Testing Engineering Technician
Sophie is an apprentice Laboratory Technician at The Welding Institute
I work in a materials performance laboratory. I do chemical testing to figure out what materials are made of and what their faults may be, so we can learn how to make things better.
It means that things like planes, cars, wind turbines or underwater equipment can be built safer and last longer.
The tests I do involve things like checking if hydrogen has got into a metal (hydrogen can make welds crack), using X-rays to work out the structure of materials at an atomic level, or making up special liquids that mimic real-world environments, like seawater or acidic rain.
I love that I never really know what tasks I’ll be doing next. One day it’s seawater tests, another day it’s hydrogen, another day it’s a mystery powder and we need to figure out what it is.
That variety makes me curious – and I like following that curiosity.
The other day, I tested a really strange powder. I used my experience to predict what it might be, and found out that if I was right, it should turn bright pink under a UV light. So I grabbed a UV torch and… I was right!
It genuinely feels like I’m doing weird and wonderful experiments and every day I’m learning something new.
Accuracy is massively important in my job. If I’m measuring tiny amounts of gas or mixing solutions that people will use for months, I need to get it exactly right.
Reliability matters too, because timing can be everything. For example, if a test is going to take six days, I won’t start it on a Monday, because then it would finish on a Sunday, when I’m not in work. I’ll start it running on a Tuesday, so it finishes the following Monday.
I also use teamwork every day, and I need to be comfortable asking questions. In a place like this, people have seen things you won’t find in a book. Some people have worked here for over 40 years, so their knowledge and experience is really valuable and learning from them can save lots of time and mistakes.
My team feels like a little family. We help each other out no matter what, like checking if results look right, or giving a second opinion when you’re not sure of something.
It’s a supportive place where questions are encouraged, because if you don’t ask, you might not get it right. I’m also lucky because, as an apprentice, there’s always someone around to help me out, and I’ve got people who can step in when I need support.
My favourite machine is the G8 Galileo that I use for hydrogen testing. I heat metal samples in it until they melt, and measure how much hydrogen is released. It’s a fascinating machine because it’s so accurate. If it’s calibrated properly, three samples can come out with exactly the same readings.
When I take the sample out, you can see that it’s turned from a square piece into a little melted pool at the bottom.
I play cricket in some local teams, I like it because it’s relaxed and fun. I play in mixed teams, as well as ladies softball cricket.
I’m often the only woman in the mixed team, and I enjoy challenging the men’s expectations, especially when I bowl someone out!
At school, I was into hands-on stuff as much as science. I loved horse riding and I spent loads of time at the horse yard before and after school.
I also learned to knit, I could only really make a scarf, but I found it really calming. Looking back, it makes sense that I enjoy practical jobs now, because I’ve always liked learning by doing.
One of my proudest moments was getting invited to the House of Lords for an event about hydrogen research.
I’d only just started my apprenticeship, and suddenly I was having dinner there and socialising with clients and hydrogen experts. It made me feel like I was properly included, not treated differently because I’m an apprentice.
Sometimes I get given a piece of metal or a powder and I’m told: they want to know what it is. That’s it!
I might not know what it will be used for, where it’s going, or what it’s part of, I just run the tests and let the results tell the story.
I want to finish my Level 3 apprenticeship and after that, I’d love to keep learning – maybe I’ll do a Level 5 or even a degree apprenticeship.
The two areas I’m most interested in are materials science and nuclear, because I’ve seen bits of both through my work and I want to learn more.
Explore different things and don’t just follow the crowd. I went for A-levels partly because my friends did, but it wasn’t the right style of learning for me.
If you’re more hands-on, try looking at an apprenticeship – you can study while you work, get paid, and you don’t have to pay university fees, it worked out for me, and I found something I love doing.
Discover what qualifications you’ll need, how much you can earn, and what the next steps are.