I am involved in UCD’s EIRSAT-1 project which is Ireland’s first satellite, this project is conducted with the help of ESA Fly Your Satellite,  Science Foundation Ireland  and the Schools of Physics and Engineering in UCD.

How did I get my current job:

I attained my current position by applying for a PhD opportunity posted on LinkedIn. The post was “liked” by a friend of mine from a Space Studies Program which I attended in 2018 and this how I realized that there was an opportunity to work on Ireland’s first satellite.

A typical work day:

A typical day would start at around 8:30, I turn the lights on in my office or the lab and setup whatever I’m doing for the day – this can be conducting an experiment, making or creating items for an experiment (like starting a 3d print) etc.. At around 9 I have a coffee with whatever people from the EIRSAT team that are in that day. Then I continue working until lunch. In the afternoons, I regularly teach, give a demonstration to students or I take a course (in for instance the Irish language) myself.

Life work balance:

I am very happy with my lifestyle, my wife and I also work on our family farm in West Kerry and my current position in UCD lets me work remotely if I don’t have any teaching obligations which means that I can be in Kerry a lot of the time. Personally, I find it great to combine my ‘office’ work with being outdoors, caring for animals and the upkeep of the farm.

Coolest part of my job:

The coolest part of my job is probably being introduced to a real life problem, thinking about possible solutions, implement the best solution and then seeing the problem go away. In general you can apply this to everything in life but with Engineering it is just a bit more tangible, because you are often making the solution with your hands.

Subjects that help me get where I am:

I specifically chose ‘technical’ subjects in secondary school, like maths, physics and chemistry. Along with these core subjects, I also had the opportunity to do classes in mechanical engineering and electronic engineering.

Non-technical skills:

In terms of non-technical skills I would say communication is number one, two and three. You can have the most fantastic ideas but if you cannot communicate them to your team they are of no good to you. Also, if you are stuck with a question or a problem, it is always good to talk to somebody about it even if they don’t study in the same field as you – but you need to be able to explain what you mean in order to get started. As a non-native English speaker I find it difficult to find the correct terminology for things, so I try to learn and improve every day.

21^st century skills:

My 21^st century skills were developed by spending time behind a computer or raspberry pi trying to make my home made drone fly, or installing some obscure software on my laptop…basically diving from one YouTube blackhole into the next.

Most rewarding moment in my career:

In my previous job, I worked for the Royal Netherlands Air Force. We designed, built, launched and operated the first Dutch military satellite. Receiving the first signal from space from the satellite that I worked on for 5 years was an amazing feeling and reward.

My Dream job:

My dream job would be to work in research and development in any technically challenging environment – where I get the time to dive into a problem and look at it from multiple angles. Whether or not that job is in the space sector doesn’t really matter as engineering skills are highly transferrable between different industries. But preferably, I would like to continue to work on satellites.

Advice I would give to you:

First of all, every type of experience is good is some way. Whether you have a summer job in a restaurant or in a garage, the first thing you have to learn is how to work in a team. In terms of working in space it’s difficult to get relevant experience (apart from college education), but you can do things to boost your profile like become a radio amateur, join one of Ireland’s Observatories, or go abroad for a few years find a relevant job there and come back.