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• Tuesday, May 13, 2008 12:04 PM

  isolation, definitely

  I've been working as an electrical engineer for 20 year now. And I'd say isolation is my biggest problem. Condescending behavior would be the second biggest problem. Abject boredom is the third biggest (could be from isolation tho)

  I'm the only woman on my team. I work with great guys, we get along fine. But I'm still isolated. they don't eat lunch with me. they go running together. they don't consider me if they're all going to do something social. It probably has something to do with the wives, that's my guess, from the feeling I get at company parties when the spouses come. I'm single, usually with a different date at these events, I'm kind of cute, and it takes an effort on my part to prove to the wives that I'm not after their husbands. (pu-leez, thanks, but no).

  The team I work with, and have been for 7 years now, have become like brothers to me... they watch out for me in certain circumstances, i.e. if I have car trouble I let them give me advice.

  Every now and then I get condescending behavior in the office, but I generally fend it off w/ a sarcastic or funny remark, calling them out on it right away. I do know a lot of women who just take it. Tho, I must say, I think it's common for men to underestimate my intelligence, I've just grown used to it (IQ 145) & so I tend to not speak up in that regard enough.

  And finally, boredom. beige cubicles, facing this computer all day, doing the same style of work for years. holy toledo. I don't know how these guys stay into this work. Tho, I supposed if I asked they'd say the same thing I would: "the nice paycheck".

  I'm more well rounded than this career allows me to be. Perhaps this is why women fall out of it so quickly. I find, in my aquaintance, that the women have far more interests and hobbies than the men do. That could just be my circle. For instance, I don't read PC Week when I go home, I do a million other things outside of the office and none of them have anything to do with electrical engineering. I think some of my male coworkers don't have that boundary and live and breathe this stuff.

  Also, I don't think most of my male coworkers have to worry as much about laundry, cooking, shopping, and the lil details of life. I believe this stuff just gets done for them while they're here. I could be wrong, but I don't think so. Even tho I have no kids and am not married I find a lot of my spare time taken up with housework, I can't imagine how the married mom electrical engineers do it.

  the reason I haven't left this career is that I have to support myself, and I get paid bank for this work... that let's me read salon.com during the day.

  my 2 cents

  —sacajawea Read sacajawea's other letters
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