--~~ Ask A Female Engineer Anything ~~--

[Katiebug]

NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!
Don't give in to this crazy idea! The only people who will actually follow this "advice" are the smart and educated of the world. Meanwhile, the idiots continue to breed unchecked.

Go rent "Idiocracy" if you haven't seen it yet. Women engineers: reproduce!!!! The world needs more of you!

Amen to that. The movie was meant to be a comedy, but Mr. Bug and I looked at each other and went "Damn, that's how it's sort of shaping up to be..."

Re: being handy/having The Knack. I do feel like I have it, but not to the extent that some other engineers do (both male and female). Mr. Bug is not the handiest guy - he can manage a cordless drill and a Skilsaw but that's about it. When it comes to home improvements, the burden is usually on me to figure out how to do things correctly. It's cool with both of us, that's just how it is. He's not an engineer. I do find that I'll look at objects/devices/systems and puzzle them over in the back of my head. I like to think about how things work; I've always been fascinated by that sort of thing. I'm just not one for tinkering outside of the office.

It's funny how a car salesman will react to a woman. I suspect most of them think women are vapid airheads who couldn't possibly have any idea what the difference is between an inline four and a flat four. I saw this firsthand at the Subaru dealership on Tuesday. Mr. Bug found it hilarious, especially since the salesman talked to him like he was in the know and treated me like a dumb blonde - "Ma'am, let me tell you what all wheel drive means. Sir, am I right that ladies just don't know why they need AWD?" It was absurd! I did Formula SAE in college, I'm quite familiar with cars. Even if I wasn't, there's no reason to treat any random woman in the dealership like she's a moron.

 

[MGX]

That's a black mark against car salespeople for certain. I think selling cars is the only sales field where absolutely no knowledge of your product is necessary.

I think my girlfriend is a closeted engineer. While she studies meteorology, she is constantly thinking of better designs for things or how global-scale systems work and how we humans might mess around with them. She does have the knack to some extent, but better theoretical performance.

In vo-tech a girl was in my graduating class who could outshine most anyone, myself included. The jocks in class were really threatened by her, probably because they were so stupid and their performance proved it. Her mechanical intuition lead her right to where whatever malfunction was.

 

[Chucktown PE]

I'm starting to see a little bit of the knack in my daughter. She's 18 months right now. My son (3-1/2) definitely has it. She copies everything he does so it's hard to tell if she is imitating him or really has it. For instance, I was replacing the lift motor in my grandmother's car the other day and both of them were out there helping me. I was using a multimeter to determine whether it was the swich or the motor that was screwed up and I really think they understood my explanation as to what they were doing. My daughter kept saying I'll fix it, I'll fix it. They can both operate the home theater (know what buttons to press in what order to make everything work correctly). This morning my wife finished getting ready and found them both in the living room watching a documentary on airplanes. The both can name most of the major parts on an airplane now.

 

[maryannette]

... found them both in the living room watching a documentary on airplanes. The both can name most of the major parts on an airplane now.

That's pretty cool. The hardest thing is to allow them to develop in their way and not force them into what you would have them be.

 

[Chucktown PE]

^^ Agreed. My dad is a veterinarian and I know he wanted one of us to follow in his footsteps but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. He never pressured us and just kind of let us do our own thing. Two of us are engineers and the youngest starts engineering school this year.

The thing that gets me with my kids is if I ever say the word "fix" they are both wanting to help. Yesterday I was fixing the tires on the jogging stroller. They were both out there trying to figure out how to use a wrench and playing around with the air pump to see how it worked.

I bought them a little bath toy as a stocking stuffer this year for Christmas. It is a little pump similar to the old red hand well pumps. One my proudest moments was at the pool last week when a little girl was asking my son what the parts were. He knew the terms and used them correctly (piston, ball check, seal ring, nozzle). I was absolutely amazed, so was my wife and the other mom.

 

[nashbmattPE]

my son (22) graduated college this year with an economics degree at 5 he said he didn't want to do what daddy does. my daughter (16) wanted to do engineering up until last year now she wants to do nursing. i am very proud of each one. my daughter was a little bit of a surprise to me because she was always right with me fixing everything, but if you think about it a nurse fixes the ailing person. so again i am very proud of each one of them.

 

[maryannette]

Good parents help their children grow up so they will be happy, independent adults. When they become happy, independent adults, we should be very proud of them.

 

[Supe]

Womgineers: Is it bad that some of my friends have started calling me Dorian Gray?

 

[BluSkyy]

Mr. Bug found it hilarious, especially since the salesman talked to him like he was in the know and treated me like a dumb blonde - "Ma'am, let me tell you what all wheel drive means. Sir, am I right that ladies just don't know why they need AWD?" It was absurd! I did Formula SAE in college, I'm quite familiar with cars. Even if I wasn't, there's no reason to treat any random woman in the dealership like she's a moron.

He may have been trying the "divide and conquer" negotiating strategy. Salesmen are devious like that.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

What, like get the women so convinced she needs AWD (even if she doesn't) that she will make it a sticking point to the husband, and he will eventually just relent and say OK?

That does sound like something a salesman would do.

The pendulum totally swings the other way when you go furniture shopping. I bought a dining room set last winter and until I spoke up about it and asking some pointed questions, the saleswoman basically regarding me as the clueless guy stuck there with his wife who will do nothing but spill stuff on the table once we get it.

Same thing with kitchen appliances.

 

[roadwreck]

Same thing with kitchen appliances.

and scrap booking supplies

 

[Katiebug]

Yeah, the Subie salesman was a bit red-faced after he finally got around to asking me what I do for a living. I lean towards him just being a pushy dude; he's called me twice already today to pester me about buying the Forester (I haven't made up my mind yet).

Car salesmen aren't dumb; they know that the average woman is swayed heavily by things like safety and interior comfort AND that women hold considerable veto power over a family vehicle purchase. Since this will be our family hauler, those things are very important to me in this car purchase. I do want AWD, I want to know about the LATCH attachments for car seats, I want to know about the airbags and other safety features. I just don't need it explained to me as if there was no possible way that the little woman could understand the mere concept of all wheel drive. I'm all for being an educated consumer. I feel like a better way would have been to ask if we had questions about AWD, rather than to just assume that the husband knew about it and the wife didn't.

Re: scrap booking supplies. I assume buying those is like going to a yarn shop? I don't drag Mr. Bug to those; it's just torture for him and there's only so much yarn petting that the man can handle before he makes his escape to the car.

Re: furniture shopping. We had the same experience where the salesman directed all comments and questions to me, treating Mr. Bug like he was an accessory of sorts. Made me nuts. In the end, it's been our cat and dog who've scratched the new furniture, not him!

 

[Guest]

Car salesmen aren't dumb; they know that the average woman is swayed heavily by things like safety and interior comfort AND that women hold considerable veto power over a family vehicle purchase. Since this will be our family hauler, those things are very important to me in this car purchase.

Interesting ....

FMJR was just telling me yesterday that when I purchase a new vehicle she would like me to get something a bit sturdier than my crappy POS Kia. She said she really didn't care about the gas mileage or the effect it would have on the environment ... she was just concerned about what might happen to me if I were to get into a car accident since I do a fair bit of travel.

Wow .. it must be like :wub: ... or something.

JR

 

[Dleg]

This thread deserves a bump

 

[engineergurl]

Okay ladies I've got a woman to woman question. Having seen nothing but military doctors for the past five years I have finally been granted the request to switch to a civillian practice. I'm not sure if anyone out there is familiar with the military care provided to dependents, but you make an appointment, and you talk to the doctor about that specific item, and then you leave. If you have questions regarding anything else, it requires another appointment (I have to say this is based on my experience only). With this said, I'm not too sure what to expect or what questions to ask at my appointment since I've not had a "physical" in nearly 12 years (other then the obvious once a year female appointment) and I want to make sure that I can tell if I've chosen the correct practice to go to and that this appointment is productive.

I am assuming at my current age (30) I should have my cholesterol checked, since that tends to be a problem with both parents and grand parents, as well as heart disease... diabetes runs in the family as well as thyroid issues and I have already been diagnosed with OCS and have had two cysts removed off my spine over the years. So I know to ask about all these things.

How much time should I expect to be able to spend with the Doctor addressing my concerns and questions? Are there any other common tests that should be run that you are aware of that I should make sure I ask for? How long should I expect to have to wait for any results? Any other advice?

 

[klk]

That's a great question. You seem to already know all of the things to ask that I would think of (with respect to things to get tested for). I would also add iron to the list.

How long you spend asking questions can vary from doctor to doctor. One thing you'll probably find is that you'll go in for your first appointment where they weigh you, take your blood pressure, and ask questions regarding diet and lifestyle. Then they'll order the bloodwork, and then if anything is out of the ordinary, you'll have to come back for a follow up visit to get the results and figure out treatment if necessary. As a new patient, they'll want to meet with you first prior to ordering bloodwork, which means an extra visit.

I have three doctors I see on a regular basis:

1) My OB, for obvious reasons.

2) My Allergist, because my allergies were horrific and I ended up doing immunotherapy (allergy shots).

3) My primary care physician: he's treating my hypothyroidism, and I also see him for anything else (injuries, illnesses, etc). Whenever I go in to see my PCP, I usually have a list of questions/issues unrelated to my actual reason for seeing him. I figure I should get as much as I can out of one co-pay.

I think the most important thing about finding a good doctor is to make sure you agree with their general treatment philosophy, whatever that might be for you. For example, I tend to prefer doctors who are willing to prescribe me drugs if it will make me feel better (I don't request antibiotics for colds or other nonsense like that). My OB and allergist both are willing to be proactive with my care so I don't have to suffer through whatever it is that ails me. My PCP on the other hand, will only prescribe stuff if its "really bad". When my thyroid levels came back high, he didn't even want to treat it since it "wasn't high enough" compared to some of his other patients, although I felt like I was having symptoms and wanted to be treated for it to see if it helped. It was only when I reminded him that we were trying to have children that he reluctantly agreed to treat it.

However, if you are like my husband and like to suffer through every illness or ailment with as few of drugs as possible, you won't be happy seeing a doctor who wants to prescribe lots of drugs.

So, depending what you want from the doctor (with respect to their treatment style) I would ask them about their treatment philosophy to see if it meshes well with yours. If you tend to have recurring issues (for example, sinus infections) ask the doctor what are the thresholds for treatment and how they would go about treating you.

 

[neabob]

The women engineers I know tend to wait a good bit later to have kids (in their mid thirties), or have none at all. I've always wondered why. And, is it typical.

I had my first at 28 and my second (and last) at 30. I've never been one to let others tell me how to raise my kids so either the company I worked for understood that my babies came first, and were ok with that, or I found another company. The place I work for now is super family-friendly so things are good.

Truthfully, I've found it's hard to get people to take me seriously until I looked older. Having kids can knock down a mama engineer's credibility a bit (ie will she stay? does she care?) and so being a bit established first eased that transition.

My mom, a physicist, always told me that she found folks were much more respectful of her abilities when she had gray hair - that's why she never dyed it at all. Me, I'm hoping for Emmylou Harris hair.

 

[engineergurl]

Thanks for the input klk!

I can honestly say I don't think I've ever left a doc appointment with out a perscription since I've been in the military system... but they prescribe us motrin and benadryl and other over the counter drugs so you don't have to purchase them out of pocket... I hadn't considered anything about what I really want because I've just been happy with what was available.... something to think about!!!

 

[Ona]

One of the items that you might consider is actually how much time the doctor spends with you as well.

I find that when I go, I get weighed, have my bp taken, and initial questions asked by a nurse (i.e. why are you here? anything hurt? etc). After, the doctor comes in and chats with you. I personally have found that doctors who are D.O.'s are more whole-istic - meaning that they do try to look at the whole picture rather than smaller symptoms.

For example, I had a problem with my saliva duct 8 years ago. The dr I had at the time (not a D.O.) sent me to a specialist. They said that the duct kept getting infected so I was on antibiotics for 8 months! Finally, the specialist said; "well, we've tried, so now we're just going to have to go in and remove that salive duct - it's OK, you have 3 others."

I then went to a different dr (who was a D.O) and he did a full work up on me and explained that he wanted to check everything out. He found that I have one of those autoimmune diseases that affects your parotid gland which would squeeze my salive duct - it was never getting infected.

This might be TMI, but just my two cents.

 

[engineergurl]

One of the items that you might consider is actually how much time the doctor spends with you as well.
I find that when I go, I get weighed, have my bp taken, and initial questions asked by a nurse (i.e. why are you here? anything hurt? etc). After, the doctor comes in and chats with you. I personally have found that doctors who are D.O.'s are more whole-istic - meaning that they do try to look at the whole picture rather than smaller symptoms.

For example, I had a problem with my saliva duct 8 years ago. The dr I had at the time (not a D.O.) sent me to a specialist. They said that the duct kept getting infected so I was on antibiotics for 8 months! Finally, the specialist said; "well, we've tried, so now we're just going to have to go in and remove that salive duct - it's OK, you have 3 others."

I then went to a different dr (who was a D.O) and he did a full work up on me and explained that he wanted to check everything out. He found that I have one of those autoimmune diseases that affects your parotid gland which would squeeze my salive duct - it was never getting infected.

This might be TMI, but just my two cents.

This is interesting because I wasn't aware of what DO meant, but after researching it and examining the practice I choose, there are three MD's on staff, two DO's and a PA. (The gentleman who started the practice and the CEO are the DO's) The lady that I will be seeing is an MD, and her bio says that she focuses on Women's Health... when I made the appointment, the staff was very helpful and asked a lot of questions and seemed to search for an appointment with this Doc so I am assuming that the receptionist was taking the time to select the one that would fit my needs best (I hope). The practice came highly recommended by many co-workers, one who's life was saved by the staff.

I can honestly say that I'm actually excited to get some questions answered, although I don't think anything is "wrong" with me more then I already know, I have plenty of annoying things that would be awesome to understand the root of the issues...