To all women engineers :) How is it like being a woman in the engineering field?

9 comments

1. It is a grammar minefield.

2. I’m still in college, but so far I haven’t had major issues. If engineering is what you want to do go for it.

3. Lots of variety. Some jobs suck, some are fine.

   I have had jobs where I was physically threatened and HR did nothing. I have had jobs where I was not only treated as equal, but recognized and appreciated for the diversity of experience I brought to the team.

   I imagine just about any other industry is like there. There will be industry trends, but it comes down to the team you work with on the daily.

4. The pay isn’t worth the sexism sometimes.

5. I’m a woman in the steel industry, and it’s really grown on me. I haven’t faced any legitimate sexism. A lot of the people I work with are a little rough around the edges, but I’ve learned a lot from almost all of them. I think it’s what you make of it. I’m finding that where I’m at, you’ll be taken seriously as long as you do good work.

6. Be prepared to work with a lot of men, but I can honestly say that I have not ever found that my gender held me back from my career. I cannot think of man or woman I have ever worked with that has made me feel that I was unable to do my job because of my gender. I understand this is not the case for everyone, but it is not a given that you must expect sexism in this career path. Do it if you have a passion for it. Engineering is so broad, you can end up anywhere so take a close look at what you are interested in and find mentors. Consider which stream of engineering you want to do very carefully before deciding, including talking to people about what it is like to work in that job and where you want to end up and with which salary. Also, if you feel early on strongly that you have picked the wrong subdisipline, don’t be afraid to switch.

7. I haven’t graduated yet but according to my seniors that have it’s all about how much time you’re willing to put in and the quality of your work, the hurdles being low pay and spending too many hours on a project which makes for poor work life balance. People here are generally respectful but you will get the odd creep or harasser so you have to be ready to deal with that.

8. Structural engineer here of about 3.5 years – I love it! I love how challenging my work is and that I get to solve problems every day. I love creating complicated models and I love working with my team. I have amazingly supportive colleagues and I have never felt that I have been treated differently because of my gender. I don’t know what the culture is like in America as I am in Australia, but approximately 40% of my 600+ person office is women, so we are definitely no longer a small minority. There are definitely companies out there that value diversity and treating all people fairly, it’s just a matter of finding them.

9. I love it! I’m in utilities, every day is different, pay is good. Sometimes it requires extra hours or is fustrating but overall I’m very happy with it.
   There isn’t a lot of safety gear for women, and if it exists it’s either pink or only in specific sizes. I’d probably change the offerings for safety gear if I could.