Ree Muroiwa ProfGradIMMM Product Metallurgist, Tata Steel

With time in the office and at the plant Ree Muroiwa enjoys the best of both worlds. He explains his role.

What does your current job involve?
I’m responsible for designing and managing product development trials, which are conducted on both current and new business, with the aim of extending product and process capability.

Can you describe a typical day?
My time is split between the office and the manufacturing plant. I prepare trials, analyse technical information and write reports as well as monitor trial orders during production. As part of the project management work, I also go out to witness steelmaking, rolling, inspection and testing. The final step in any trial is compiling a comprehensive report on material processing. This is then submitted to the customer as the order is delivered or used internally to disseminate knowledge. I am also a STEM ambassador in the Yorkshire area, going to schools and universities to assist with careers events. This mainly involves giving a presentation to students or manning a stand that they can come to and ask questions about my career path. In order to keep abreast of industry developments, I attend various seminars and networking events throughout the year. I am also working to become a Chartered Engineer.

What parts of your work do you find the most enjoyable?
I enjoy having a mixture of tasks to do every day and regularly having something new to work on. Usually, the projects I work on can be done in parallel with others. This allows me to switch between projects so the work does not become monotonous. I like to see things done well and this spurs me to put my best effort into each individual task.

What are the biggest challenges facing your industry at the moment?
The steel industry is quite volatile at present, with production still not back to pre-recession levels. Due to relatively lower demand, prices for steel products are very competitive, although the recent growth in UK manufacturing coupled with a recovery in European markets will hopefully improve the outlook.

Do you have any advice to offer Materials World readers?
Finding a job in a popular mainstream profession is not the only route to success. You can have a much more rewarding career by choosing something you really enjoy and doing your best at it.