Jennifer Colins, Software Test Engineer

In celebration of International Day of Women and Girls in Science day on Feb 11 2018, we asked Jennifer Collins, Software Test Engineer at Mecmesin about her career choice:

"A desire to understand how things work, a willingness to problem solve and an independent minded personality enabled me to achieve a career which encompassed Computer/Network Support and Software Testing.  

A Bachelor’s degree in an arts-related field, a career started in a traditionally defined gender role, even motherhood (twice!) has not placed insurmountable barriers to my moving into, and working in, Technology and Engineering departments where I have often started out as the only woman on the team.   

However finding my final chosen career would have been easier with greater opportunities and encouragement when choosing my educational path.  As a mother of young girls I encourage my daughters to challenge positively, question, problem solve and be independently minded however it is they themselves who have to challenge the stereotypes perpetuated by their own peer groups so that they can choose an educational path and a career which is one they find personally fulfilling."

Find out more about careers at Mecmesin.

Emily Swinburne, Mechanical Design Engineer

In celebration of International Day of Women and Girls in Science day on Feb 11 2018, we asked Emily Swinburne, Mechanical Design Engineer at Mecmesin about her career choice:

"As someone who has always been very good with numerical based subjects, a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) career was a logical choice. Engineering became a focus quite early on in my life after I found myself wondering how things work far more often than why. I was fortunate enough to have a family that actively encouraged my inquisitiveness, a primary school that sought to engage me intellectually far beyond the standard curriculum and, a very forward thinking all girls high school that placed a heavy emphasis on STEM subjects. The latter was greatly helped by its specialist status in engineering.

I recognise that despite my fortunate early experiences, the gender bias is still prominent in STEM fields. I studied on a vastly male dominated degree course and currently work in a male dominated department. However, the gap is closing and, more importantly, the attitude towards women in these fields is changing too.

At Mecmesin, I have been given the opportunity to work on a large number of projects in a very short span of time. The variety presented ensures no two days are the same and the company's use of both traditional machined solutions as well as 3D printed ones opens up design approaches that I would have never considered during my time at university."