After taking time out to travel and reset, Laura returned with a renewed focus on building a long-term career in engineering. Despite the challenges of re-entering the sector, she rebuilt her confidence and stepped back into a technical role through the STEM Returners Programme.
Hear from Laura, below.
I’m originally from Doncaster and completed my MEng in Chemical Engineering at the University of Sheffield, graduating in 2021. After university, I built early experience in the food manufacturing industry, working as both a shift leader and within supply chain operations.
After finishing my graduate scheme and several years of work, I decided to take a career break to travel across Australia and Southeast Asia. I chose to take a career break to travel and broaden my perspective, experience new cultures, and reflect on my long‑term career goals. The time away helped me return more motivated, focused, and ready to re‑enter engineering.
The year away gave me a chance to reset, reflect, and realise how much I missed technical problem‑solving and wanted to return to engineering. I knew that long‑term, I wanted a career built around engineering. Returning to a technical pathway felt like the right step for my development, my strengths, and my future goals.
Coming back, I found it challenging to re‑enter the sector. That’s when STEM Returners reached out to me. Their support made all the difference, they understood my background, recognised the value of my experience, and helped connect me with a role that aligned with my engineering ambitions.
Through the programme, I joined UKAEA as a Process Engineer. The opportunity gave me the opportunity to apply my technical training again, rebuild my confidence, and step back into an engineering environment with real purpose.
Today, I’m fully back in a technical career I care about and STEM Returners played an essential part in making that possible.
Some advice I would give for returners like me would be that every role builds transferable skills such as problem‑solving, communication, leadership, and resilience. You can apply what you’ve learnt in different industries to new situations, and those experiences can make you a stronger, more adaptable engineer. Don’t underestimate the value of the skills you gained outside your original field.
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