Girls Can’t What? Women in Engineering @ Malvern
Just go for it! That is the resounding message from Malvern’s female engineers & scientists to girls considering an engineering career. In celebration of the very first National Women in Engineering Day on 23rd June, women from all areas of Malvern’s New Product Introduction (NPI) department are offering their advice to the next generation of potential engineers & scientists.
According to Project Manager Margaret Dyson, the gender balance is much better now in engineering courses and jobs than when she embarked on her career: “When I first started my mechanical engineering degree in 1989 there were 4 women in 90 students – this is no longer the case. You will find a lot more women are doing engineering and the work place has a healthy balance of both men and women.”
Malvern’s Director of Engineering, Rowena Innocent, says that it can be difficult to decide which role in engineering and science is right for you, as there are so many different careers options: “Work experience, summer jobs and industrial placements are great ways to explore different technologies and working environments. Very few people have their careers mapped out, and keeping an open mind to different careers will broaden the opportunities.” Oksana Leszczyszyn , Applications Development Scientist, also recommended getting first hand experiences of the roles you are interested in: “Create opportunities to expose yourself to these jobs through work shadowing, work experiences, internships or year in industry placements…or talk to somebody in that role.”
The NPI team at Malvern is made up of people from a wide range of academic & career backgrounds. Who would have thought that a Theatre Design and Production student would end up loving her career as a Software Engineer? And that a former trainee primary school teacher would become a Development Scientist working on instruments to assist with studying nanoparticles? The point is that you don’t have to continue down the path you first started out on. If you think engineering might be for you, explore your options – there are probably more doors open to you than you think.
The women from Malvern’s NPI team had an overwhelmingly positive message for girls thinking about a career in engineering. “Go for it!” says Katy Silence, Development Scientist for Nanosight, “If you have an inquisitive mind and enjoy a variety of different challenges then it’s a rewarding and engaging career choice.” Jo Wilkinson, Malvern’s Lean Sigma champion echoes Katy: “Do it if it is what you love – set free your inner geek!” However, Jo added a few words of caution: “Don’t expect any of your relations to have even the smallest understanding of what you do for a living!”
You can read more about some of the awesome women who work in our NPI department by clicking on this link. If you have any questions about careers in engineering & science, or working at Malvern, please do get in touch via our social media profiles: Linkedin. Facebook, Twitter, Google+