Hello all, welcome to my blog!
I'm Fiona and an electronic engineer. I originally created this blog as a way of logging my weekly work placement journals however I decided to scrap that as I was not producing other interesting content inbetween. I think I would rather a blog where content would come infrequently but it would at least be vaguely interesting, rather than a frequent blog that's fairly mundane.
Onto the actual blog:
Today someone at the bank I had a spontaneous appointment with said to me, "You know those people that happen to be at the right place at the right time? You're one of them aren't you?". To which I responded "Yes".
He certainly meant this in a good way, even asking me if I was spiritual in any way and managed to connect the signs and follow the right path. To which I responded "No, I'm just a very lucky person and don't question it".
Regarding the first point, I said "Yes" truthfully. I know I've been lucky all my life. But anyone can be as equally "lucky". Technology is booming at the moment and it really is the perfect time for new fresh engineers to enter the industry. Companies are battling it out to release new and exciting products, research and development on new technologies are as exciting as ever.
For me, I'm personally into all things media. At the moment, AR/VR, audio prediction and AI are what interests me the most. The fast-paced nature of the newer technologies draws me in and left me fascinated, all these viral videos that get released over the internet make me instantly wonder "How does it work?" and often it would lead me to these topics. However there is a field for everyone, whether it be space, networking, mobile or more.
At my current new workplace I looked around the intranet to get a feel for the company, I was both ecstatic and saddened that there was a "Women in Technology" scheme, where they offer free courses to assist young women getting into technology by educating them on programming and other skills. This is fantastic of course, but it saddened me that such a scheme needed to exist in the first place. Why don't more women in this field?
I feel there's some sort of stigma and I've no idea why. Even my own parents were worried for me from the moment I entered my university interview and noticed a room full of men. Then when I was applying for jobs, they were worried I would be treated unfairly due to my gender. Obviously this isn't the case at all, I've only been treated with fairness, challenged in the same way as anyone else, and most importantly - I've never had to change to fit into the workplace. It's not their fault they think this way, a lot of people I've come across always ask me "So how many women do your course/work with you?" as it's obvious it's not the norm. But I cannot understand at all why this is the case. There is no work that I do that should be for the opposite gender.
Throughout my entire school life, I noticed teachers and guest speakers emphasising STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects. Apparently younger me listened and understood its importance and followed that path, whilst staying true to my creative interests.
Going back to the person I spoke to earlier today, asking me about the signs - I said "No", however thinking back, I can see that subconsciously I've been following the signs. All the emphasis on STEM subjects, following a fast paced industry and doing everything in my power to not stray from media - my true interest. I've literally been doing what I want to do whilst staying proactive and keeping a good head on my shoulders. I've never taken anything for granted and will always work hard towards my goal of breaking into the media industry. I've ignored the warnings against the unusual stigma and just did what I enjoyed, and it worked well.
Honestly, I may not be top of the class but that's OK. I consider myself to be passionate in my subject and I would like to think the people around me see that and so that's how I've gotten my "lucky breaks". In the future, I would love to see the stigma of women in engineering be broken. Now is probably the best time for anyone to get their "lucky break" if they believe in themselves and have a willingness to learn whilst maintaining an enjoyment for their work.
P.S. One last lucky break was that the business manager happened to be free as I walked in and a process that would have taken 3 weeks took me 90 minutes after the spontaneous appointment, now that really is just lucky!
