Engineering Technician
Instagram & Twitter: @joannimal59
Article written by Raquel Paz Bergia
Introduction📖
Joanna Bateman, a keen follower of “why fit in when you were born to stand out? (Dr. Seuss),” is an Assistant Engineer at WSP. After receiving her Masters of Engineering as a Civil Engineer, she continued to be a STEM Ambassador, Enterprise Adviser, Mentor to The Hive Wirral Youth Zone, as well as other activities. While doing a diversity of things outside of work, she is also a loving mother to both a girl and boy.
High School Experience📚
Joanna was part of the gifted and talented group at Bebington High Sports College and Birkenhead Sixth Form College. She received the 2008 Best GCSE Results Award, a prestigious award after her high score on this exam. The classes that left the biggest impact on her were English and Design & Technology, both leaving a footprint on her course of studies. Her D&T teachers allowed her to explore her creative ways, playing a huge role in pursuing civil engineering. Moreover, STEM Advisers, at career fairs, also played a big role when she chose her career.
Joanna advises all high school students to ask many questions because you may be able to find new interests you didn’t know about. Always staying curious and asking as many questions as possible. She also believes it is important to take Information Technology classes throughout high school since today’s job market is all about IT. But, how did her high school experience impact her throughout college?
College🎓
Throughout college, Joanna balanced being a full-time student with 2 part-time jobs, leaving little time for extracurricular activities. However, she was able to pursue the career she wanted at Liverpool John Moores University. There, her favorite classes continued being English and Design & Technology, yet she believed all her classes taught her useful and transferable skills. The most challenging class she encountered was music because of a teacher who had artistic clashes with her. This dream of pursuing music died in college, but she still continues to write and perform music, as well as providing guitar lessons.
Joanna recommends not to be disheartened if you find out that the subjects you picked aren’t what you imagined. There is always an opportunity to grow and develop, even if it’s not going how you planned. She truly believes that the best thing that she got out of college was the amazing people she met; one being her husband and the father to her children.
Job🔧
Currently, Joana works as an Assistant Engineer at WSP. She also has had experience as a Research Assistant at Liverpool John Moores University. In her current role, she is a design engineer for traffic signals; her day involves developing designs and reviewing the safety of signalized junctions, roundabouts, and pedestrian crossing facilities. She is an Engineering Technician and is working towards her Incorporated Engineer status. Her favorite project at WSP was one that looked at improving safety of routes to primary schools in Liverpool. She enjoyed it because of the great team involvement and keeping children safe through the encouragement of safe travel options. This position has helped her gain confidence in the engineering field and she’s learnt to be her authentic self. She loves her job because she knows that she is making a positive difference, as well as the problem-solving and teamwork aspects of her day-to-day basis. She hopes to become a Chartered Engineer and a Team Leader.
What makes Joanna unique?🎨
Joanna has a drive towards being herself. As Dr. Seuss said, “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” Being one of the girls in engineering made her stand out. During her Master’s Degree studies, she was the only female in her class. She was smaller than those around her, leading to believing that she was in the wrong place. However, she stuck to being herself, she wore loud jewelry, bold makeup, colorful hair, bald head, crazy colors, Hello Kitty accessories, and overtime she was able to find her spot in the engineering world. She now knows she belongs and she doesn’t need to change anything to be amazing at her job. She hopes to be a role model for others around her by being her authentic self.
What does Joanna love about her job in STEAM?🚀
Joanna knows that being an engineer isn’t her job, it’s her lifestyle. She loves the positive contribution she is offering society, and through STEAM, she is able to share her passion for the incredible work that civil engineers do. She loves engineering so much that she made it her wedding theme, she writes songs about engineering, she has done stand up comedy about being an engineer, and she even named her cat after a project she did in engineering. She loves her job in traffic so much that for some time she had a traffic light mohawk. Joanna’s keen interest in promoting STEM has led to her to receiving the ICE NW STEM Ambassador of the Year Award.
✨Joanna is a role model in STEM and all the passion she puts towards her work is paying off.✨
You can find more about Joanna on her Instagram and Twitter @joannimal59
