I think thats it from me. I think i just give up. I was hired to be a software engineer more than a year ago. I've worked hard, ive proved myself countless of times over and over with the few little jobs I've been asked to do, none of them real software engineering work. Over and over again I've been promised that when we get more software development work I'll get to do it, but each time we actually get something, it gets given to a male coworker, sometimes a senior, sometimes someone my level. Each time I'm expected to help them. This time they went behind my back and had a senior do the job i was supposed to do, all with my advice and input just for 'quoting' the job. When the fix was pushed to production who does the testing and customer communication? Me. When it breaks i find the problem just as quickly if not before the senior developer and tell them what to fix. Yet somehow when the work is given out I'm not the one that gets to do it. Instead im toiling away writing documentation or doing minor fixes and workarounds. Each time im promised real experience developing a production system it's taken away from me and given to a man. When that man struggles or fucks up, I'm expected to help tell him how to fix it but not given the authority to do so myself.

A week ago, at farewell drinks, the male coworker who was leaving tucked my hair behind my ear and grabbed me by the waist andnwouldnt left go. He told me i was passionate like his wife. My only friend in the office saw it and when the guy finally let me go and i said it made me uncomfortable to my friend, he said it was my fault for hugging the guy goodbye. I trusted both of them.

I'm just done, i love the work so much but i never get to do it. I'm always robbed of the simple right of just doing the job i was hired for. Now i can't stop thinking about that man who put his hands on me and the friend who told me it was my fault.

Why did they even hire me? I don't want to be a woman anymore, i dont want to be an engineer anymore. I don't even really want to be alive anymore.

Hey everyone! So I recently had a big company reach out to me after SWE’24 day 1 and had my interview taken on day 2. I felt like the interview went really well and had my hopes up. But it’s been a week and I have not heard anything from them. Plus, the recruiter reached out to me through text so there’s not much of a follow-up that I can do. So around what time after an on-spot/ career fair interview should one give up hopes of it converting into anything? Thank you so much!!

Working hard isn't rewarded.

For six months, I put in 60 hour weeks, working 6-7 days a week while my coworkers worked 9-5 M-F. I took lead on a massive project and gave it my all. I succeeded and knocked it out of the park.

And for what? It didn't speed along my next promotion, it didn't earn me a raise, and it didn't save me from the coming restructuring where my job scope will shrink significantly.

And there's not even anything I can do about it. We're a startup, there isn't even any position that it would set me up for being eligible for. I just get to learn the lesson, eat it and move on.

How do you deal with coworkers that think they're being "helpful" but they're actually not, without being rude?

I recently had an interaction where I was trying to explain to the PM team what info I needed to help make a decision on a project but then I found out that the team already made the decision and communicated it to the supplier.

When I explained that they were jumping steps in the process, they maintained their position that they are trying to "help me". They made it seem as if I was ungrateful for their help, because my team was swamped so they went "above and beyond". Absolutely infuriating.

(For context - I'm the procurement/contract lead. Any commercial/price discussions have to go through me. The PM awarded a contract to their favorite supplier, citing "technical reasons". I'm a ME that spent 6 yrs as a PM in the same field before making the switch, and their technical reasons were absolutely baseless. It took me less than an hr to find all the info they conveniently glanced over in the drawings.)

What are some of your experiences and what did you do?

basically: i have a few questions about the courses + the field in general, and i’d really appreciate insight from those with experience.

i would prefer to ask these questions via DMs, as that’s more comfortable for me. so feel free to reply here or DM me—whatever works for you.

thanks!

Hi. I’ve been working corporate since June 2023, this is my first job and I’m my supe’s first direct report. I’m concluding I don’t know how to have an effective 1:1, and I’m worried about falling behind on my career timeline if I don’t push my development myself more.

Everyone I’ve asked has said they talk about “development”, ask for support on things and use it as a time to vent. I know what that means generally but IDK what specifically to talk about every 2 weeks by way of development.

We meet every 2 weeks. We always start our chatting about the weekend, I give him quick updates on the projects im working on, if I need him to escalate something or push something I’ll bring that up. If my workload is too much (this has only happened 3 times) I’ll tell him I can’t take on anything else yet or need support or at least discuss priorities. Then I scoot to development and I have no idea what to talk about. I try to discuss like areas I’ve grown in a bit (like recent problem solving) and if there’s room for improvement? I’ve been asking about promotion schedules and what I would need to show to be prepared for that pretty much since I started, but he’s been telling me I’m thinking too far ahead until recently.

What are your 1:1 discussions like? What useful info or anything do you get from them??

Thanks

I was recently offered a quality engineering internship with a F500 company for $27 an hour in South Carolina.

I am from and go to school in a HCOL area. They will not offer any relocation benefits.

Is this considered a good offer? I need to answer by tomorrow (they gave me 5 days to respond).

I know people usually don't negotiate for internships but I'm thinking about asking for a higher hourly rate to offset relocation costs?

I'm just a bit concerned about the money because I will need to pay rent where I am for school while I move to South Carolina for this internship (basically paying rent for 2 places for 3 months).

Edit: My only previous internship was related to cyber security (I was studying a different major before) so this would be my first engineering internship.

i have recently started mechanical engineering undergrad at one of the uni in my country, what opportunities should I grab to learn more , explore more . i m open to any industry related and non related options

i'm starting college next sem and this particular thing has me a bit confused.

basically: if Comp Sci and Electrical Engineering both have computer related courses— (keeping the math & phy out of this, solely talking about Computer Stuff)

what would be the differences in the computer-related-courses that would set them apart?

i mean, i don't love coding but i do wanna major in EE. so i'm tryna figure out: if i would have to do a lot of coding in EE compared to CS or less coding in EE compared to CS or if the computer part of the coursework is literally the same?

also- i have a few more questions related to EE—so if i could personally reach out to any of of y'all, that would be very helpful. or u could directly dm me too. but that's all, thanks!

Hi everyone! I'm thinking about getting a B.Eng. I'm not really a big fan of engineering, but everyone says it has good prospects, and I’m somehow drawn to the marine field.

Is studying marine engineering abroad worth it?

Actually, the problem is that I don't remember being good at math, and even more than that, I’m unsure if this field is the right fit for me.

I've already searched a lot, and I understand that there are far fewer women than men. I’m also aware of the challenges of the job.

Are there any women who chose to study marine engineering abroad?

I would really appreciate it if you could share your experiences and advice!!

English is not my native language, sorry.

i’m worried that i’m getting ghosted lol

I recently was hired into a newly created SME position, really I’m one of only 3 people in the company with any clue about the technical process I am the SME for. I’m also the only materials engineer in the three divisions I interact with which consists of around 250 engineers. (If you are a MatSiEng you get it)

The company is still pretty close to a startup and I am astonished at how they have been getting along for as long as they have with how little they know and how much of what they think they know is straight up fundamentally wrong. It’s to the point where I am starting to question my own sanity/ technical abilities because most of what I say is completely foreign to them and how much of what they think is correct is actually against first principles.
Anyway I have started asking some of the same simple questions, in the same way coworkers ask me, to chat GPT4 after I answer them and the answers align with what I know to be true. This is the only thing keeping me from quitting and running far far away and is even helping with regaining my technical confidence.

I regularly read research papers, go to conferences, and talk to colleagues at other companies, but this seems to work better. Is this confirmation bias, or is this a good idea? Ideas on better methods of staying sane also appreciated.

Hey everyone. I started this new job and it’s a really nice place. I am assigned a really tough project that im doing my best to navigate. The concept is very new and no one knows how to approach it really so im just doing what I can. Another engineer was added to my team to help with ideation. Because he has been working there longer, he is more knowledgeable on the products and has more confidence in general. My PM is pretty stressed regarding the tight timeline so maybe it’s a relief for her with this new addition. But I feel like I am being steamrolled because she ks directing all the questions to him whenever we meet in person regarding next steps and status so naturally he would answer as she is pointedly looking at him. Naturally, I started feeling bad about it and maybe it’s because im timid or not as confident or need some time to think things through she doesn’t defer to me with her questions.

So when he is answering important questions that I as a team lead should be answering but not getting asked, it is very noticeable. Our boss who is present at these meetings have taken note of it and told me I shouldn’t let myself be pushed aside by the engineer. I agree but i cant blame him if the questions are being directed to him by the PM. It happened at today’s meeting but this time, one of the “should we do this in order to..” questions she was asking him, I answered the question at the same time as him and my boss which made her notice me and my boss smile at me (hopefully because he sees me trying?). I don’t know, I just feel pushed aside and it’s extra hurtful coming from a woman. Maybe I should have prepared better for next steps and maybe she is asking him because she needs someone who is more familiar with the company process than someone new. But I know that my boss wants me to take charge and he has made it clear there is no clear cut way to approach this particular project.

As a woman/minority in general, im sure most of you have experienced this. How do you tackle this, learn from it?

Sorry for the grammar, im just ranting on my phone

I interviewed with this company for weeks then didn't hear anything....

For 4 weeks, the recruiter was very enthusiastic towards me and scheduling interviews and following up. For my final interview, the recruiter set a time and asked me if I was available which I was. After the final interview I followed up a few days after as usual.

After a week the recruiter got back to me with sincere apology for the delay and they're going through final interviews. I was given a day I'd hear back by, I followed up a couple of days after that. A few days after (a Monday), the recruiter asked if I was available for a call same day to give context on what was happening and the delay in communication was not a reflection of their interest or my candidacy and I was still a strong suite for the role. I didn't see it until EOD so I gave my availabilities for the following day. I didnt hear back....it's been a week and today I went to look at the posting and it's gone...

I feel like they had other people that they wanted to offer and I was back up....is this even worth it even though I like the team and the role and HR is just not good at communicating? Should I follow-up?

I know that is what is recommended but...

I've never seen a resume myself that used them appropriately and in a way that wasn't niche specific (i.e., not confusing to the reader). I also have never used them before, and it's never been problematic (the last few interviews I have had this year came with offers).

I'm in a conflicting mindset currently. I don't know if I want to go into management because I know I could succeed or it's what I'm supposed to do next, or if it's because others are encouraging me to. I don't know if I'm okay being a worker bee because I like it or because it's comfortable.

Anyway, I spoke to some colleagues, and I decided at the very least I should show interest in an internal job posting. But, I am not sure if I should tailor my resume to be metric driven. Nothing I've done technically has been. Yes. yes, I could probably assign SOME numbers to it, but none would be driven by what I did alone.

Thoughts? Have you used them? Are they necessary at lower levels (below Director/ Sr. Managers)?

Hi, I am a girl interested in pursuing a career in electrical or mechanical engineering, but I’m concerned about misogyny and have heard many terrible stories of harassment women in engineering have experienced.

I tend to be a pretty assertive person and stand up for myself, but I’m worried that this will be perceived as “bitchy” and will limit my career opportunities.

For reference, I am a white and Asian girl in the Bay Area.

Any career advice or details about how to deal with misogyny/disrespect in a way that won’t hurt me career wise?

Do you have a story to share about how a more senior engineer who was a woman inspired you, was brave for you or was an ally?

I’m 11 years into my career and the more junior engineers (even outside the team I manage) now come to me for help and advice. I want to be the best role model I can be, and would love to hear and learn from your stories of the good stuff that actually had an impact. Things that made you feel seen, encouraged, supported and safe.

I also feel like it’s been a tough time of it, it’s a war of attrition at work at the moment, and I really need some encouragement to have the energy to keep doing the good stuff.

Okay so I started my first job after graduation this year and I love my job. But there’s this one guy that pisses me off. He is insufferable to me, for some context, I love baking so I baked some fudgy brownie cheesecake for my colleagues, everyone enjoyed the treat and then the guy we’ll call him Mr Poopy, came in. Like I did to everyone else I offered him a slice, he took two and he was asking me to give him some paper towels, no please, no nothing. I saw that our office paper towel was empty so I got my personal roll from my cubicle. Me poopy fucking broke my paper towel holder, it had a beautiful marble base and the rod was acrylic. The guy then decided to drop the third slice of cheesecake that he picked while I was getting paper towels. Fucking jerk didn’t even apologize until a week later and told me he ment to replace my holder but he forgot. And then I caught him the other day just Willy nilly walking up to my desk and taking a bunch of facial tissues when I wasn’t there. Okay, I’m not adverse to sharing with my colleagues but why would he not even ask permission or go to my desk when I’m not there to take a bunch of my stuff 😑. I know I’m being petty as fuck, but he’s also a cheapo, cause we carpool all the time and he always rides with other people but never offers to drive. Ugh I don’t know how I handle him. He’s in the same role as me but significantly older as he went through schooling later. He’s insufferable, I’m so mad and I want to stop him from stealing my shit and I don’t know how to do it.

Hello! i am currently a year 13 (UK) doing my extended project essay on the lack of women in engineering and the problem this has. i am wondering if any women who are currently studying engineering or is an engineer could kindly fill out this form for my EPQ as primary data, it would be much appreciated. thank you!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd596Luh2zO7v3OUF0TPgoY-Mz3gqSF4PcDnXxwcoHC9mVwXA/viewform?usp=sf_link

I started at my job 4 years ago as an intern. I stayed on during the school year working part time and then full time during the summers. I learned so much along the way and really did my best to catch my knowledge up to those around me in the workplace. It’s an R&D/ test and evaluation job so lots of various projects but all revolves around the end goal of testing.

I recently graduated and am now working at the same place as an engineer. I enjoy the work and the team and plan to be here for a while. Yet recently I can’t help but feel my work and contributions are undervalued.

I am leading major projects with very little guidance and oversight. One of these being a new capability that was a mess when I took over the project and now is coming together and I’ve been able to integrate it with other projects, which should increase customer interest and revenue once completed. I overtook another major test project recently and was leading it as cognizant engineer after only a few days of familiarizing myself with it. Even got a great test on it! Since I was an intern, I’ve also been in charge of a vital support element for our group that we can’t test without.

I could keep going but in short, I feel I’m doing a lot and have some important responsibilities. Then I found out the new guy and I get paid the same and will get the same promotion next year… and that sucked. We’re not doing anything close to the same projects or same level of responsibility yet get reimbursed the same?

I’d like to discuss this with leadership as I honestly feel upset that I’m expected to upkeep this level of work (which I love and don’t want to change) but am not fairly paid for it. Most of my projects were overtaken from superior engineers yet I did them as an intern/new grad. I have far more experience, am repeatedly sought out for subject matter expert advice and am leading projects just months since graduating.

I know I feel wronged in some way though so I don’t want to come at this from the sense of solely comparing my salary to another’s. Is it wrong of me to discuss adjusting pay or compensation taking into account my higher level of responsibilities? My supervisor isn’t the greatest so I do worry I’ll be brushed off or ‘get a name for myself’ as being money grabby. I guess I’m just second guessing myself now on if I truly deserve more than what I’m getting for all the work I do.

Anyone in the medical device industry here? I'm a Sr. Verification Engineer at major medical device (vascular imaging) where I work in the Systems Engineering group (despite my degree being BME). I have 5 YOE.

I'm really struggling with my current company, I'm doing verification testing work that is generally performed by a technician but because of layoffs/budget, there aren't any available. That means since I started here 4 years ago, I've been repeatedly performing the same testing in preparation for formal verification. The project is floundering, formal testing keeps getting pushed off as we don't meet our specs or marketing changes the expectations.

I'm frustrated because I've only ever been exposed to this one area of the project (late phase 2 device design). I was promoted to Senior earlier this year in an attempt to keep me around doing the same testing but I'm not learning anything. I'm worried it's too late for me, if I move to another company I won't be qualified to do the work of a Senior Engineer and actually lead a project. And if I found another role, what could it even be? I'm not really a Systems Engineer, I just work in that department.

Has anyone been in this position before? I feel like my best bet might be to apply for some lower level positions but it of course isn't the best market for those. I don't know if this is imposter syndrome but it feels like I just don't know how to be a real engineer.

Not sure if this is the right place but I just transferred and I think the fact that I have no friends that I can relate to is making me depressed. The girls in my classes I've tried talking to just don't seem interested in being friends and it's worse since I commute. I really shot myself in the foot being a women engineer, transfer student, and a commuter. And yes I've tried out swe but everyone from my school is very clicky which makes it hard for me as someone who doesn't know anyone. I just needed to get this off of my chest :////

As a second year electrical engineering students, which skills sre advisable to pick at this time? And what advice would you give to female engineers in the field

I’m a junior mechanical engineering student at a mid ranked college. I’ve done everything people say to do—I have a high GPA (3.67), am an officer of an active engineering organization, and work in a paid research lab with my own projects during the semesters and full time over the summer. I’ve had my resume looked over so many times and they say it’s great, but for some reason I am not even getting interviews. I tailor my cover letters and resume to each application when applicable. I’ve tried career expos, but everyone there tells me to apply online. I’ve probably applied to over 100 at this point over the last couple months.

Through my student org I recently organized a large tour to a local aerospace company in my city. I talked with the head engineers and site managers often to organize this tour, and they personally emailed me afterwards to congratulate me on how smooth it went. However, when I applied for their internship, I was turned down two days later. I really don’t know what to do at this point. There are many guys in my classes who seem to have such an easy time getting internships even with worse GPAs and no experience. If I was able to get interviews, I would say it’s my personality (though I consider myself pretty extroverted and a decent speaker), but even then I haven’t had any. It’s been discouraging me lately. I enjoy my research lab and the PI recommends grad school for me, for but I really want to go straight into a career. Yet if I can’t even find an internship then how hard will it be to find a job?

Sorry for the long rant, just needed to get it off my chest. Has anyone else experienced something similar? Any advice?

TL;DR: I never want to go back. And my colleagues don't want to either. Although some of us did enjoy the sessions we gravitated toward, it was a fucking mess.

At least half of the people from my company, including me, had only attended once as college students (I'm the youngest and that was over 10 years ago for me). Please keep in mind these notes are my experience only (and some of my colleagues as well).

The Neutral:

• My company did in fact have a hiring goal of like 10 hires coming from WE24 (not AT the conference necessarily but just in general as an output).

The Good:

• The different sessions offered encompassed a lot of different topics and were beneficial based on where you are in your career. It ranged from students to 55+ and all that I attended were informative. It was also nice to meet other women with similar mindsets and discuss our experiences.
• It was extremely inclusive. From the lactation room to prayer/meditation room, childcare, affinity groups, etc., I felt like there was a safe space for everyone.

The Bad (2 categories):

CONFERENCE:

• LINES EVERYWHERE. Lines to get on the shuttles (to and from, lines to get into the rooms, lines for the bathrooms, lines to eat, lines lines lines.
• There was just not enough to do for 15k+ attendees. There weren't enough seats, not enough networking (with each other, not with companies) spaces, not enough seats, not enough sessions, not enough food, the list goes on. So many people were sitting around and walking around and the rooms were packed and yet lines were everywhere still.
  • The most networking I saw personally was on the shuttle bus.
• I was stuck on whether to put this next point under neutral. But, I took it as a bad thing and it might be a hot take...I think the sessions should have been limited on who could attend. There were a lot of mid-career sessions full of students. And it was frustrating (see point below) because they took up a seat + the info they received would be [somewhat] outdated or they would forget by the time they were mid-career.
• A lot of the points here could have been solved by allowing virtual attendance. Especially because I would have loved to see more men listen in on these conversations.

ATTENDEES:

• for the most part, everyone was dressed well. There was a small minority of attendees that totally missed the mark on attire. I saw 1 prom dress, at least 3 sundresses, and about 5 maxi dresses. For whatever reason, they were all off-the-shoulder style lol. Otherwise, it was the same ol' outfits everywhere.
• People were SO RUDE during nearly all the sessions I attended. Like I said previously, there weren't enough seats. So, people would swarm into the sessions. The convention staff would stop letting people in (fire hazard) even if people would leave. There were 3 issues:
  1. People would come in, sit for 10 minutes, and then decide that the session was not for them and leave (or maybe they planned poorly, idk). This sucked because someone that wanted to be there now couldn't.
  2. People would leave right before the Q&A portion.
  3. People would leave during the Q&A portion in large groups (estimated at least a third of the whole session) and start talking while leaving.
• I overheard a lot of conversations. The ones that I remember most were the ones where the sentiment was essentially "These sessions aren't telling me something I don't already know/ I couldn't figure out myself." Yeah, I'm sure the answer seems obvious once it's spelled out for you, sheesh.
• There were a lot of people lacking normal etiquette, presumably wherever they had to go was more important. I'm talking about running into someone instead of just slightly moving out of the way type of behavior (and then failing to even acknowledge they ran into someone and kept walking).

All in all, my company wants us to return. If they weren't paying for it, I wouldn't see it as beneficial to come (as a professional).

The irony is that my colleagues and I were given the autonomy to do whatever we wanted, including recommending hires. But the people there looking for jobs were so focused on talking to the big companies there or recruiters specifically (with lounges) or going to the career fair, that they seemed to have ignored the bulk of the networking opportunities. I tried starting a few conversations and people were just not interested in discussing much with a Product Engineer, with very short answers and looking away. Eventually, I gave up and just focused on enjoying what I could for myself.

Hey girls i just started work and I am somehow facing issues with period related matters in the office💀 cramps and back pain mainly.

How do we survive that? Any tips? Requesting a sick leave is off the table unfortunately.

Hey guys, this is question that has turned more into a ramble, but i currently just feel so discouraged and kinda down after attending both days of the WE 24 career fair. I talked to about 15ish companies looking for an entry manufacturing eng role but I felt like nothing will come of it. I felt like a lot of the companies either didn't have roles for that open right now, they don't have a representative to talk about that with me, didn't seem even slightly interested in my resume, etc. A few companies I had such a good conversation with the representatives, they seemed to understand me and my ambitions and what I bring to the table, and they were going into great depth about different positions, only to tell me at the end to follow a link and look for jobs on my own on their careers website. For one company I talked to I swear the representative was more focused on the fly away hairs on my face rather than what I was saying. Also, just walking by groups of people and hearing the amount of interviews they all got on the first day was also disheartening, that was until someone explained to me that you should upload your resume to the swe website months before SWE 24 to try and get interviews. It just feels like no matter what I do, it's not enough and I'll never be ahead of the game. Like the hard work towards school, volunteering, research projects, and my leadership roles just isn't enough and it's all so easily overlooked. Is it just me or does anyone feel this way? Am I just being a debby downer?

I know that I sound so ungrateful right now but I'm truly not. I had a lot of fun at WE 24 and met some truly amazing women that I connected with. Many companies that I talked to were very genuine and were truly trying to find the right match and I learned so much from them. The keynote speakers and sessions were also amazing and inspirational and I learned a lot of valuable lessons. I genuinely did not just go to WE 24 for the career fair, I have been a member of my university's SWE chapter since freshmen year but have never had the chance to go to the annual WE conferences until I said screw it and paid my own way to go this year. I am truly thankful I have the ability and financial stability to be able to attend, and I plan on trying to attend again in the future. I truly feel empowered and connected with other women engineers, but I just can't help but feel discouraged. Comparison is the thief of joy, but when it seems like years of hard work are just sidelined so easily, I just can't help but feel disappointed in myself for not doing enough.

What happens if you don't complete your rotational program (new college grad role)?

Hi all, looking for advice on deciding between two possible manufacturing engineer jobs that have very different pros and cons. The salaries and benefits are comparable for both, so I’m focusing on the actual role, career progression opportunities, and the manager/team I would be working with. Let me know your opinions or other factors I haven’t considered!

For some background, I am 26F with a bachelors in chemical engineering, working on a masters in industrial and systems engineering. I’m looking for an in-person manufacturing role that focuses on process improvement.

-Company A-

Pros:

• Super flexible working environment
• Small team, friendly people in office
• Shorter commute
• Opportunity to make a bigger impact on the plant
• Opportunity to chart your own career path
• Would work with multiple types of processes and products

Cons:

• Role of process engineer is new to the plant
• Only one other process engineer there who was hired 1 month ago (possible lack of peer review/mentorship)
• Uptight manager with high expectations
• Loosely defined role but still expected to deliver tangible results
• Career growth/progression not clearly defined
• Rapid organizational change imminent
• Manager expressed that I was giving too long/detailed of answers in interview (I was using STAR method)
• several more intangible red flags over a total of 7.5 hours of interviewing

-Company B-

Pros:

• Large team of engineers as peers
• More defined engineering role that already exists at the plant
• More defined career progression through management or technical path
• More mentorship opportunities from senior engineers
• Approachable boss that was easy to talk to
• Direct supervisor manages only engineers and is familiar with their work
• Appears to be a good culture of giving and receiving feedback

Cons:

• Steeper learning curve of processes and industry jargon
• Would be siloed to working on a single type of process within the larger faculty
• Longer commute
• Possibly more anonymous in the herd of many engineers
• Working in a clean room environment ~50% of the time could be inconvenient but not a dealbreaker

Let me know your thoughts on other areas to consider, assuming salary/benefits are somewhat the same as I mentioned before. TIA