Careers for women in science and tech
Women engineers and organizations
such as the Asia Pacific
Economic Cooperation
and the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers want women
choosing a course of study and potential
career path to consider scientific
fields — like engineering.
There’s more to this line of work
than meets the eye. Here are some
of the many reasons female students
should think about pursuing
a career in engineering:
Design and innovate
“Engineering jobs are involved
with the invention, design and
manufacture of products and systems,”
says Dr. Irena Atov, chair of
Institute’s Women in Engineering
and technical manager at Telstra,
a network architecture reliability
group. Essentially, engineers apply
the principles of science and mathematics
to develop economical solutions
to technical problems. “Everything
you use, everywhere you
go in the man-made environment
has its basis in engineering.”
Play with technology
Technology isn’t just for catching
up on social networking or trading
e-mails. At the crux of engineering
are technologies used to design,
produce, test, and simulate how a
machine, structure, or system operates.
You can actually “play” with
the concepts that you are developing
before they are put to market.
Science can liberate
There’s something empowering
about a career in a field that has
such widespread touch, impact and
relatability.
“Engineering is such an interesting
field in that every day when
you go to work you can create things
you never thought possible — a true
way to follow your dreams,” says
Atov.
Additionally, the talent pool provided
by female engineers is growing
and women can bring a new perspective
to the field and its social
force.
Hands-on work in
different specialites
For those who love to get inside
a problem and work toward a solution,
engineering has multiple
fields of interest to pursue. Engineering
pervades so many subsets
that there are dozens of specialized
concentrations within this field of
study. In fact, according to the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, there
are 17 engineering specialties recognized
by the Federal Government’s
Standard Occupational Classification
system. These include:
agricultural engineers, biomedical
COURIER L 30 IFE, SEPT. 27-OCT. 3, 2019
engineers, civil engineers, computer
engineers, environmental
engineers, and nuclear engineers,
among others. Individuals interested
in a specific area of study can
likely find an engineering specialty
that works in conjunction with that
field.
Engineering can be
lucrative
Thanks to the widespread demand
for engineers in all facets of
the economy, engineering can be a
stable and intellectually stimulating
career. In a time of economic
uncertainty, it can be a smart move
to choose a career path that ensures
long-term employment, like engineering.
Although salaries vary according
to country and area of specialty,
it’s not uncommon to earn a
starting salary of $80,000 and upward
per year, which, according
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
is “among the highest of all college
graduates.”
Travel opportunities
abound
A truly global career path, engineering
jobs exist all over the
world.
“Engineering offers international
portability — enabling you to
work in different countries,” says
Atov. Domestic companies may
place employees to work in foreign
subsidiaries, or global companies
may be looking for a larger pool of
applicants.
“Especially in the field of academia,
engineers don’t just pursue
careers in their home state,
or even country. University jobs
are now advertised worldwide and
it is quite the norm, to have applicants
from every continent — thus
ensuring that the best candidates
in the world are chosen,” she says.
“Women should know, now more
than ever, that engineering is a career
that brings together passion,
creativity and intelligence to a job
where you can help people.”
Engineering careers generally
require a four-year degree from an
accredited university. Internships
can help students further clarify
the intricacies of a career in engineering,
especially one in a certain
specialization.
Regardless of age or level of education,
if your dream is to join the
ranks of other successful women
engineers — such as Dr. Radia Perlman,
known as the Mother of the
Internet, and Nancy J. Currie, a
NASA astronaut, engineer and officer
in the U.S. Armed Forces — visit
www.TryEngineering.org or www.
ieee.org/women to take action and
get your career started down the
right path.
EDUCATION
Women interested in science should consider a career in engineering.
How to quickly pay down college debt
Student loan debt is a big concern
for today’s newly minted college
graduates. According to an analysis
of government data by Edvisors.
com, a website that provides fi nancial
information about college to students
and parents, the average student in the
class of 2015 will graduate with more
than $35,000 in student debt. That fi gure
is roughly $2,000 more than the class
of 2014 graduates faced upon receiving
their degrees.
With such substantial debts, it’s no
wonder many college graduates fi nd
themselves looking for ways to pay down
that debt as quickly as possible once
they leave campus life behind. Paying
down college debt may seem daunting at
fi rst, but the following are some ways for
recent grads to get out from under that
debt sooner rather than later:
Pay more than you owe
The best way to reduce the principal
on student loans quickly is to pay more
than you owe each month. Once the repayment
grace period ends, grads will
see what their monthly student loan payment
is. Paying more than that amount
each month can drastically reduce your
repayment period, and you will pay considerably
less in interest over the life of
the loan.
For example, a graduate who owes
$25,000 and pays six percent interest
annually for 10 years will pay roughly
$278 per month to eliminate that loan
in exactly 120 months. Over those 120
months, grads will have paid more than
$8,300 in interest in addition to their
$25,000 principal. However, grads who
pay an additional $50 per month will
pay their loans off nearly two years earlier
and pay nearly $2,000 less in interest
over the life of the repayment.
Arrange for automatic
deposits into a repayment
fund
One of the more diffi cult parts of repaying
student loans for recent grads is
setting aside enough money to pay them
off. Upon landing their fi rst professional
jobs, new grads are often making more
money than they’ve ever earned in the
past, and many have no idea how to
manage their newfound fi nancial windfalls.
In addition to making your monthly
payments via your everyday checking
account, arrange for automatic deposits
into a savings account you will exclusively
use to repay your student loans so
you are not tempted to spend that money
on more frivolous pursuits. You won’t
miss the money if you never get used to
having it, and you will celebrate the day
the balance in your student loan savings
account matches the payoff amount on
your student loan balance.
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