to move up a grade at work. My "boss" blocked me with a job description. Basically, a badly written list of must-haves to perform the upgrade in position. Lots of airy-fairy statements plucked out of thin air that the person must meet to perform the job. I was doing the job already but had to prove it.

So I set about formulating a case that showed and was backed with evidence of my experience that I could meet the must-haves. I spent a few weeks with a text document open on the side of my desktop, quickly adding experience when I remembered..., reliving my past 20 years.

The document grew and grew and gradually I recounted all the projects I had worked on. I had ticked off all the job requirements (must-haves) and provided real evidence of how I met them.

I polished it a bit adding in real must-haves the job holder should have and forwarded it to my "boss" and was moved up a grade. The bonus was I now had a full career review down on paper (or digitally). The dreaded application form for chartered engineer would be easy now.

What initially felt overwhelming suddenly became manageable once I realised I already had most of the evidence—I just needed to organise and present it properly.

I sought out 2 sponsors as a reference, added all my details, did some more polishing to my career history, and sent it off and waited...

I was invited for an interview shortly after. A time and date were set for me to be at a hotel in Altens to be "grilled".

I had a few weeks to prepare for my interview. The format would be for me to present for 15 minutes and then answer questions for an hour.

The application pack I had downloaded from the IET website had a guide to what was expected in the presentation and what the interview would cover.

Preparing for the Interview

I prepared a pack of 5 slides covering projects (maximum allowed) I have worked on and ticked off all the skills I needed to have. I then printed 3 packs with my slides, my application, training evidence, work evidence, and my CV and presented them neatly in a clear plastic folder.

I also added a couple of pics of my Tiger, the kit car I built. I felt like a software engineer I wanted to be able to show I also have electrical and mechanical hands-on skills too.

A few weeks later, I donned my suit and tie and headed for my interview. Confident I had prepared well it was time to be a shining example of a potential chartered engineer.

I met with a panel of 3 interviewers. The IET guide said there would be 2! Oh well, the more the merrier.

We introduced each other and I sat at one side of the table and they at the other. I did my presentation and quickly talked through all my slides.

The Interview Wasn’t What I Expected

The next part I was dreading, what if I couldn't answer the questions? What if I wasn't qualified? It didn't matter. What happened was a good conversation about my experience. One interviewer was leading the conversation and another was checking off where I met the skills required as I gave my answers.

What surprised me most was that it didn’t feel like an interrogation. It felt more like an experienced conversation about projects, decisions, and engineering work I had already done.

The main point I had to quickly adapt to was to say I rather than we. Working as a team for so long I am accustomed to saying 'we' rather than 'I'd, which caught me out a couple of times. I had said we had created some procedure and had to correct myself and said I, one interviewer said are you sure, while the other chipped in with the front page of the procedure showing my name on the front cover as the author. Thankfully I had put a copy In the interview pack.

The rest is a bit of a blur but an enjoyable blur. It was a great opportunity to talk about what you have been doing for the last 20 years.

In the end, the interviewers came across the pictures of my Tiger and probably had just as many questions about it and how I had built it, an easy subject to talk about without any prep.

So that was it, it was about 1hr 45min when we finished, and I left confident I had done my best. My interviewers couldn't give me any indication of whether I had passed or failed. I would be contacted in due course.

6 weeks later I received an email. My application must have been good, my presentation and interview must have been good. I was invited to join the engineering council as a chartered engineer.

What I Learned From the Process

Go me! Why didn't I do that a long time ago? With a bit of effort and lots of preparation, the whole process is very straightforward and not as daunting as first thought.

Looking back, the process was far less intimidating than I had built it up to be in my head.

Most of the challenge was simply taking the time to reflect properly on years of experience and organise it into evidence.

If you’re considering becoming chartered but keep putting it off, my advice would simply be to start gathering your experience together. Once you begin, it becomes much more manageable.

This also connects closely to my reflections on career change and professional growth.

A lot of the practical engineering mindset behind chartership also appears in my posts about making and problem solving.

Professional development often feels more intimidating before you start than it does once you begin.

I know how intimidating the process can feel at the start, so if you're stuck or procrastinating on chartership, you can drop me a message here.

My Early Days in Digital Transformation

Starting a new role at Aberdeen City Council felt like stepping into a very different world from the engineering environments I had worked in previously.

Suddenly I was surrounded by digital services, accessibility discussions, web design, smart city ideas, and people trying to modernise large public systems.

So I'd consider myself part of the team now at Aberdeen City Council. I've managed to get into the swing of how things work,

I have lots of new friends and colleagues, and I am really getting into the hot desking. I get to sit at a different desk each day and get to sit with different people most days. Although the folk I work with directly in the Team generally sit in the same area.

Adjusting to a New Digital Workplace

I have had a few days working from home and it's good. Probably the easiest login from home I have ever had or used yet. No hassle, no dongle, no phone app, and no code to remember.

I also found myself surrounded by people who were genuinely passionate about improving digital services and modernising how the council worked.

A couple of interesting tech projects I heard about this week is Smart Benches and City Lab.

Discovering Civic Technology

ACC has commissioned a couple of Smart Benches for Aberdeen City. They are solar-powered smartphone recharging centers in the form of a park bench. So if you are low or run out of charge you can pop by one of the benches, take a load off and recharge your phone. This is a great concept and it will be good to see how they work and are used when installed. I do have concerns about a USB point exposed to the elements but I'm sure that has been thought of.

The other initiative is City Lab, which is run jointly between The University of Aberdeen, Robert Gordon’s University, and ACC. It brings together students, ACC staff, and partner organizations for one term to design and build sustainable projects for the city.

ACC has identified areas where new projects would help the city and community. Students get to be creative by brainstorming and developing their ideas. I wish I could have had access to something like this when I studied at RGU.

Some of the projects going through this scheme are smart tiles that generate electricity by people walking on them to power traffic lights, smart school busses with teaching capacity, and smart signage.

Seeing How Digital Services Are Designed

This week I also got a sneaky peek at the new ACC website design.

I can't say too much but help came from a design agency called Screen Media. It was great being able to work with these guys and get an insight into the whole web design process.

A lot of thought goes into layout, colours, and accessibility. I was well impressed with the draft and excited to be involved with the process so far. It also goes to show there is a lot more to good web design than code and a bit of CSS. Looking back now, this was probably one of the first times I really started appreciating how much user experience, accessibility, structure, and communication matter in digital services.

I will keep you posted when it goes live.

What Stayed With Me

Looking back, this period feels like the start of a major shift in how I thought about technology.

I was moving away from purely physical engineering problems and becoming increasingly interested in systems, usability, accessibility, and how technology shapes everyday public services.

The pics this week are not mine (I wish) I found them on display at the Brewdog next door to Marischal College. They are part of an Aberdeen Star Wars Exhibition. Thought they were cool, and as ever I forgot to note who the artist is. I like them though.

This also connects closely to my reflections on visual thinking and systems thinking.

A lot of the same ideas around simplicity and usability also appear in my post about technology overcomplication.

The transition into digital work also links naturally to my reflections on changing career into software development.

I’m still fascinated by how technology, systems, and design affect the way people interact with services every day.

A lot of the work I do now still centres around simplifying systems and improving digital experiences.

You can find out more here.

10 Objects That Shaped How I Think

I’ve always become attached to objects that carry memories, stories, or ideas with them.

Looking back, many of the things I value most aren’t expensive or rare—they simply represent creativity, learning, engineering, family, or moments in time.

So it's been a super busy week and my usual write-my-blog-on-the-bus time did not pan out. I keep meeting interesting people. What I have written this week I did a while ago.

I am a bit of a hoarder and like things with sentimental value. Anyway here are my 10 favourite things. Note this does not include friends and family, I should maybe title it my 10 favourite inanimate objects...

Objects Connected to Family

One – Grampa’s hip flask

I'm glad I found this. After my grandpa died years ago his car lay abandoned outside my parent's house. They asked me to clean it ready to sell.

In the driver's door pocket, I found his hip flask. Well bashed, worn and shiny it still had his favourite tipple in it. My mum said why don't you keep it.

Now it lives pride of place on a shelf in my study. Still with my Grampa’s whisky in it. Johnny Walker Black Label.

Two – LEGO

I am a massive LEGO fan. I grew up with LEGO. Starting with blocks then LEGO City and moving on to Technic LEGO when I grew older.

I have two young boys and we have a lot of LEGO in the house. A lot. It's a brilliant and timeless educational toy.

I love sitting on the floor with my boys watching them create cars. Some have many different-sized wheels with no hope of steering in reality. They have lasers and guns sticking out at odd angles.

We have several big boxes around the house ready for creative minds. I have a few select constructions that took a bit longer to build that also live pride of place in my study.

Tools, Making, and Creativity

Three – Mini socket set

I love my tools, and this little red socket set is one of my favourites. It came free with a classic car magazine subscription many years ago.

It is a good quality set made by Teng Tools. It's a great size and has 13mm and 10mm sockets, hex bits, a universal joint and an extension bar.

I built my own car a few years ago so I guess I could say I have enough tools to build a car.

Four – Hot Wheels cars

These little 1/64 scale cars are almost a currency in our house.

“I'm going shopping anyone coming?... can we have a Hot Wheels car dad?”

Tesco trips involve sifting through the Hot Wheels display looking for rare finds.

90% of them end up in a big play box and have a hard life, chipped and crashed. The 10% I rescue and give them a concours life.

It's the ones I recognise from my childhood. This little Mk1 Escort is possibly the rarest one. Found in Tesco for 99p and currently trading on eBay for 10 times that.

It was mint in the box till the boys got hold of it.

Five – Coos head

Jamie made this coos head (with a little help) and I just think it's brilliant.

He made it from scraps of wood in the shed all his own design. He pulled the bits from the scrap bin and glued them together.

A few bits were cut to length, sanded, and given a rub with finishing wax.

We have made and sold quite a few of these as part of Udny Designs. Ours, and the first one, hangs pride of place in our dining room.

Six – Spring picture

This is more artistic flair from Jamie. We went to a parent-child art competition at his primary school.

You were given lots of materials, paints, glue and an hour to make a spring-themed picture. Bright colours and of course a tractor (Jamie is tractor daft).

We had a busy hour cutting and sticking, laughing and joking. In a frantic rush up to the buzzer, we had made this picture.

Jamie and his classmates all voted for their favourite picture by placing a tiddlywink on their favourite. Cheers and clapping followed as Jamie was rewarded with first place and an Easter egg.

Chuffed to bits, the picture lived in the house and Jamie proudly showed it off before disappearing.

Several months later it reappeared professionally framed as a gift for my birthday from my wife.

Well chuffed, it now hangs in our hall. It is framed brilliantly including hanging some of the worms (pipe cleaners) which had been dug up by the tractor plough.

Seven – Coffee table

We had to move house because of this table.

Inspired by a restaurant in Florida where the tables were wood framed with maritime maps under glass as the surface, I decided to make my own and use a local OS map.

I joined an evening woodwork class at Ellon Academy, bought some materials and set to work making my table.

It's big. OS maps are big.

I built the frame and legs, mortise and tenon joints and all, and glued them together.

The top was actually so big it wouldn't fit in the car so I had to walk it home.

We lived in a one-bedroom semi in Ellon at the time with a table for a mansion.

It lived for a year or so under the bed while we looked for a bigger house.

It has now been in active service in our living room in Udny. Scuffed, scraped, wine glass stains and 9 years of kids later, it's looking well used but still looks great.

The map is long gone and now replaced by hundreds of little Instagram photos scattered below the glass.

I can't see it being replaced any time soon apart from maybe updating the pictures.

Eight – Tiger

I built my Tiger 9 years ago. It took me 4 years to complete. I have had it for 13 years.

Most people these days only keep their cars for 3 years. Well, I spent years dreaming of building my own car, so I saved up my pennies and ordered a kit.

I use the term kit loosely as what I bought was a hodgepodge of the basic parts: frame, body, and some new and used parts.

Unlike the more expensive Caterham or Westfield kits, where you get every nut and bolt and a comprehensive build manual, mine required a lot more figuring out.

I had a brilliant 4 years pottering away in the garage at my own pace, chipping away at the build one small project at a time.

I have blood, sweat and tears in this car so it will continue to be tucked up in the garage for years to come, only coming out in the dry when the weather is good.

Tools, Technology, and Problem Solving

Nine – MacBook Pro

This is a computer without actually feeling like a computer.

I was fed up with firing up a Windows PC and waiting, then waiting for updates and virus checks.

Being a massive iPhone and iPad fan, I made the jump and bought a desktop Mac and loved it.

Then when I went to CodeClan they gave me a MacBook Pro which I cosseted for 4 months until they asked for it back.

Lost without it, I splashed out again.

Mine is a 2016 model with a graphite grey solid-state drive. It gets opened and starts immediately and I can work. No waiting.

Looking back, I think I’ve always valued tools that feel simple, reliable, and frictionless to use.

Ten – Notepad and pen

I carry a notepad and pen with me most days.

Electronic ways of keeping notes are ok but you can't beat pen and paper.

I think in pictures so I like to jot down notes and add diagrams.

My current notebook is a Moleskine lined notebook which has been modified with duct tape to hold a pen on the spine.

The pen I carry is a simple four-colour Bic ballpoint.

Having multiple colours in one pen is genius and makes diagrams and underlining much easier.

Why These Things Still Matter

Looking back, none of these things are really valuable because of what they cost.

Most of them matter because they represent memories, creativity, learning, problem solving, or people.

I suppose the objects we keep often tell us a lot about how we see the world.

A lot of this connects closely to my reflections on LEGO Technic and engineering mindset.

The maker side also links naturally to my post about having the maker’s itch.

Many of the same themes around creativity and systems thinking also appear in my reflections on visual thinking.

I’ve always been fascinated by tools, systems, creativity, and the objects that quietly shape how we think and work.

A lot of the same mindset now goes into the projects, systems, and technical work I still enjoy building and improving.

You can find out more here.

The Bus Conversation That Introduced Me to Gold Nanowires

So this week I met someone on the bus. I have met her before and this time we started chatting. She is a chemistry teacher in a high school.

Looking back, this wasn’t really about chemistry. It was about curiosity, engineering, and how fascinating ideas can appear in unexpected conversations.

Why Chemistry Never Clicked for Me

I liked the idea of learning chemistry when I went to secondary school. It sounded exciting, mixing and burning things.

I was however completely put off by my chemistry teacher. "Dr. Pockets", he wore a tweed jacket and a black gown. He wasn't very good but worst of all would come up behind you and poke you in the sides with two fingers. I didn't like that or him so I completely switched off from chemistry and dropped it as soon as I could. Perhaps that is why I became an engineer.

The Conversation That Changed My Perspective

Anyway, my new friend the chemistry teacher was telling me about what she did her Ph.D. in.

I may get some of the terms wrong but she was researching making mirrors by dissolving silver in a solution. This would form a thin atom-thick layer of silver that she would bounce lasers off. (How cool!)

She described how her lab would be dark as she set up a beam that was split and would go on different paths. One beam would take a longer path than the other to reach a detector and the difference in time would be measured along with their intensity. It would give interesting facts about the mirror, some of the light would be lost or absorbed.

Discovering Gold Nanowires

The standard practice was to use silver and she pondered what would happen if you were to use gold? So she mixed up a solution of gold to find out. Under an electron microscope, the gold behaved differently. No longer an atom-thick layer or sheet of silver, the gold had formed into atom chains. Like tiny little snakes or wires. Bizarre! She didn't do anything with these wires and just put them down as a cool anomaly.

Moving on a few years later, what she had created were gold nanowires. I've googled it and it's a real thing. Gold conducts electricity and the nanowires made from it can also conduct electricity.

At the moment they are being used in medical procedures. They are grown much like a snowflake, in an additive process building out from an electrode spike.

To give them some scale and put them into perspective they are 1,000 times smaller than human hair. That's tiny. Smaller than human cells.

In my googling I also came across the cost and if I were to buy some gold nanowires. I wasn't expecting them to be cheap but a handful (literal) of wires 30nm wide by 6000nm long delivered in a 10ml tub is £384.50. (June 2017)

I guess the bulk of the cost is in the manufacture rather than the raw material. They make gold more expensive than gold!

I have been pondering where else gold nanowires could be used, more googling found them used in flexible solar panels and batteries. Being so thin lots of them can give a larger surface area.

The Scale Is Hard to Imagine

I still can't fathom the scale and how you manipulate things so small. It’s difficult to visualise something thousands of times smaller than a human hair actually being engineered, measured, and deliberately created in a lab. 

As an engineer, I’m used to physical things you can hold, machine, weld, or bolt together. Nanotechnology feels like a completely different world where physics, chemistry, and materials behave in ways that almost seem unreal. 

What fascinated me most was the idea that structures this tiny can still have useful electrical, optical, and mechanical properties that can be used in real-world technology. It also made me realise how much innovation happens quietly in research labs long before most people ever hear about it.

What This Made Me Think About

I always remember a story my dad told me. I think it was pre-war, and the Germans in a show of engineering skill took a sewing needle drilled a hole down its center, and sent it to the British. The British, not to be outdone took a cast of the hole in the needle drilled a hole down its center, and sent it back to the Germans. Many facts here may also be wrong but it was a good story about something tiny, and as a kid, I could imagine the tiny drills doing the job.

So that's my new friend the chemistry teacher. Have to say much better than 'Dr. Pockets' and I actually learned something interesting.

What stayed with me wasn’t really the chemistry itself — it was the reminder that there are entire worlds of science, engineering, and discovery happening far beyond what we normally see.

Sometimes all it takes is one interesting conversation to completely change how you think about something.

A lot of this also connects to how I process and visualise complex ideas in my post about visual thinking.

It also reminded me of my reflections on seeing the hidden simplicity inside complex engineering systems during a space shuttle launch.

The same fascination with how things work also appears in my reflections on LEGO Technic and engineering mindset.

I’ve always been fascinated by how systems, engineering, and technology work beneath the surface.

A lot of the same curiosity now shapes the technical and problem-solving work I still enjoy today.

You can find out more here.

What Video Games and Technology Are Really Teaching Kids

So yeah, I read this week that picking your nose and eating it is good for you. It boosts your immune system.

I took great pleasure in telling my boys this. 

I had been told for the past 46 years it was bad for you and I have been dutifully passing on this message. I won't take up this habit but the boys will be boys and it will save me from telling them off for it.

Looking back, this post wasn’t really about nose picking at all. It was about how quickly technology was becoming part of childhood learning, creativity, and problem solving.

It got me thinking what else have we been told when growing up is bad for you but might be good. Living in our nanny state maybe boogies are not alone.

Questioning What We’re Told

Tv is bad for you? Son 2 (age 6) has a massive vocabulary. He got up the other morning and I asked him how he was and he responded with "fantastic" While helping me make my packed lunch he asked are the roots on the spring onions were "edible". I don't recall teaching him these words so can only assume it was the TV. He likes his TV. Pepa Pig has even taught him a bit of French... he announced one day "Bonjour Delphine donkey!". (I only know it was Peppa Pig as I have seen that episode) We have 3 TVs in the house and something is normally on. Mostly on demand these days, be it Netflix, Amazon, or YouTube.

Why Simulators Fascinated Me

My other son Son 1 (age 9) is a tractor daft. He asked for Farming Simulator 17 for his Christmas. It's a game that runs on the computer. Santa snuck in on Christmas Eve and installed it on the Mac in my study. Son 1 likes nothing better than doing a bit of farming. It's a very realistic 3D simulator. He has taught himself how to manage an entire farm. Buying the equipment, budgeting, sowing crops, and reaping the rewards from his harvest.

Children Growing Up With Technology

The tech in this game is brilliant. The 3D rendering and fully explorable maps are "awesome" (to quote Son 1. It even has a mud mod pack that simulates real mud across the farm so at the end of the day you have to wash your machinery with your 3D jet wash. It's certainly more realistic than any game I had growing up. I'm sure by the time Son 1 is old enough to work he will probably be able to run a profitable farm with little or no training. He has taught himself with this game how to farm and also gained a wealth of knowledge on tractors, combines, and other machinery, even to the point when we are out in the car we have to take the back roads if there is a chance of spotting some farm machinery.

So we are told computer games are bad for you!

All this farming doesn't really matter as Son 1 wants to be an Architect. Possibly inspired by Minecraft, another 3D simulator. Actually, if I remember right he wants to be a successful architect designing big buildings, and then when he is "rich" buys a farm and just does all the "cool tractor-type jobs".

So are these games a kind of training? A way of self-teaching. They seem to go hand in hand with YouTube too, where you watch a clip on how to do something on your farm and then recreate it.

Technology as a Learning Tool

Kids using iPads is also supposed to be bad for them. Mine both have iPads. Both with Military spec Griffin Defender covers. These are supposed to be tuff. Despite this, I have changed the screen on Son 1's three times. Not an easy job. Getting the glass off without destroying the wifi antenna is almost impossible. And those tiny screws I can nearly see them let alone pick them up. Thankfully parts are cheap on eBay. There are also many YouTube videos on how to change the screen.

Son1 and 2 are a dab hand at using the iPad it's almost second nature to them, in fact, it is. They don't remember a time before them. They learn so much from the apps. They can be driving trains, or identifying animals. playing with numbers, spelling, farming (more farming), being a doctor or dentist, there is even one app where you give Santa a shave.

As an aside, they are learning to install their own apps (free ones) and configure them, manage their memory space, and understand the need to recharge the battery.

Son 2 has Bluetooth headphones he uses with his iPad. He repeats the "Your Bluetooth device is connected" message every time they are turned on. He has destroyed many corded headphones by chewing the cable so wireless and Tech solve this problem.

I did try to introduce Son 2 to the flight simulator on the Mac. A step too far! It didn't go well. He likes pressing buttons. Perhaps he won't be a pilot.

Technology as a Learning Tool

So yeah I might not encourage eating bogies but I will let my kids embrace technology. If they are learning something it can only be good for them and set them up with valuable life skills.

What This Made Me Realise

A couple of coding books for kids arrived in the post this week. One for the new Raspberry Pi and one for Scratch. They are colourful with lots of pictures, so here's hoping I can take the boys back a step and show them what goes into their games, iPads, and YouTube. I'll let you know how I get on...

Looking back now, it feels obvious that games and simulators were becoming educational tools as much as entertainment.

Minecraft, farming simulators, YouTube tutorials, and creative apps were quietly teaching problem solving, systems thinking, planning, and creativity.

In many ways, kids were teaching themselves using technology long before schools fully adapted to it.

A lot of this also connects to my reflections on visual thinking and different learning styles.

The same fascination with interactive learning and systems also influenced projects like my browser-based text adventure game Redcastle.

Many of the same ideas around creativity, systems, and engineering also appear in my reflections on LEGO Technic and engineering mindset.

I’ve always been fascinated by how people learn through technology, creativity, and problem solving.

A lot of the same thinking now shapes the technical, systems, and digital work I still enjoy today.

You can find out more here.