Passion for technology leads to rewarding career

He started out working on remote control cars and now maintains advanced sensors aboard a warship – while they are worlds apart, Able Seaman Edward Simcock’s passion for technology remains strong.

CAPTION: Able Seaman Electronics Technician Edward Simcock works on the navigation system on the bridge of HMAS Warramunga while on deployment. Story by Lieutenant Max Logan. Photo by Leading Seaman Daniel Goodman.

Able Seaman Simcock is an electronics technician sailor, commonly known in Navy as a ‘Greeny’, and performs duties to maintain the navigational aids and underwater sensors aboard frigate HMAS Warramunga.

The ship was in Hawaii recently for Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022, which was Able Seaman Simcock’s first overseas deployment.

“A typical day for an electronics technician will start with conducting any planned maintenance required, doing my daily system operability checks and fixing any faults that occur,” he said.

“My favourite daily task would be fault finding and repairs that may come up at any time – it’s always a new puzzle and there’s no set way to go about it.

“I’d say being an electronics technician is definitely the best job. You get some hands-on work experience, while getting a great qualification and learning some new skills.”

As a child, Able Seaman Simcock had a keen interest in engineering and electronics and still pursues them as hobbies outside of work.

“From a young age, I loved to pull out my remote-control cars and see how they worked and how to fix them, and now I do that on a bigger, more serious scale and get paid for it,” he said.

“Outside of the Navy, I like working with cars and computers and different electronic sets.

“Some projects I’ve completed include soldering up a sound system for a car, building a multimeter, and building a temperature-sensing system.”

A technical role in Navy can provide a fulfilling career for those with an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Able Seaman Simcock described his pathway into military life.

“I joined the Navy straight out of high school and did the gap year where I got to move around and work with people in heaps of different jobs and different fields – there I definitely found a passion for electronics,” he said.

“Being in the Navy is a really rewarding career, it’s like no other job, you get to travel the world make some great mates and work on some really interesting kit.

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