As part of International Women in Engineering Day 2022 we have spoken to some of our talented and inspiring female members about their motivations, their careers and their advice on becoming an engineer. In this Q&A we speak to Steff Bullock, Engineer, Infrastructure Midlands at Arup.
I would like to be able to say that “I always knew” what it was I wanted to do. But for me, as I am sure is the case for many, that isn’t quite the story. When I was younger there were a whole host of things that I wanted to be “when I grew up”. Many of those potential career ideas were fleeting. If I’m completely honest, it wasn’t until my mid to late teen years that engineering made it onto this long and ever evolving list. It was, however, the career that became my aspiration, and I’m glad it did!
I was always curious about the world around me, including wanting to know how, or why, things worked the way that they do. My Dad is particularly gifted, in my eyes at least, with seeming to be able to quickly understand how things work, or fit together, and be able to fix them when they’re broken. I was envious of this ability. He helped me indulge my curiosity by teaching me simple, practical, skills and principles.
I also loved maths at school, so I knew I wanted to apply this, in some way, in whatever career I chose. I think my enjoyment of maths was because there were processes to follow, often with more than one route available to reach a given answer – after all, we don’t all think the same way. Throughout my school career, my maths teachers supported me to push the boundaries of my personal expectations and challenge my abilities. This helped to further my love of the subject and problem solving more broadly. I will be forever grateful to them for this.
Finally, but equally as importantly, I wanted to have a positive impact on people wherever possible. I believe this desire was largely influenced by my Mum, who has always had an affinity and natural ability to help and support people.
I was extremely fortunate to have unwavering support from family, friends and teachers. They helped me believe that, so long as I worked hard, the possibilities would mostly only be limited by my own self-belief.
To cut to the chase, it was this combination of interests and support that guided me down the path of researching engineering apprenticeships. At the time, this included an array of engineering disciplines – I don’t think I realised quite how many different types of engineers there were! This research was where I found civil engineering.
Back then I didn’t really know of anybody who worked in civil engineering, so I didn’t know much about it. The more I researched the industry, the more my intrigue of how the built environment fits together grew. It was on this basis that I applied for civil engineering apprenticeships. Since then, I have had the opportunity to work on a lot of interesting transport and site development projects both in the UK and internationally.
People say that “every day is a school day” and in engineering it really is. In my experience, no two projects are exactly the same, and no two sites have identical history and landscape. This means that whilst you’re applying the same, or similar, principles and techniques, the solution to the problem is never identical. This makes working as an engineer continuously engaging.
I often work on large scale transport projects and typically undertake a lot of highway or airfield geometric design. Whilst geometry has its own requirements, it is also the element of infrastructure design that pulls the various design disciplines together. I often describe this as being like a real-world 3D version of puzzle games like Tetris. Except, unlike these puzzle games, my work also requires the use of proven methods and rules to help define how all the unique shapes, sizes, and requirements, of the various construction elements, interact with one another. This provides me with endless “problems” to get stuck into and solve in collaboration with my colleagues who specialise in other disciplines.
Whilst it is important to understand the history and application of engineering principles, engineering solutions are not just about the maths or the science. It is about using your knowledge and experience to create the best solution for both the project and end-user. Often you could give numerous people the same engineering problem, and the same requirements, and you would likely receive many different solutions in return. This is where different people’s experiences and knowledge really shine. I thoroughly enjoy the collaborative approach required to provide the best possible solution for both the project and end-user.
People each have their own unique story which is made up of lots of little (and not so little) moments. My belief is that these moments, our experiences, and the influence of those around us, shape both us and our perspective. Whether we realise it at the time or not (and I sat on the side of “or not” for a while) our experiences are often influenced by inherent personal attributes, including gender. After all, for a whole host of reasons, people often have differing needs.
I’ve always thought that the way that we can describe, or relate to, these varying needs could be somewhat equated to the principles of health and safety, which is an area we all consider in our day-to-day work. An underpinning concept of some health and safety processes is considered to be that those responsible for the introduction of risks are often best placed to remove or mitigate them. The same principles apply with the need to have diverse teams in engineering. If you don’t have a team that has a diverse perspective, then you’re less likely to cater for the wide-ranging needs of all people.
In addition, diversity, including gender equality, is important because we all think differently as a result of our experiences. Having a broader range of knowledge and experience to draw upon, and utilise, in the development of new systems, products and infrastructure helps to provide greater accessibility for a wider cross-section of the community, which can surely only be a positive thing.
I think the key things we can do to support those who are interested in engineering subjects is offer them support, knowledge and awareness of what’s out there. I wasn’t fully aware of what different career prospects might entail until quite late on in my teen years. I also didn’t know what all the different routes into various industries/career paths entailed. This not only related to engineering, but also included other STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) related careers that I may have considered. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in this.
One way that I believe we could encourage more people to consider engineering careers would be to organise and partake in more STEM activities for students of all ages. From my experience, STEM events are often targeted at older secondary school and college students. By this point in a school career some have an idea of what they would like to do already. Others may have concerns about certain career paths because of the myths surrounding those roles historically considered to be almost solely filled by a specific demographic. I’m aware that this sometimes results in an underlying concern that people might feel alone or “the odd one out” coming into certain careers from some walks of life.
Whilst we seem to be in a transition stage where we are seeing a more diverse workforce in engineering roles, and very much benefitting from it, it’s still hard to provide the confidence that industries are evolving in many ways. This is something that we talk about a lot in engineering and construction forums, but maybe we don’t talk about it enough more broadly. A key point we might need to think about is that once people have doubts it often becomes much harder to provide them with the confidence that they “can do”.
Parents, guardians, teachers and other role models also often play quite a significant role in the potential career choices that future generations, or anyone looking to make a career change, may consider. It may be beneficial to provide opportunities for these role models to learn about potential careers, and routes into them, to enable them to offer further, or more informed, support. People will often try their best to offer this support, but there are so many possibilities out there, each with ever evolving routes, that it would be difficult for anybody to keep up.
Overall, I’m not entirely sure that there is a “one size fits all” solution to answer this question as everybody is different, but it would be interesting to see how these statistics might change in the coming years.
Professional qualifications are a great way to demonstrate knowledge and skill within the industry at a specific level. They help to demonstrate to both yourself, and others, that you have gained the experience required to fulfil the role and are often supported by the underpinning knowledge provided by academic qualifications.
I attained IEng through the, often less well known, “Individual” or “Technical Report” Route. This means that I was able demonstrate equivalent knowledge to the required academic qualification by writing, and being reviewed on, a technical report which was based on my experience. On successful completion of this, I applied for IEng through the Standard Route. Having alternative routes, such as this, makes professional qualifications more attainable for those who did not come through the more “traditional” academic route (typically considered to be attainment of a university degree).
Professional qualifications also provide access to a wealth of knowledge and training opportunities. This includes CPD opportunities, and the ability to discuss industry related issues with the wider engineering community. They also help to open the doors towards further career progression which may support people in having additional opportunities to not only influence their projects, but the industry more broadly.
“You’ll never know unless you try” – a sentiment I heard a lot when I was researching and applying for apprenticeships. This was particularly true when I had doubts about whether I would be good enough to succeed in my engineering studies and in the industry more generally.
If engineering is something that you think that you might want to do, then I’d advise taking some time to research the areas you are interested in and how you might get there. There are a whole host of routes into engineering, including, but not limited to, working on the tools, apprenticeships and university. Each route has its own benefits. Some may cater better to the needs of different learning and development styles, whilst others may appear more streamlined. It is important to know that many of the routes can be intertwined or cross-over, so just because one option may not seem immediately accessible, there may be alternative routes to the same goal. Try not to view the route you take as a potential constraint on your future development. Instead, use the benefits that your route provides, and the experiences that came with it, as the stepping-stone for your next challenge.
Engineering is also quite broad, and not solely about the technical elements traditionally associated to it, so take your time to figure out what’s out there and the different roles that people play in engineering projects. Make the most of opportunities to talk to people in engineering about what they do and how they find it. Careers events are often a good opportunity to do this – try not to be afraid to ask questions at them, we’ve all been there!
I think that it is important to note that not everybody’s career path will be a straight line, particularly in terms of academic and professional development. I include myself in this and I’m sure I’m not alone. For me, there were alternative routes to be sought out, and side-steps onto those new paths. Each of those events provided an experience to learn from. The most important thing was to get up, dust myself off, and keep going. Try not to let any side-steps dictate your long-term goals. There are many routes to get to where you are supposed to go. It is, in simplistic terms, a case of finding the route that suits you best.
Steff Bullock, Engineer, Infrastructure Midlands at Arup
CIHT Statement
The opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the CIHT or its members. Neither the CIHT nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.
