Profile
Joshua Schofield
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About Me:
I live in South West London, and for work I’m an Earth-observation calibration engineer – I help test satellites before they’re launched! When I’m not in the clean room doing that, you could find me at university, studying for a Master’s degree or playing some kind of sport or watching Disney+…
You can get a bit more of an insight into me and my journey here!
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I’ve got a bit of a different background, I started off my career with an engineering apprenticeship when I was 18. I moved out of home soon after finishing Year 13 at college to begin my apprenticeship in Teddington, London in September 2016. Your earning money, learning skills on-the-job, picking up qualifications, contributing to real-life projects, what’s not to like!
Now 4 years on from finishing my apprenticeship, alongside work I’m also studying for a Master’s in Remote Sensing (the science of observing the Earth from above).
Outside of work I’m training for my first marathon at the moment. The idea of running for 26 miles is a bit scary, but I’m up for the challenge. When I’m not running I love football, cricket, Formula 1, tennis, skiing, you name it I’ll give it a go. But I am a bit of an extreme sport nutter, I’ve skydived, flown planes and a qualified scuba diver.
I love music, Coldplay, Taylor Swift, the 1975, Phil Collins, Hans Zimmer, Bryan Adam, big fan of all.
Really enjoy Marvel and the MCU, always wanted to build an Iron Man suit..
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My pronouns are:
he/him
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My Work:
I design and build instruments to calibrate satellites, which are used to measure the Earth and climate change from space!
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As launching satellites into space is getting cheaper and cheaper by the year, we have more satellites than ever (over 1000!) looking down at the Earth giving us information about everything, from plant health to ocean wave height to wildfires and the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.
However it’s really important we’re able to trust the data these satellites are beaming down from space, as if there’s a problem with a satellite we’re not able to go up there and make any fixes or changes! To add to this, the space environment is really tough, with temperature swings of -65 to 125 degrees Celsius in a matter of minutes and the rollercoaster vibration ride when the satellite is strapped to a rocket.
Therefore to help us understand how the satellite is performing when it’s orbiting Earth its really important we calibrate here on the ground and learn everything about how it performs and behaves in a controlled environment.
My job is to to build equipment that satellite companies can use to test their satellite before launch so we have a total understanding of how the satellite performs, before it is then shipped off to the launch pad and blasted into space!
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My Typical Day:
A spend a lot of time most days at the moment in a black painted, clean room laboratory, aligning lasers and covering up every source of light with black tape.
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I do enjoy a relaxed morning, so usually up and at work by 10 am (maybe if I’m feeling ambitious I’ll get in a morning run). Then I’ll quick catch up with my colleagues and get ready to enter the cleanroom. So wipe all the surfaces of anything I want to bring inside (can’t be bringing any dust in!), stick on my hairnet, lab coat, clean shoes and start preparing any experiments/measurements that need to be done.
As we’re interested in measuring how the satellite responds to light, in the lab we have different types of light sources such as lasers and huge lamps which are used to mimic the Sun! So I’ll usually have to get those set up and warmed up which can take some time.
The rest of the day I might be taking light measurements in the lab or analysing data or writing code or working with other colleagues.
I usually finish the day around 6 pm and then it’s off to hang out with friends, play football, tennis, go for a run, or just relax at home with a good movie.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
If I was lucky enough to win, I’d use the prize money to go towards our Engineering Apprenticeship Robot Wars Project!
When I was an apprentice, we were tasked with building a robot capable of winning the fighting robot competition, Robot Wars. Our first version of the robot was pretty scary, over 100 kg heavy, with a metal spinning drum capable of spinning up to 8000 times per minute!
Unfortunately the TV show was cancelled but other fighting robot events do exist so if I was lucky enough to win, I’d use the prize money to help get the robot working again and try it out in a real competition!
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Education:
Secondary School
- GCSEs – Wilmington Grammar School for Boys – Dartford, Kent (2009 – 2015)
- AS Levels & Diploma – Leigh Universal Technical College (UTC) – Dartford, Kent (2015 – 2016)
Apprenticeship Education
- Higher Education – Kingston College – Kingston, London (2016 – 2020)
University Education
- Master’s Degree – Cranfield University – Cranfield, Bedford (2021 – present)
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Qualifications:
- x12 GCSE’s A* – C
- AS Physics, AS Systems & Control
- A level Maths
- NVQ Level 2 in Performing Engineering Operations
- NVQ Level 3 in Mechanical Engineering
- BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Engineering
- HNC Level 4 in General Engineering
- Pre-master’s in Engineering
- Postgraduate Certificate in Renewable Energy (ongoing)
- Master’s in Remote Sensing (ongoing)
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Work History:
Other than a couple weekend jobs, my apprenticeship at 18 was my first full time job! However I have volunteered for a few roles:
- Spectator Services at the Cricket World Cup (2019) – Helping members of the public enjoy their time at the cricket during matches at the world cup.
- Marine Mammal Medic (current) – I’m a volunteer marine mammal medic with the charity British Divers Marine Life Rescue. We’re first aid responders to any whales, dolphins or seals which may be in need of help.
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Current Job:
I’m currently a Higher Engineer in the Optical Radiometric Metrology (ORM) group at the National Physical Laboratory. Optical radiometric metrology might sound like a scientific gibberish but this is the science of measuring light and how light is detected. The National Physical Laboratory, is the UK’s Measurement Institute, and is responsible for measuring just about everything! Based in Teddington, London we are one of the largest and most advanced labs in the country.
In my role as an engineer in the ORM group, I use my background in building scientific instruments create new systems and use existing ones to better our understanding of the measurement of light. In particular, how this can be applied to satellites as most Earth-observing satellites are only measuring light produced by the Sun which then reflects of the Earth’s surface and atmosphere and is detected by the satellites camera.
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Employer:
I work for the National Physical Laboratory – based in Teddington, London. We are the UK’s National Measurement Institute, responsible for developing and maintaining the nation’s primary standards (to name a few: the metre, the second, the kilogram). We also carry out world-leading research into a huge range of areas for example cancer research, quantum measurement, materials science and climate change.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Ex-apprentice Earth-observation scientist
What did you want to be after you left school?
For a long time I wanted to work as an F1 mechanic and travel the world working at races.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Not really thankfully.. But I was always quite late with homework as I found extra-curricular projects more fun..
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
I'm such a huge sports fan in general, its not too late of course...but its always been a dream of mine to be an Olympian one day.
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Taylor Swift
What's your favourite food?
Pizza Express dough balls
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Finish my Masters, go to space, win the lottery!
Tell us a joke.
Engineering requires a lot more sticky tape, blu-tac and blind hope than you might expect.
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