I was in school in the US where state education is until 18. I then took a gap year and worked a few jobs including product research for a museum supply catalogue and landscaping. I was on very very little money in both jobs.

Then I went to Smith College in Massachusetts, USA, where I majored in Physics and Mathematics (4 year bachelors program) I also studied a broad range of other subjects like history, chemistry, philosophy since my university encouraged breadth of cousework.

I also worked while I was at university, for the university, doing everything from kitchen work to tutoring mathematics to research physics for about £10k per year.

I started off as a maths major in university. Then my lab instructor in physics noticed that I was spending lots of extra hours after class staying in the lab playing with the experiments, and he suggested I add physics to my major. I then did a summer project on the physics of sand and was completely hooked. I went on to do a PhD in accelerator physics. Luckily Diamond was being built when I move to the UK and there was a job for a physicist working on magnets.

I love running the accelerator on my own. Doing experiments with the magnets I have built.

Perks of the job include flexible hours and great colleagues. I work in a group of about 6 people, but we work with a larger division of about 50 to build, test and install our magnet systems.

Get to know if you are interested in hands on or more theoretical work.

Try to intern in a research institution over a summer. Don’t be too narrowly focused on one kind of science. Try as many as you can!

I spend a lot of my spare time singing in various choirs. I also knit and sew quite a lot, which I think should be considered its own branch of engineering.