We are celebrating International Women in Engineering Day with two of our talented engineers, Rachael Oertel and Mariam Gaid.
Our Project Engineer, Mariam Gaid sees International Women in Engineering Day as a way to raise the conversation about gender equality in this industry and put emphasis on the future of engineering.
What does being an engineer mean to you?
It means that I will make a difference in everyday life and improve the quality of traveling to the people around me. Each project that I work on is either a tunnel, road or a bridge. The goal is to always make improvements to our transport system.
Where do you see the future of women in engineering?
Have the confidence to speak your opinion and question anything that you think can improve.
The more questions you have the more you will understand the concept behind each design, and that is the only way to grow and learn as an engineer.
I see more female leading engineers in senior roles that will inspire and guide a lot of people to take that step to enter a male-dominated industry.
– Mariam Gaid
We also spoke with Rachael Oertel, Project Engineer about what advice she would give to those thinking about starting a career in Engineering.
What was the biggest challenge when you first started your career vs. now?
Thinking that I needed to have the knowledge of how to do all of the tasks assigned to me, without asking questions. I thought it would not reflect well on my abilities. Through my early career, I learned the importance of asking questions to maximise my potential. My biggest challenge now, after seven years in the industry, is identifying which areas of soft and hard skills I should focus my energy on to further myself in the profession.
Why is engineering interesting for you? What do you always take away from this field?
Engineering is continually changing. You don’t often get stuck on a task for more than a few days. There’s also the opportunity to expand your knowledge every day.
What advice would you give to a young engineer?
It is important to work with great managers who respect their engineering team, regardless of gender.
Gender should never impact a young engineer’s responsibilities. It is also important to continually improve your knowledge and to always ask questions.
We hope this day could help spread the awareness even further about the importance of celebrating days where we champion our female talents and how having male colleagues support this growth is an integral part of that.
