Jessica Dower, IET Jubilee Scholarship winner
Jess Dower has been an IET member for only two years, and she can already see the benefits of membership for a young engineer in the making.
18 year old Jess Dower is currently a first year engineer at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. She’s always liked Design Technology throughout school, and her strongest subject was maths from an early age. With that in mind she decided that engineering would be an interesting career, did some research and decided it was what she wanted to do.
“I had no experience of engineering before coming to University, so I applied for a General Engineering course, in order to keep my options open,” she explains. “After only studying the subject for a term, I’m not really sure about my long term career plans. I'd definitely like to pursue a career in engineering, but I haven't decided which field I'm most interested in,” she says thoughtfully.
When preparing for university Jess was actively looking for some form of financial support, and came across the scholarship pages on the IET website.
“I decided to apply for the IET Jubilee Scholarship as I seemed to fit the criteria, and it would make a huge difference in my time at Uni. I was obviously really pleased when I found out I’d been awarded a scholarship and have found already that it really takes the financial pressure off during term time as it covers everything that the student loan doesn't. The fact that I don't have to worry about money means that I can focus on my course. Also, it's a great addition to my CV, as it will hopefully make me stand out from other candidates when applying for jobs in the future,” she highlights.
Jess became a member of the IET at 16, when they were sponsoring an Engineering Education Scheme scheme at her school. “They offered free mempership, so I thought ‘why not’! It's been really useful, and the publications which I receive in the post are interesting to read.”
Although her main interaction with the IET is currently through the membership magazines Jess reads, she’s begun to look into the other opportunities membership offers her including networking events and seminars. Although she hasnt had a chance to attend any events yet due to clashing timetables, she’s looking forward to checking them out soon, and is really interested to see what the events are like.
All in all, although Jess has only been an IET member for two years, she has already found it’s offered her education and career advantages and helps keep her on top of her game.
“It is definitely worth joining the IET, they ask very little of you but provide a huge amount in return. There are loads of opportunities to meet people - at the networking events for example - and learn about interesting areas of engineering through the magazine and also the lectures they hold all over the country.
“I'd also definitely encourage students to apply for the IET’s scholarships, as they have nothing to lose. It's a huge acheivement to be awarded one of these and take it from experience; it will really help you thorughout University,” she says smiling.
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From the IET