Richard Bailey

Home
Richard Bailey

Back to the results

Image:

Name:

Richard Bailey

Featured Profile:

At A Glance

Licensed Body:

IFST

Region:

East Midlands

Location:

Leicestershire

First Degree:

Chemical Engineering

Job:

Innovation Engineer

Age:

Home:

Market Harborough

Works For:

PepsiCo International

Qualifications:

B Eng, M Sc, M Phil

Big Picture

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I just wanted a career that I enjoyed and was challenged by, I don’t think I knew what it would be then.

Who or what inspired you to become a scientist?

I think I developed an interest in finding out how things work together and carrying out experiments when young and at school and this continued to grow.

What do you love about your job and being a “scientist”?

I love the challenges of developing a new process or unit operation in a commercial environment. It requires thorough understanding of the process and the transformations together with responding to fast timelines and understanding the commercial realities of the business.

Education

What qualifications did you take at school?

I took Maths, Physics and Chemistry at ‘A’ level. I had always enjoyed the Science subjects and these subjects gave me options at University for Engineering and Science

Why did you choose your first degree subject?

My first degree was in Chemical Engineering during which I became more interest in food and bio-processing and was able to study them during the course. I chose the subject because I believe it provides a great foundation for the application of science to solve problems and understand processes.

Do you have a Masters or PhD? If not, was it difficult to demonstrate Masters-level equivalence in order to achieve CSci?

I have two Master’s degrees so didn’t have any need or issue in demonstrating this.

Job

How do you describe your job when you meet people at a party?

I make crisps, well actually I make ‘new’ crisps. No honestly I am developing machines to make new types of crisps.

What is ‘cutting-edge’ about your work?

I work in one of PepsiCo’s Head Quarters Research Groups on a long term project on process development. The project is commercially sensitive but does involved new to our category processes that mean we are encountering new issues that require novel solutions that we have to develop on a regular basis

Describe some of the highlights of your average day.

One highlight for me involves the running of a well planned trial on my project’s Pilot Plant line. It will mean the planning of the trial and it’s execution by the R&D Operations team of 2 dozen people on the line will have gone well. As the trial will be to gain knowledge, the most interesting ones are sometimes the ones with unexpected results that provide new insight. I also enjoy the people I work with and the environment and culture in our offices that make work enjoyable as well as challenging

How is your job cross-disciplinary?

The immediate project team I work in comprises of Food Scientists, Mechanical, Chemical and General Engineers together with key contacts in a very wide range of subjects. It ranges from ensuring a new piece of equipment is safe to use, it’s installation

How well is your job compensated? What is the starting salary for your field, and how much can this be expected to rise?

I have a very good employer who has a good compensation package that I expect to continue to rise as I continue to deliver and perform

What’s the most unexpected thing about your job?

I guess the initial surprise at just how much work goes into Pepsi’s whole portfolio of products is still there after 7 years.

Life

Would you say you have a good standard of living/ work-life balance?

I am very lucky and have a very good work/life balance that is promoted by PepsiCo and thoroughly supported by my Line manager all the way through to our Senior Leadership team

What do your friends and family think about your job?

Most still think it’s quite unusual and are always asking what is about to be launched and when is what I am currently working on going to be launched

What kind of hobbies or extracurricular activities do you do to relax?

Spending time with my young son and daughter take my mind off work together with volunteering with the PTA, a reading scheme in a local school and being a School Governor, the last two being supported through work. I then have a definite mix of other interests: I have recently started taking evening lessons from my local butcher; taking up clay pigeon shooting; and numerous ones closer to home life including cooking, gardening, hedge-rowing for fruit and berries for jams and looking after my chickens.

CSci

Why did you choose to apply for CSci and what do you value most about being a Chartered Scientist?

I applied as I saw gaining Chartered status as being a recognition across the international groups I work with within PepsiCo and our other Partners of my contributions and commitment to high standards. I also have always seen Professional membership as the next stage within my CPD and know that status will travel with me between roles and jobs.

What is the value of professional bodies?

For me Professional bodies have a number of roles the need to perform to be of the most value to their Members. I believe they need to uphold the standards to ensure people have trust in a world of very little trust; I think the body should lobby on some key topics/areas identified but the Members and provide input into political discussions; I believe they can promote and communicate about the contributions and opportunities.

How important is CPD? What do you think of the revalidation process in ensuring that CSci is a mark of current competence?

I believe revalidation, if managed effectively, strengthens it’s value of being a Chartered Scientist with others if the revalidation is known about and is believed to be robust and not just a box ticking exercise. It is being discussed in other Professional sectors and I think it is important to lead the way, if done correctly

Advice & Reflection

What would you like people to remember about your life as a scientist?

I must confess I am not worried about a specific legacy through my work; more that I upheld a set of values that people could see I believed in

Back to the results

About CSci