Hi I'm Faye - I’m from Northampton, I studied Physics at Cardiff University and then I worked in a Covid Lab for a year before I joined Ofcom. I like playing tennis and spending time with friends.
What is your role and how long have you been at Ofcom?
I’m an associate engineer in the spectrum group. I joined Ofcom in 2021 and I was on the graduate scheme for 2 years, I became an associate in September 2023.
What inspired you to apply for this role with Ofcom?
After studying physics, I wanted to move into engineering and the Ofcom graduate scheme offers a wide range of experience, working on different technologies with a practical element as well, which attracted me.
What has been the single most important thing you learnt so far in your job?
Ofcom’s impartiality is vital to our work and consumer’s best interests are at the heart of what we do.
What would a ‘normal’ day look like for someone in your role?
Coexistence studies involve scoping a project, creating coexistence models on software or with code. Always lots of reading, getting up to date with a new project and the policy issues surrounding the technical problems.
There are also measurement projects, using equipment to measure radio signals in a lab or out in the field.
Usually, you’ll be working on a couple of projects at a time so there’s always lots of variety in the work and the opportunity to learn!
What do you find most interesting with the sector/industry you’re in?
Good radiocommunications infrastructure is vital to any society, I was surprised by how efficiently different countries work together to harmonize radio communications across Europe and the World.
What is the company culture like?
Great, everyone is very friendly and there’s a big emphasis on you learning and getting lots of experiences while on the grad scheme and beyond. Ofcom are flexible about working hours and time off and I never feel expected to work extra hours. Ofcom are also very hot on mental health and general wellbeing of colleagues.
How important is diversity to you and what is Ofcom doing in this space at the moment?
I did a male dominated degree and engineering is also male dominated, so naturally there are less women on the team. However, our engineering team director is female, and I find her very supportive and it’s good to see women in senior roles.
Overall, I would say that Ofcom are diverse, in terms of gender and ethnicity/race.
Finally, any tips for anyone who’d like to apply for a role at Ofcom?
Think about what is important to you in company culture and have a think about what the Ofcom values mean to you. Always draw on experiences and examples of work you have done when answering questions.