Women in Science: How Kathryn Found a Career in Engineering

As a field that has traditionally been male-dominated, science is now progressing into a more balanced field. One young female Australian scientist, Kathryn, was always interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. She grew up in the sugarcane farming area in Brandon, Queensland and was always fascinated by engineering.   

She knew she wanted to study engineering at university, but the variety of knowledge involved was extremely wide. In Australia, the freshman year of an engineering degree typically involves classes that cover fairly broad topics. The second-year is more tailored towards students’ favored topics. “In high school, I really liked my Physics teacher,” Kathryn recalls, “He encouraged us to enjoy our work.” 

Kathryn’s Time at University

Kathryn chose to study at the University of Queensland in Brisbane in the early 2000s. Throughout her time at university, Kathryn estimates that the majority of her classes were split 50/50 between men and women.  

A challenging period of study

The engineering degree was extremely challenging for Kathryn. She was required to study difficult subjects intensively for long hours. She notes, “It’s a tough degree, and it can be a bit of a man’s world,” but that didn’t stop her. She was determined to be successful in her degree, and she knew she would have to work even harder than her male peers to make her name known.

Kathryn’s career took off after she graduated from university. “I just happened to email the local sugar mill and tell them I’ll be graduating soon. I told them if there are jobs available, I’ll be interested.” Kathryn landed a job there and stayed at the sugar mill for over a year. 

She then moved to Nhulunbuy in Northern Territory to work at an aluminum refinery. She did fly-in/fly-out work, in Moranbah, Queensland, later working at another sugar mill in Arriga, Queensland. As most young professionals do, Kathryn decided to take a break from her career to travel the world before returning to a blossoming career. 

 Words of encouragement for girls interested in engineering 

Kathryn believes that her degree was worth the hard work and dedication. “You get rewarded for it money-wise when you graduate,” Kathryn says, “Although you may not use every single thing you learn, I feel the degree teaches you how to learn and problem solve.”

She further comments that engineering can be stressful, and when you work on a project, it can be difficult to see the big picture until you’re at the end. When you finally reach the end of a project, you’ll look back and see that you’ve achieved so much. Kathryn says that part of her job is extremely satisfying, and she strongly encourages any other young women to pursue their dreams of getting into science in any form, whether that’s engineering, physics, geology, or microbiology.

Kathryn’s position today

Kathryn completed her last engineering job this February. She continued to search for other work opportunities; however, the outbreak of COVID-19 was a huge hindrance to her search for a placement. She considered the skill set she already had and decided she wanted to share it with younger people. After a few months, Kathryn chose to start studying her Master’s degree in Education at the University of Southern Queensland. 

She now plans to teach children about STEM and inspire others to pursue a career in engineering. Kathryn’s career has given her many fascinating and exciting opportunities, and she has found it to be very fulfilling so far. Kathryn now wants to teach maths and science, and she hopes that her love for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics will inspire others to follow in her footsteps and help her future students think about science and scientific careers in a whole new light.