hey, hello, hi!
This weeks #WISW/#WomeninSTEMWednesday is Design Engineer Sophie!
Hi, I’m Sophie and I’m a Design Engineer living in Bristol. I’m originally from North(ish) Wales, and only moved out of Wales for the first time after graduating. I’m currently an engineer at Renishaw in their neurological division, designing devices that deliver drug therapies to the deep brain.
What were you interested in at school, and why?
My favourite subject was definitely physics, but I also loved maths and languages. I knew I wanted to continue onto a higher education in some sort of science probably as early as year 7.
Do you think outside interests/hobbies play an important role in encouraging more girls into STEM?
Yes, they definitely help to expose girls to STEM and help to develop the interest in pursuing it as a career, but I never really had a particular STEM related hobby or interest – I was just curious about how the world worked.
What pathway did you take to get into your job?
I studied Medical Engineering at Cardiff Uni after A Levels, and then I applied to the Renishaw Graduate Scheme afterwards. To get the job I currently have, I applied to an internal vacancy as I knew that this department was absolutely 100% the one I wanted to be in (and part of the reason I even applied to the grad scheme in the first place).
What did your Graduate Scheme involve and would you recommend it to other recent graduates?
I spent 2 years on the grad scheme, doing 4 lots of 6 month placements in different divisions of the company. Each was quite different – I was in new product development for 3 of the 4 where I worked on a range of products at different stages of development. Some were concept development which I took to functioning prototype while some were working on a few last tweaks in the months before product launch. I also did a placement in current products where I fixed issues with current products (either from customer complaints or problems noticed internally).
It was a huge variety of roles and I got really good experience in each placement. I got to know a huge number of people around the business and all the placements helped me to work out what I wanted to do as my permanent role. I would definitely recommend a graduate scheme, but only one where you got to rotate. I’ve got friends who were on grad schemes but didn’t rotate into different roles, so were essentially just a full-time employee with a bit of extra paperwork to fill in periodically.
The one downside to the grad scheme was that there was no room for negotiating a higher starting salary as every grad starts on a fixed salary regardless of previous experience. Having said that though, I really enjoyed mine as I got to get to know loads of people and make more friends than I would have done otherwise.
What’s your favourite thing about your job and why?
I love how my job improves peoples lives! The work I do goes directly into making devices that treat brain conditions like Parkinson’s Disease and brain tumours.
What do you find most challenging about your job and why?
There is always something new to learn, and always ways that you can develop and improve as a person. How much you still don’t know can sometimes feel overwhelming, but I’m surrounded by really great, knowledgeable people who will always take the time to help me learn.
What does your day-to-day life look like while at work?
I start work early (at 7:30 but this means I have a half day on a Friday) and log on to see what I’ve got on for the day. The whole team has been remote during the pandemic, and we only go in as and when it’s needed – I’ve been into the office once since starting this job. Sometimes my day involves designing or re-designing parts, sometimes it’s paperwork to meet regulations, sometimes it’s writing the instructions on how to use our products. It’s such a varied job and I get to talk to a lot of people each day because of the work I do.
If you could change one thing about your job, what would it be?
I wish I could walk to my office! It’s a 30 min drive away so I am definitely not missing the commute. I do miss seeing my colleagues though.
Have you ever felt your gender has influenced the opportunities you’ve been offered and/or experienced so far?
Yes, there are definitely times when your opinion is overlooked or your voice ignored and it’s hard not to put that down to being a woman – especially when your male colleagues at your level get more opportunities than you. My current role is about 30/70 women/men and I think that that really helps with being listened to and getting the right opportunities to progress your career.
What advice would you give to young girls who are interested in pursuing a STEM career?
Go for it! Ignore those who say you shouldn’t do a subject because it’s a “boys subject” and choose things that you want to do, not that you feel you should do. STEM careers are so varied, and you don’t just need to become an engineer. There are so many different roles in sales, marketing, project management, supply chain, etc (the list goes on and on) that are available in a STEM industry and I would encourage girls to join tech industries wherever they can because having a balanced and diverse workforce makes it a much more pleasant place to work for everyone.
Sophie, your job sounds SO INTERESTING! I can’t help but be a teeny tiny bit jealous! Might be a little biased but Medical Engineering is so cool.
It’s so good to hear that your Graduate Scheme position led you to a full time position within the company! I think they can be a really great way to explore the job possibilities within a company before settling in one permanently. I wish there was more grad scheme style jobs later in life for us indecisive people!
Unfortunately, it is a common theme to have your opinion overlooked, not just in technical situations but also social interactions too. And like you said, it is hard to not put it down to being a woman. I’ve definitely been in situations where I’ve suggested a solution to a problem, it gets ignored, and then a male colleague suggests THE SAME THING and everyone loves it. It’s very hard to not be discouraged by it but if we all decided to let that drive us out, there would be even less women in STEM.
It’s so interesting that you’ve highlighted the breadth of STEM jobs – they aren’t all technical and the more we see women across the entire spectrum, the easier it’s going to be to encourage even more women into these jobs. There is definitely a job for everyone in STEM – that’s the beauty
Thank you so much again Sophie, it’s been amazing to hear about what you do and your views on women in STEM
All my love, Meg x
Girls Who STEM 