Parents, don't let your kids grow up to be engineers!

[blybrook PE]

I work with the following female engineering co-workers

2 Structural EIT's;

EE's: 1 EIT, 1 PE;

ME's: 2 EIT's;

Civil: 1 EIT (previously 2), 1 PE (department head)

I know of 20 other female EIT's or PE's in Fairbanks, so thats better than none

 

[Road Guy]

This may relate Im not sure, but it pissed me off at the time..

My daughter struggled in 4th grade math this year, no F's or anything but she just didnt take to it as easy as other subjects. Her teacher was a good teacher, but she was very strict, didnt put up with any crap, all in all we were pleased, but she was almost a little too strict that for my daughter the day of school was long and she perceived the teacher as being someone she would never please so I think she almost wrote her off midway through the school year.

so anyways.. we wanted to sign up both my oldest son & daugther for a week long science / math camp at Ga Tech they have where they do some "make math / science fun" launch rockets, do experiments, etc, etc,

We thought it might make math a little more fun for her.

But to get accepted to the camp yuo had to send in a report card and a recommendation from your teacher... so we resquested that and sent it in..

about 2 weeks into summer my son gets accepted and my daughter gets a dear john letter that basically said her teacher wrote in her evaluation that my daughter basically sucked at math and wouldnt be able to cut this camp (9 year olds here..))

I was furious and went to the school to ***** at the teacher for sandbagging her, of course it was summer so she wasnt there, I had to send her a nasty email.. But my point to her was that we thought the GA Tech camp might make her more interested in math / science thus making it something whe would do better at in school the following years...

so there you have it women sandbagging little girls.....

 

[csb]

I had a female math teacher tell me to give up on math...when she was the reason we weren't learning anything. I'm so glad my calculus teacher saw that and gave me a chance.

 

[envirotex]

The current undergraduate enrollment in the engineering school from which I earned my degree is 78% men and 22% women.

When I started engineering school, the dean at the time told the women at orientation to look around at the women in the room, and then said "The majority of you won't be here at graduation..." I took it as a challenge, and I like to think that was the intent of the remark...

 

[roadwreck]

^^

I got a similar speech at freshman orientation, but it wasn't directed towards female students. It was directed to all students.

 

[wilheldp_PE]

^^I got a similar speech at freshman orientation, but it wasn't directed towards female students. It was directed to all students.

Me too. We had about a 60% graduation rate.

 

[XOXOXO]

This may relate Im not sure, but it pissed me off at the time..
My daughter struggled in 4th grade math this year, no F's or anything but she just didnt take to it as easy as other subjects. Her teacher was a good teacher, but she was very strict, didnt put up with any crap, all in all we were pleased, but she was almost a little too strict that for my daughter the day of school was long and she perceived the teacher as being someone she would never please so I think she almost wrote her off midway through the school year.

so anyways.. we wanted to sign up both my oldest son & daugther for a week long science / math camp at Ga Tech they have where they do some "make math / science fun" launch rockets, do experiments, etc, etc,

We thought it might make math a little more fun for her.

But to get accepted to the camp yuo had to send in a report card and a recommendation from your teacher... so we resquested that and sent it in..

about 2 weeks into summer my son gets accepted and my daughter gets a dear john letter that basically said her teacher wrote in her evaluation that my daughter basically sucked at math and wouldnt be able to cut this camp (9 year olds here..))

I was furious and went to the school to ***** at the teacher for sandbagging her, of course it was summer so she wasnt there, I had to send her a nasty email.. But my point to her was that we thought the GA Tech camp might make her more interested in math / science thus making it something whe would do better at in school the following years...

so there you have it women sandbagging little girls.....

Yes, there are hateful people in all walks of life. I had a teacher ask me if English was the primary language spoken at home. Um, my daughter only knows English, and my spanish sucks. Interesting...sorry to hear your little girl had to deal with a ****** at such a young age. They are definitely out there!

 

[momech]

^^I got a similar speech at freshman orientation, but it wasn't directed towards female students. It was directed to all students.

Me too. We had about a 60% graduation rate.

Ditto.

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

^^I got a similar speech at freshman orientation, but it wasn't directed towards female students. It was directed to all students.

Me too. We had about a 60% graduation rate.

Ditto.

We had a similar one except it was given during the first day of Organic Chemistry (first semester sophmore year) and it was addressed to the Chemical Engineering majors. Professor said that the department couldn't handle the amount of students enrolled into the program and that this particular class was going to be used to "weed out" about 40%. I lasted the semester, then switched to Civil engineering for the spring.

 

[snickerd3]

need to chage you hat dude

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

Mine hasn't been sold that I know of.

 

[envirotex]

On the topic of letting my kids grow up to be engineers, I have two boys, and the older one (who is 15) has expressed an interest in engineering, and I am encouraging it. He's good in science and math; he loves to take things apart, and put things back together to see how they work, and he has since he was little. He's very personable, has a good handshake, and plays golf passably well...whether or not you excel is more than just your education in school...

...and since the field of engineering is always evolving and new areas of expertise are always needed, I don't think that he'll have any problems getting a job if that's the career path that he chooses.

 

[Dleg]

There were very few women in the engineering college I went to in the 80s (Colorado State). And very few in the first field I went into (oil field). In government, the ratio is fairly high - maybe 30% or so. I think it really depends on the field, and I am not exactly sure why. Maybe it's because it's easier for women to find an engineering job in the government. Or maybe it's that, AND that engineering jobs in the government are "cushier". I think people are just like water. If you create a path of least resistance, they will go there. If government jobs are easier to get due to preferences, etc., and government jobs are at the same time "cushier", then of course you are going to find a lot more women in that field than in others, like the oil field or civil, where jobs might not be as cushy. I doubt that this has anything to do with capability. It's just a market thing. If you want more women engineers in the "tougher" fields, you need to eliminate the artificial incentives in the government jobs, etc.

 

[XOXOXO]

There were very few women in the engineering college I went to in the 80s (Colorado State). And very few in the first field I went into (oil field). In government, the ratio is fairly high - maybe 30% or so. I think it really depends on the field, and I am not exactly sure why. Maybe it's because it's easier for women to find an engineering job in the government. Or maybe it's that, AND that engineering jobs in the government are "cushier". I think people are just like water. If you create a path of least resistance, they will go there. If government jobs are easier to get due to preferences, etc., and government jobs are at the same time "cushier", then of course you are going to find a lot more women in that field than in others, like the oil field or civil, where jobs might not be as cushy. I doubt that this has anything to do with capability. It's just a market thing. If you want more women engineers in the "tougher" fields, you need to eliminate the artificial incentives in the government jobs, etc.

I am totally loving all the different opinions/insight/arguments presented here...loving the rant room right now...

Gotta thank that guy that started this...totally hijacked his rant but still

I don't know about the cushy comment, but this is the US of A so all is fair...true I hated lugging that damn concrete air meter around and getting concrete splattered on my face...

 

[Slugger926]

^^I got a similar speech at freshman orientation, but it wasn't directed towards female students. It was directed to all students.

Me too. We had about a 60% graduation rate.

In my field, we had a 10% graduation rate. I blame it on trying to be an expert in too many areas at once.

 

[Guest]

I am totally loving all the different opinions/insight/arguments presented here...loving the rant room right now...

That's why it's here and we hope you participate more often.

Gotta thank that guy that started this...totally hijacked his rant but still

It wouldn't be EB.com without an oft-hijacked thread that eventually ends ... somewhere.

I don't know about the cushy comment, but this is the US of A so all is fair...true I hated lugging that damn concrete air meter around and getting concrete splattered on my face...

That actually sounds like a great job ... just sayin' ... oking:

JR

 

[cement]

my kid is just finishing his ME degree and he loves it. he does interesting work and will make a good living.

 

[Dleg]

Nice job on not taking the bait, POed Mommy. I only partly believe what I said. But there is a grain of truth to it. It's a simple fact of life that respect is earned, not granted. Engineers need to spend time in the difficult, entry level field jobs if they want to lay the foundation for future success and respect. It sounds like you have - good for you. If affirmative action leap-frogs people into management or even business ownership too soon, then it is doing those people a disservice, in my opinion.

Back to the original subject. I have no regrets on having chosen engineering as a career. I'm now on my fourth major engineering career, after 20 years, and it's been a great choice as a career, I would say. There will always be a need for engineers, and in particular, engineers who know how to work and to provide solutions. Let's face it, 95% of the population has no idea what we do. For all they know, it's magic. They will always need us. Compensation is not as good as being a doctor or a lawyer, but that's the market, and I wouldn't be a doctor or a lawyer even if I could. Those are lousy jobs.

 

[csb]

College for me was lugging around an air-meter. Did you find that you struggled being the only woman back then? Because I found it often worked to my advantage.

 

[envirotex]

College for me was lugging around an air-meter. Did you find that you struggled being the only woman back then? Because I found it often worked to my advantage.

Agreed. Especially in the smaller upper division classes. Plus, I was older than the average co-ed by the time I got around to engineering school, so I wasn't intimidated by the professors.