In school I was interested in Maths and Science-based subjects. I wanted to find a career which had strong creative and problem-solving elements. Engineering was an obvious choice. I picked electronics because that's where a lot of new technologies (mobile phones, digital cameras, networks etc) seemed to be coming from. Electronics offered many different areas to work in, with lots of varied long term career options.

A large chip design can take 18 months to complete, so the work varies depending on the stage of the project. In the early phases there are meetings with customers to define what the chip will do. Then the creative/design phase will have groups of engineers brainstorming design options and researching new technologies. As the project progresses, engineers will work individually on specific parts of the chip. At the end of a project there will be some lab work to test the chip.

There are lots of different areas you can focus on within electronics, so it's important to pick one that you are really interested in. Ideally, in your work-placement and first job after college you should try to work in a number of different disciplines to get an appreciation of the overall design and product-development process, and to help you narrow down what areas you enjoy working in.