I am currently in my final year of an Electrical Engineering degree. Now that is something that well and truly defines me as being a woman in the 21st century. Hell, even now engineering is a male dominant area of society. In my class of 16 there are 2 females... and by all reports from larger universities that 1 in 8 is actually quite high. Across all our engineering streams in my year level there are 8 girls (there is about 80 engineers total - yes I do come from a seriously small university campus).
I have to say too, engineering girls rock, in spite of the obvious fact that we are seriously in the majority all of my best friends are engineering girls. Before you point out the obvious 'you spend the most time with those people' I don't the other engineering streams stop mixing with electrical engineering in first year. However when it comes to getting into conversation engineers all think the same.
Just the same. I am pretty positive I take engineering solely because I live and breath in 2012 and not 1982. That image above? I'm in my senior year, and yes we do think like that, all the time. Why? Why do I put myself through this degree? Do I even LIKE engineering? I am not sure of the answers to any of that.
Why did I start out in engineering? That is perhaps the one question I can answer. I joined university as a scientist - a hard scientist (Maths, physics) rather than your pussyfoot sciences (geography,IT) but I felt like I was working too hard and stressing too much not to make the step sideways into an engineering degree. So I did. And there are times I regret it.
I like being an engineering student. Certainly I appreciate being allowed to be the smart person in society. I am a young woman in 2012.
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