Brian O’Shaughnessy is a design engineer for Samco agricultural manufacturing. Machines and a general curiosity for how things work was part and parcel of Brian’s childhood as he comes from a family with a small engineering company in Co Limerick.

Brian attended Pallaskenry Agricultural College in Co Limerick, where he studied a FETAC level five course in agricultural mechanisation. He then went to Harper Adams University in England where he studied a BSc in agricultural engineering.

With regards to work, Brian has always been lucky: “I was working for about four years in England in similar jobs. I spent two years as a mechanic and another two as a design engineer before one of my friends told me about this job in Samco.”

Worldwide

Samco delivers its products to 25 countries around the world, which means Brian is always busy. Though Ireland has two set seasons for machinery, working for clients from other countries means that one week Brian will be working on a drill, while the next week he will be modifying a field lift.

“Mostly I work on one-off design for customers who need different modifications to their machines for different reasons. I’d be designing 3D designs on the computer for most of my day.”

Brian says that those who are considering a design engineering job should make sure they enjoy it first. “to Try look for experience even for a week in a company like Samco. Try keep up to date with the agricultural world because technology is becoming huge at the minute and there is a huge focus on electronics,” he says.

Read more

Special focus: agri careers