Sinan, MPhys 2005
I graduated from St Andrews
in June 2005 after four enjoyable years studying for an MPhys My
physics degree from St Andrews was a great help in securing my first
job. After advertising my C.V. on a job-hunters website I was contacted
by a recruiter on the basis that I advertised myself as 'An ambitious
physics graduate'. He informed me that his client was particularly
keen on employing physicists as they had a proven track-record of
thinking for themselves and solving problems!
Sinan in pictured second from right with colleagues
on an intensive Engineering Management course
in Rome (see below)
I worked for one year at a successful London-based Software Company
on their graduate training scheme. The role involved providing first-line
support for the software. My direct boss was also a physics graduate
as were half of the members of my team. The job itself had a very
steep learning curve and demanded a quick uptake on new concepts,
thus in principle it was similar to many of the advanced physics
modules that I studied for in my final year at St Andrews!
I soon realised that I wanted to use more of my physics knowledge
and so I looked at careers in the research and development industry.
In September 2006 I accepted an offer to work in a large defence-aerospace
company working at the cutting edge of radar and avionic technologies.
My job title was “Systems Engineer” and using my physics
background I was able to work in a variety of roles.
My first role was in the Optical Design team where I was responsible
for designing and testing sensor systems. I worked on a variety
of products ranging from infrared, night-vision systems for vehicle
drivers to long-range cameras able to resolve details at distances
of many tens of kilometers. I had only a basic background in optics
from my physics degree but it provided a foundation to quickly learn
the intricacies of optical design, correcting for aberrations in
lenses and optimizing material properties for different bands of
the EM Spectrum.
My second role was in the Advanced Projects Group, performing work
similar to that of a Postgraduate Research student. I worked on
the development and testing of a Burst Illumination Laser (BIL).
This was cutting-edge technology and I was able to find a real,
practical use for the knowledge I learnt in Laser Physics at St
Andrews. A simple analogy for BIL is to think of a typical photographic
camera with a flash bulb. The flash illuminates the subject and
the shutter is synchronized with the flash so that detector takes
a snapshot of the subject when it is illuminated. With BIL the flash
bulb is replaced with a laser, typically of a wavelength invisible
to the human eye, and using basic speed-of-light calculations, and
knowledge of distance to target (easily verified using the laser
as a laser rangefinder) the detector can be told, with an accuracy
microseconds, when to “open”. Thus a BIL operator can
take a picture of an object, many kilometers away, with a flash
of laser-light, lasting only a few nanoseconds.
In September 2007, after a year of working in Systems Engineering,
I applied for an intensive Engineering Management course run by
my parent company at their HQ in Rome. I was lucky enough to be
selected as the UK participant for their international corporate
MBA. I am now back to full-time education, working long hours but
having good fun with a class of 30 talented students hailing from
America, Africa, China, Russia and many other countries (15 different
nationalities in total). The course is designed to teach technology
management and innovation with top lecturers flown in from some
of the best business schools in the world, such as MIT, INSEAD and
London Business School.
I am the only physicist in my class, the majority having an engineering
or economics background and I was pleased to find my St Andrews
physics degree keeping me in good steed with my fellow students,
who have graduated from the world’s top universities. Being
a St Andrews graduate also helped me in an unexpected manner, as
the high percentage of overseas students during my undergraduate
years prepared me well in adjusting to the very multi-cultural environment
I am currently experiencing.
At the end of this year I will be offered an exciting position within
one of our operating companies – these cover industries such
as energy production, helicopter and jet manufacturing, metropolitan
train infrastructures, satellites and defense electronics. With
a corporate MBA under my belt and a scientific background I hope
to find myself a role where I can make strong contributions to the
direction in which our cutting-edge R&D is undertaken.
First posted BDS 6.3.08