hey, hello, hi!
This weeks #WISW/#WomeninSTEMWednesday is my Woman in STEM idol, Karen!
Hi I’m Karen, I’m 60 from Dorset! I work at Leonardo Helicopters (previously Westland Helicopters) in Yeovil, Somerset as a Design Engineer, where I’ve worked since 1983 on and off.
What were you interested in at school, and why?
At school I was always interested in maths, science and technology. I remember at junior school, probably about age 8, doing experiments with water at the sinks and being the only one doing it. I also remember there only being 6 of us that did O’level physics at my Girls Grammar School. I’m not too sure what drew me into science but I was always interested in how things worked and how they were put together.
What pathway did you take to get into your job?
My mum saw an advert for an apprenticeship at Plessey Marine and suggested I applied. I was lucky that they had a girl apprentice the year before who had made a good impression! The offered me the job and sent me to college for a year on an engineering training course where I learnt a huge amount. I learnt loads of practical skills like turning, milling, grinding, welding and electrics. I thought it was brilliant as it was a world away from my all girls school! I think it just made me more determined to prove that I could do everything that the boys did. I also did day release at college to gain my ONC and HNC in mechanical engineering. So although I thought my school work was finished it was only just beginning really. After my year basic training at college I went to work on site. I spent the next 2 years rotating around different departments to gain experience and before deciding where I wanted to end up – I was best suited to the drawing office so that’s where I went.
After I’d finished my training I decided the work at Plessey was a bit electrically focused for me. So I moved to Westland Helicopters to work in the design office on rotor blades where I’ve been for the last 38 years. The only break I’ve taken from my engineering career was for 6 years when I had my two sons!
What’s your favourite thing about your job and why?
My favourite thing is definitely working as part of a team! We are a really close knit team and everyone’s happy to help each other out. We are all a bit crazy and have a reputation of being the loud office – we have a good laugh together which makes working a lot more enjoyable. I think that’s what I have missed the most while working from home during COVID-19. I also really like working with other departments to solve problems and make changes to designs collaboratively!
What do you find most challenging about your job and why?
The most challenging part of the job is the constantly changing systems and procedures. I’ve seen a lot of changes in my working life – when I started, all the designs were done on a drawing board, then a system called CADAM, then CATIA, and they’ve all gone through several versions. Sometimes it feels like you’ve just got to grips with one version and then they suddenly jump to the next version!
Also as the life of a helicopter is quite long, once a design is done on a certain version of software, it stays on that version! So you can find yourself having to work on several different systems for different helicopters which can get confusing – or maybe that’s just me!
What does your day-to-day life look like while at work?
My day to day life is going to meetings to get approval and funding for modifications, answering emails, doing changes to drawings, visiting other departments to get signatures or advice. I also have to submit investigate change requests to make sure my designs won’t have an adverse effect on anything else in the helicopter system.
Have you ever felt your gender has influenced the opportunities you’ve been offered and/or experienced so far?
I think especially in the early years of my career people were a bit wary of how a woman would fit into the office – so I felt like I had to prove myself. Generally though I think the people I’ve worked with have been quite happy to have women around. Or maybe I have been lucky. I do think it’s made me stand up for myself and fly the flag for women’s rights though!!
I think even just in my lifetime things have come a long way and there is still a way to go! I remember one of my college lecturers turning to the boys and saying if she (me) can do it surely you boys can… I like to think he wouldn’t get away with that now.
It also breaks my heart when my boss told me his 6 year old daughter was told by her friends, “You don’t want to do maths and science, that’s for boys” – I think girls need to be encouraged more in their early years to do problem solving activities and not pushed down gender stereotype routes.
What advice would you give to young girls who are interested in pursuing a STEM career?
Do it. Don’t be put off by being a minority!! It is well proven that the more diversity there is in a team or company, the more progressive they become. And I might be bias but female engineers bring fresh ideas.
Remember the phrase “If you do what you have always done then you get what you have always got.”
Karen, thank you so much for sharing your story! Its been so interesting to hear about your pathway into being an engineer, especially as it isn’t the typical university route!
It sounds like you’ve seen so much progression – both technologically but also in terms of equal rights – already in your lifetime and like you say we’ve still got a way to go.
You’re also so right that girls need to be encouraged from a young age – rings even more true if 6 year olds believe maths and science are a boys subject! I also think that quote is going to stick with me forever!! I love it. It’s so true and can be used to represent so many different situations. Change is good and change is needed!
Thanks again Karen.
All my love, Meg x
Girls Who STEM 