I’ve got pretty mixed feelings about this one. I want to discuss my experience as a woman in engineering.
My PhD sat on the border of engineering and maths. I spent a lot of my PhD trying to justify my place in both the fields. One thing is for sure though, I always felt more comfortable as a woman in maths than I did in engineering. Maybe I was just unlucky with the events I went to but every engineering conference/ training event I went to I felt more out of place for being a woman than a mathematician.
I was called “the girl” by an academic who was meant to be teaching me (FYI I had a name badge on and was the only mathematician, perhaps “the mathematician” could have been a unique identifier too). I also experienced a lot more micro harassment at engineering events. A lot more unnecessary touching, lingering gazes, unwanted comments. I’ve been watching a woman give a talk and had colleagues next me make inappropriate comments about their appearance. During networking I’ve been asked about what it’s like to be a woman in engineering when everyone else in a group was asked about their research.
I built some 3D diagrams to illustrate the ray spacing from a source.
I currently work in an engineering maths department and they are fantastic. I haven’t experienced any of my toxic engineering history in this group in fact the inclusion has been better than anything I’ve seen anywhere. Maybe the presence of maths is all it takes to make people behave?
Wifi Propagation pathways as part of my PhD research
What I struggle with is how to inspire future women in engineering. We need more representation but I struggle with the idea of encouraging someone torn between maths and engineering to go into engineering because I don’t want them to experience what I had to.
How do I promote the field to the next generation when my experience is so tainted? Currently my only solution is to send them to my current department, but they will need to attended conferences and events.
Maths is where my heart lies and whilst I love it’s applications I’m just as happy in maths biology as in maths for engineering so maybe I won’t have this problem forever.
Update since original post: As I reflect on this more I’ve realised that I feel safer walking home along late at night than I felt at those conferences. That really doesn’t sit well with me. Time and again I’ve been told by men I should be careful walking home but no body tells me not to go to work. I desperately want to encourage women in engineering. No one shouldn’t follow the career they want because of their gender. But at the same time I can’t pretend that I’ve had a great time in it.
PhDs have this horrible ending process where you’re never quite done.
Funding, it ends. If you’re funded then this is probably going to be the first thing that ends (at least for me it was). At this point you start looking for work but you can’t tell them you have your PhD yet. I had put together enough savings to get myself by whilst the research council covered fees but I was pretty stressed about my finances. When you are trying to use all your capacity to get your thesis done it doesn’t help to have added financial anxiety looming behind you. Alongside teaching, marking, and private tutoring this kept me financially afloat, I’m also really privileged to have a family that I know will support me if I fall flat on my face. The housing situation you’re in at this point can make a big difference. If you’ve been signing fixed term yearly housing contracts like most student house shares then you probably won’t be able to sign another one. This can get pretty stressful for a lot of people. This is part of the reason I’ve always been so fond of my lodging arrangement, I know I’ll have the flexibility to leave at 1 months notice if I find myself completely out of pocket. A lot of people move in with family at this point or rely on the income of a partner but this isn’t an option for everyone. I’d love to see some more flexible financial options available to PhD students to allow them to get through this period. Perhaps housing facilities or more part-time arrangements. There are also hardship funds from most universities if you completely run out, unfortunately you can’t plan to use these, you have to wait until you absolutely need it then apply. I’d love to see universities set up more grants alongside these hardship funds so that students can apply to them in advance of going broke as a financial planning measure.
The funding end date shouldn’t be a reason to not do a PhD, yes it’s stressful but there are plenty of ways to make it easier, it does require a bit of planning in the final stages of funding though. It’s also worth noting that funding outside the UK often works very differently, in a lot of countries you are employed until you finish so you can keep researching until you are done.
Submission, it feels like you’re done. Once your PhD is submitted you get to enjoy some nice limbo time. Whilst waiting for a viva there’s only so much prep you can do. This is a good time to do job hunting but the downside is you can’t offer your perspective employers any dates for when you will have achieved your formal PhD. You will probably need time off, my brain and body were exhausted by the time I submitted my PhD. I spent a lot of time swimming, running, camping and cycling after submitted (whatever I could do outside and away from the screen). I wish it had been possible for me to take a full month off and perhaps even go travelling. Pandemic and fiances saw to it that my adventures were kept pretty minimal though.
The main caveat to needing a rest at this time is job and income security. I found this pretty tough, I knew I needed a break but I didn’t feel like I could afford to take one because I didn’t have any certainty around my finances. I ended up starting my current job less than a week after submitting. I definitely think I would have benefited from a longer break and perhaps my work would too, but I couldn’t afford to say no to the work and they needed someone to start ASAP. It was the submission point where most of my friends and family congratulated me and said well done. This felt kind of odd though because no one had even read the thesis yet!
Soft bounded printed copy of my thesis. Over 400 pages it’s a big piece of work.
The moment I submitted. Being talked through the whole thing by Ben because I was too exhausted to think properly.
Viva, it might not be as awful as you think. The viva felt like the most major end point for me. It was at this point that not only did I think I was done but someone else did too (almost). I’d had some negative experiences early on in my PhD and this lead some pretty intense anxiety around doing my viva. Over the last four years it’s been an almost certainty in my head than when my viva happened it would feature panic attacks. I was petrified going into my viva but my examiners were amazing and I actually enjoyed discussing my work (not a single panic attack!). It was an exhausting 5.5 hours but as my examiner put it “you started it” because my thesis was extremely long. I got given substantial minor corrections, what this actually means for a thesis varies a lot for different people.
For me it was mostly typographical errors and rewording for clearer arguments, there are a few additional diagrams and explanations to add to. The key part for me is that the examiners found no issue with the mathematical arguments I made, or the conclusions of the thesis. This means that I have a pretty clear idea of what I need to do and how to do it, I just have to go through the motions to get it done. In my head because the research is done it feels like I’ve completed my PhD now but I still can’t actually say I’ve got it. At least I have a clearer date to give at interviews of when I will officially become Dr Wragg.
Set up pre-viva
Waiting for it all to begin
Corrections, this must be the end right? Once you’ve handed in corrections and perhaps re-viva’d you’ve done everything you need to in order to get your PhD. At this point you want to tell everyone you’re a doctor. But you can’t, not yet…
Board of studies, you won’t even be there. So, the big moment, when the awarding of your PhD gets approved is done by the board of studies. This is pretty tricky to get your head round, this is a big important moment when everything becomes official, but you aren’t even there! At this point you can officially put “Dr” on everything and demand that all your friends refer to you as “Dr Maths”.
Graduation, finally. So this is the last step, you’re already a Dr at this point but now you get to put the delightful hood on and get all the photos to prove that you actually did it!
I still have the last three left to do. But I can’t believe how far I have come since April. The load that lifted once I had a final thesis copy and the release from imposter syndrome after my viva has been incredible. I feel like an actual mathematician again! The job hunt is tiring, especially because I’m trying to move into a different field of maths, but I’ve just got to keep going until I get something!
Traveling to exciting places for work can be great. But how can we do this in an environmental way?
Tip 1:
Flight – Is it necessary? Can you get a train?
I tried to do some research on eco-friendly flying options and currently there really isn’t a good way to fly. So avoid it if you can consider train options if possible.
Can you offset your flight? Some airlines will let you donate the airmiles you’ve earned with them to offsetting the emissions, this won’t fully offset the environmental impact. You can often pay to offset the emissions, this will help the environment but is far from a fix.
Some flight comparison sites will tell you which option is the most environmentally friendly. This could be due to a full plane, newer plane or less stops (a large proportion of the fuel used in a flight is used in take off and landing, less stops less fuel – bare in mind that if your direct flight is empty then your CO2 contribution could be significantly higher though).
If you are driving is anyone else from nearby also going? Can you car share?
Two conferences close together? Perhaps you can work away for the gap and avoid two lots of flights.
Is there someone in the area you were planning to collaborate with? Try to fit this in to the same trip.
Unfortunately the environmental impact of flying is the hardest part to prevent but also the one with the biggest environmental impact. A lot of research has been done to reduce the emissions from aviation. Sadly these small changes are not enough, we need to dramatically improve ground travel, and some big breakthroughs in aeronautical engineering to be able to travel environmentally.
Tip 2:
Travel light – Better for the plane and it makes your life easier when you’re wondering a new city. Take just hand luggage and you can speed through the airport too.
Less luggage -> lighter plane -> less fuel. It’s a small impact but it’s something!
Tip 3:
This one should be easy but for some reason it seems to be the one we all fail to do.
Reusables – Coffee cup, spork, lunch box.
It’d be great if conference organisers took more note of this one. Think of the volume of single use waste from a week’s conference of single use plates and coffee cups! Help to reduce this by bringing your own. I have a foldable lunch box I carry in my backpack to prevent the plate, and I’m never without my coffee cup and water bottle.
My SAMBa coffee cup also makes a great promo focus for my centre for doctoral training too.
Tip 4:
Toiletries – Solid bars of soap and shampoo make airport security easier and reduce the plastic waste.
Most hotels will pass on the tiny toiletries they give you if you leave them unopened. If you open the bottles take them home with you, otherwise that half a bottle hits the bin.
Tip 5:
Walk the city if you can.
If you can’t walk use local transport. If you must get a taxi speak to the conference organiser about other delegates arriving at the same time.
You can see an exciting city and get some exercise in.
It’s no secret that number of men in engineering out weighs the number of women. As a mathematician I’m in one of the fortunate STEM groups with a more even ratio. However in my recent research I’ve been working alongside electrical engineers.
In my engineering lab experience I was the only female in the lab, and during my industry visits I could not see another female in the office from my desk, (It’s open plan so there may be some behind a dividing wall; I can see about 30 desks).
These experiences made me more aware of the need to encourage females into the profession. Entering this environment is not always easy, I often feel under pressure to prove myself (exaggerated by my discipline being in mathematics and the majority of my colleagues being engineers). However the majority of the time I feel included and respected as any other colleague would.
My supervisors and colleagues as a whole value my opinion and I’ve experienced very few problems with them directly.
So I want to take this chance to encourage all the girls out there with an interest in engineering to give it at go. If they can take me and my mathematics seriously then they can take you seriously too.
Monday morning (after some surprisingly good coffee!) the industry partners introduced the problems. There were 5 problems in total. Monday afternoon participants chose their groups and got started on the problems. Work continued until Friday broken up by a guest lecture and study group dinner. Matthew and Susan were both working on a problem modelling vehicle collisions and I was looking at wave propagation through materials.
The guest lecture featured Jacqueline Christmas, who gifted us with an insight into her work modelling ocean waves.
The week finished with a presentation from each group on the work they had completed on the problem (Hayley, Matthew, and Susan all presented).
The work didn’t stop after the event though since reports were submitted to the partners within 3 weeks of the event finishing.
Hayley Wragg, Matthew Griffith, and Susan Kgmotso Morupisi at the end of ESGI128
But one Industry study group wasn’t enough for the Budd Brigade and in August 2017 a new group of Buddlings formed ( Hayley Wragg/Me , and Kate Powers). They travelled further west to Montreal in order to test their French (and maths).
With a similar structure to the ESGI, the week begin with problem introductions from the industrial partners on Monday morning. This time there were 9 problems in total. Monday afternoon work began. Kate was looking at friction stir welding; I was looking at registration of hyperspectral images of the retina ; and Chris was looking at data assimilation on hydroelectric power.
Wednesday evening gave visiting participants the chance to visit Old Montreal where we were blessed with views of some of the amazing architecture as well as a walk along the waterfront. Work on the problems kept going until Friday.
All 9 problems were presented to the rest of the participants on the Friday (Hayley and Chris presented). Before the Budd Brigade returned to the UK.
Chris Budd, Hayley Wragg and Kate Powers after the 8th Montreal Industrial Problem Solving Workshop
The working structure of both study groups was intense but exciting. Discussions with professors, academics and students all working together to, categorise the problem,
work out the maths, and get results at the end of the week. The problems covered many areas of maths, including (but not limited to): fluid dynamics, statistics, probability, computational modelling, and numerical analysis.
I would thoroughly recommend the weeks to all applied mathematicians. Prepare to have a great time whilst getting lots of maths done.
Anyone feeling inspired to attend a study group in the future can check Maths in Industry for future events.
To read more on SAMBa (Statistical Applied Mathematics at Bath) adventures visit the SAMBa website or read the SAMBa blog.
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