hey, hello, hi!
As the beginning of a new university/school year approaches, this weeks #WISW/#WomeninSTEMWednesday is all things Year in Industry/Placement years! A Year in Industry is often an added year within a degree where you go away on a (usually!) paid placement with an industrial company. It’s a great way of gaining experience in a field while also making valued connections. Charlotte, also a fellow medical engineer, will be sharing her industrial placement story as part of this weeks #WISW!
Hello! I’m Charlotte, a 23 year old French, British and Austrian graduate engineer. I was born and bred in London where I attended a French school before moving to Wales to study Medical Engineering at Cardiff Uni for 5 years! The course I did included a year in Industry as well as a term abroad at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
During my year in Industry I worked as a Project Engineer for Estee Lauder Companies. It wasn’t quite as glamourous as it sounds though as I was based at the manufacturing site called Whitman Laboratories in Hampshire where all the best selling products are produced.
What did your job role include during your year in industry?
The department I was based in was Project Engineering which could be considered as a combination of engineering and project management. My department was in charge of designing, manufacturing and contracting the much needed improvements to cope with the growth and success of the company. It did this by managing the budget and keeping construction and engineering projects on time, as well as prioritising and organising project’s tasks. Throughout the year I was responsible for managing around £750k worth of different engineering projects which involved the initial design stage using CAD as well as preparing the project management documentation such as Gantt charts and building a team of stakeholders from scratch. This meant that my time was split between office and design/CAD work on a computer and hands-on work requiring steel-capped shoes and a hard hat… the real stereotype of an engineer!
What would you say the most interesting thing about your year in industry was?
Something I particularly enjoyed about my placement was the variety of projects I was involved in which meant that every single day was different. I spent a lot of my time doing hands-on work and keeping track of the progress of the projects with contractors which meant I didn’t spend the whole time sat at a desk. I also appreciated the commercial awareness I gained throughout the experience which is something I wouldn’t have been exposed to otherwise.
During my time at Estee Lauder I was also heavily involved in promoting STEM subjects to young students by attending STEM fairs and visiting schools which was an incredibly rewarding experience!
And what did you find most challenging about your year in industry?
Going straight to work after only 2 years of university was definitely a struggle at first but luckily, I had an extremely supportive team who gave me confidence and made me feel valued.
I also found it difficult to adapt to a male-dominated environment as most of the department heads and contractors I had to deal with were men. It was therefore often the case that during meetings, I would be the only woman in the room and as I was the project engineer, I was often expected to lead the meetings. It took a while for me to get comfortable and used to these situations, but it eventually got easier as I started to gain confidence and experience.
How did you find out about your job?
It was advertised by the year in industry coordinator working for Cardiff Uni!
Would you recommend an industrial placement for people currently studying STEM related courses?
100%! It really is the best way to apply the theories and subjects that you learnt at university in a real-life setting. For me personally, it also gave me a lot more confidence in my engineering abilities and forced me out of my comfort zone.
What were you interested in growing up and do you think extracurricular activities and hobbies play an important role in encouraging more girls into STEM?
I was quite an active child so participated in a few different sports from a young age as well as learnt how to play a few instruments. Overall I’m a pretty well-rounded person which means that I don’t excel at anything but can do a bit of everything. This isn’t really an advantage when it comes to sports or music as I was never good enough to compete or go to the next level, but it did mean that I was exposed to a variety of experiences. To me that exposure was the most important as it meant that I had a period to “sample” different skills which I could then apply to any situation. This is actually what helped me choose my degree as I was able to combine all the things that I was good at and interested in and apply it to a pretty niche subject which I now love. I definitely don’t think that an activity or hobby needs to be STEM related for it to be beneficial!
While growing up, do you recall anyone that particularly motivated you to go into STEM?
Weirdly enough, I wasn’t planning on going into STEM until quite late (probably around GCSE time). Luckily I had teachers who really encouraged extra reading and suggested that we subscribe to scientific magazines such as “New Scientist”. This allowed me to gain more insight into STEM related subjects and it actually introduced me to Medical Engineering through one of its articles.
So I would say it wasn’t a particular person but a series of events that led me to where I am today
Have you ever felt your gender has influenced the opportunities you’ve been offered and/or experienced so far?
I’ve actually never really thought about this.. but I’d like to think it hasn’t! As I mentioned before, the only time I really noticed I was in the minority as a woman was in certain situations at Estee Lauder during meetings with stakeholders and contractors.
What do you think needs to happen/what changes need to be made to get more girls into STEM subjects?
I think we are definitely on the right track but there is of course more that can still be done.
I think something that needs to be addressed is the fact that doing a degree in a STEM related subject does not mean that you will then be stuck in that profession for the rest of your life. STEM subjects will open up so many doors both in STEM but also in completely unrelated fields including finance and business. In these cases, the skills that you have learnt in your STEM degree will still be extremely valuable and will just be applied to a completely different situation. The fact that STEM subjects are so versatile means that you have the flexibility to use your skills and knowledge in different areas of your life!
What advice would you give to young girls who are interested in pursuing a STEM career?
If you are genuinely interested in anything STEM related and are ready to put in the work, it is definitely the best thing you could do. We are fortunate enough in the UK that we have so much choice when it comes to the courses available at university so definitely don’t settle for anything that you don’t absolutely love!!
Charlotte, thank you so much for sharing your experiences during your year in industry! Having done one myself, and knowing so many other people that have also done one, it’s so clear the benefit they bring to your degree and future career! Like you said, two years of university doesn’t feel like enough to be let out into the real world of engineering but you learn so quickly on the job that the ‘out of your depth’ feeling goes just as quick!
You’re so right that an activity doesn’t have to be STEM related to be beneficial! Developing a range of different skills from things like sport and music is so useful – it’s a great example to use in a job interview to highlight skills such as team-working and problem solving!
I love that you highlighted how doing a STEM degree doesn’t limit you to only doing STEM careers! It’s almost the exact opposite… I think a lot of us will agree that since finishing our degrees, we definitely don’t use every single bit of theory we were taught but we do use the hard and soft skills that we’ve developed over the years of doing a STEM degree. It also means that you don’t have to have any idea what you think you want to do in the future! The overlap between almost all STEM careers is so massive that you’ll rarely be limited to your degree title.
All my love, Meg x
P.S If you want to read more about Year in Industry placements, feel free to check out WISW: Jo.
For anyone interested in doing a year in industry, it’s worth contacting your university in the first instance to make sure the option is available to you. In terms of finding placements, industrial companies are increasingly providing one year contracts designed for year in industry students. They usually (although not all companies are great at this) provide extra support and mentorship to help you integrate into an industrial setting.
Girls Who STEM 