Guest Contributor: Nicolle Bates
If you had asked me when I was a little
girl as to what I wanted to be when I grew up, it would have been something
like firefighter, cowgirl, doctor, etc.
Yet, when looking back, I think from a very young age, I was destined to
be an engineer, a female engineer. My father is an engineer and electronics technician
whom I looked up to as an excellent example.
My mother is also an electronic technician, turned technical training
developer, who works with countless engineers and always brought me to her
workplace. As you can see, I had always been exposed to this technical line of professions
growing up. What I did not realize back then was that being a female engineer
can be the most difficult role to fill, yet at the same time it can also be the
most rewarding. The key to making it a success is easy, you just have to be
yourself and let those around you learn that females can be amazing engineers.
I think the typical image of an
engineer comes from the era of the space race where men wore white button down
shirts and skinny black ties. It is a hard stereotype to break, but someone had
to do it - right? While attending the Colorado School of Mines university
located in Golden, Colorado being a female engineering student placed me into
the minority, yet it was not that big of a deal. Most of my fellow students and
friends were about my same age. Therefore we had not developed the
stereotypical assumption that engineering was only for men. The ratio was
seventy-five percent (75%) men to twenty-five percent (25%) women, but all of
my male student counterparts made me feel part of the team and no different
from them. My first job out of college, I had something major to prove in being
a young female engineer. The majority of my engineering co-workers who were comprised
of almost ninety percent (90%) engineers were also very supportive. I must
admit though that there were a few people that who, in my perspective, did not
seem to think the engineering role was for women.
I worked at my first engineering
position for over three and a half years and it took a while to realize who I
really was as an engineer over the course of this time frame. There were some days
when I felt that because I was a girl, I was being passed by for many opportunities
that my male colleagues readily were placed into with less experience or time
on the job. Maybe I was being passed by, which also helped me understand that I
had the wrong mindset all along. Yet, by
letting myself think that females cannot be good engineers because of other
people’s comments or perceptions, I then figured out that I indeed had
something to prove. Since my initial thoughts made me realize that I only
enhanced my own view in myself that I did not belong in this engineering career
or position. After doing some soul searching and a lot of thought, I finally figured
out that I just needed to be myself. Even if that meant smiling at all of my
co-workers every day and also wearing a bright pink sweater or colorful clothes
every once in a while - which of course led to being made fun of for my choices
in clothing. Okay in all honesty, that bright pink sweater was a terrible choice
and has since been retired. What I realized was the more I was my true myself -
the more I fit in and others saw my benefit to their team and our projects. I
guess in retrospect it was my own stereotype in my mind that told me I did not
belong, more than my coworkers ever made me believe.
Leaving my first engineering job
behind in Oklahoma, where I had worked hard and felt that I finally fit in, was
one of the hardest things to do. Not only was I going to start over at zero
again in this new engineering position, but there are even less females in the Texas
engineering department than my previous job. I have done a lot of self-talk to
myself to make sure that I not let my previous thoughts years ago come back
while performing in my new job. I can state that over the last five months, I
have proven that I belong in this new office and am taking on even more demanding
duties and assignments in this field installation organization. While I will
admit working in the field environment is very demanding and can be tough as I
am not as physically strong as some of my male counterparts. When that happens,
I let them know I am doing and giving them my best, but a little help is
greatly appreciated. And you know what? They have helped out 100% of the time when
I ask for their assistance. What I lack in physical aspects can be made up in
creativity on the design, engineering a different solution or thinking outside
of the box to work through our installation and operational problems.
Today, I am beyond thrilled that
there is a giant push for education and careers in the STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Math) sector, but that the gauntlet has been raised to get
even more female enrollment into these types of programs. After five years post-graduation
if you would have asked me where I would be, I’m sure that it would not be
standing on the side of an airport taxiway waving to pilots as they pass
heading off to the big blue skies. In my opinion, I have one of the coolest and
amazing jobs working in the airport environment in the central service area of
the United States installing Navigation Aids for the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) all the while being the strong, confident, female engineer
I was always meant to be.
The biggest lesson I think I have
learned so far is that yes, these stereotypes still do exist. Yes, we will come
face to face with it from time to time. In the end, I just have to be myself and
let others see that I am an engineer, and an awesome female engineer at that!
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