What I do

My job is to ensure that radiation protection and safety measures are in place so that the entire plant is safe. I have an access all areas pass, which means one day I might be working in the fusion machine hall, while another day I might be working in the materials research facility.

Hear more about Myra's role by watching the video below...

How I became a technician

I started at UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) on a two-year Health Physics Monitor apprenticeship scheme, which I recently passed with distinction. I am now a fully qualified Health Physics Technician – but most people haven't heard of this job! For GCSEs, my chosen subjects were Geography, History, Business and Triple Science. I then did A-level Biology, Business, Economics and Psychology.

I thought about going to university to do business studies, but I wasn’t quite sure if that's what I really wanted to do. My dad also works here in a completely different department and he said: “Why don’t you go for an apprenticeship?” so I went along to an open evening. Like most people, I had never heard of Health Physics and then I did a bit of research and spoke to the early careers team here and thought: 'that’s really interesting' because it’s scientific but also a varied and a technical role.

UKAEA's main function is working on producing fusion power and various related technologies towards the development and research of fusion. My role is about providing a service of protecting the people on the site and in the wider communities, making sure the plant is safe and that the environment isn’t adversely affected by our research.

A typical day in my
working life

What I do each day depends on the shift I'm covering. Often it involves routine monitoring and we have designated areas where certain levels of contamination of radiation dose rates are permitted. This involves keeping an eye on them to make sure everything is as it should be and that levels are either clean, within the expected range, or if we can improve it.

We do a lot of environmental monitoring and providing lab samples, so I spend lots of time going between my office and the lab where we prepare samples, before they are tested in a larger lab. How we work here is unique because the fuel that the machine uses is called tritium. We don’t have instruments that can instantly pick up this type of low energy radiation, so it's done retrospectively. If we want to monitor for tritium contamination on a particular surface, we use a special paper to test different areas.

We then only find out results after four hours so being proactive is crucial, otherwise we could be contaminating everything. There are lots of procedures in place because it is retrospective monitoring, whereas on other sites - like nuclear fission sites -, the Health Physics Technicians will use instruments that gives instant results.

I think this is the best job in the world!

What gets me up in the morning is knowing this job counts. Providing safety to the people that work here and the plant itself is so important and key to supporting fusion research.

A little more about
my everyday role

What I love most about my job

My favourite part of the job is getting to access all areas of the site, it never grows old. Knowing that my job matters and is key to supporting the fusion research is what gets me up in the morning! Another part that I enjoy is that we have to control the shielded doors - they are very thick - and we have to make sure that when the machine is pulsing that there is no extra dose if you are nearby. We ensure doses are kept way lower than the legal limits and we try to work to even higher standards than the law requires.

The best bits about working in a team

I work in a team of eight technicians and have another 10 people who work on the paperwork side in the offices, in compliance. The best thing about working in a team is that we are always there to help each other out - things can change very quickly, you can be very quiet one minute and the next very busy, so it’s great to have that support. Some of the team are older and have a lot of knowledge and experience to pass on.

My work wear

At times, for our higher-level work, we wear pressurised suits so that the air doesn’t have any tritium gas in it. The pressurised suit is like a large see-through plastic suit which covers everywhere. It has a tail which has an air-line on it. It is inflated via filters on the back.

My favourite piece of equipment

Some of our daily tasks are pretty exciting, like working on cranes. I'm in awe of the fusion machine itself which is amazing - it would fill a sports hall. Sometimes I have been up the crane because they are replacing a seal on the big yellow doors, other times we use it for monitoring.

The most exciting thing I’ve achieved so far in my job

Last year I was really proud when we finished a series of record-breaking experiments, and I was the first person to enter the hall where the experiments took place. It filled me with awe at what we had achieved.

The next steps in my career journey

I am very happy where I am at the moment, particularly given the goals of the organisation. In the future we have plenty of other fusion machines that are being built – including one in France. I would definitely like to stay in this industry.

The advice I'd give
to someone younger

The advice I’d like to pass on is: Everything will fall into place if you take opportunities when they come your way. Put yourself out of your comfort zone and you will grow as a person.

Find out more about this role

Discover what qualifications you’ll need, how much you can earn, and what the next steps are.

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Meet other technicians

Read more real life technicians stories, see what they do every day, and how they got started.

Myra Cooke