Not just a man’s profession Four women engineers share perspectives about their field

By Andrew Weeks

Amy Schaaf and Carrie Fraser, both project engineers at Moore Engineering, are working on a project together. They don’t work in the same office. Fraser is in Minot, Schaaf in Bismarck. Both come from different backgrounds and experiences, but each decided upon a career path that landed them at the same company.

Both knew when they chose engineering that they were entering a male-dominated field – though it is not as male-dominated as it once was, they said.

Today’s engineering landscape wouldn’t have some of its success without the help and contributions of ambitious and skilled women such as Schaaf, Fraser, Jessica LoBello with Sandman Structural Engineers, and Erin Steever with Bartlett & West, each who answered questions about their experiences and views of working in the engineering field.

Amy Schaaf - Bismarck, N.D. Moore Engineering

Q: What got you interested in pursuing a career in engineering?

My dad was an engineer. He worked at a refinery in Mandan and I was always really interested in what he did out there. I ended up taking a slightly different path; he was a chemical engineer, not a civil engineer, but the same concept essentially. I was just always really interested in math and science and I was really good at it in school and the older I got, the more I wanted to pursue something in that field.

Q: Where did you receive your training?

I went to NDSU. I got a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and Bachelor of Science in Music. … I play in the community bands around here and I play in the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony. There’s like a little chamber orchestra in town called the Missouri Valley Chamber Orchestra that I play in. It’s a fun little side gig.

Q: What are some of the challenges of being a woman in the engineering field?

Most of the firms have a sort of boys club thing going on. And there’s just kind of this mentality that the boys can always do it better. The girls are just there to do paperwork and whatever else, but they’re not there to do the actual engineering. Luckily, like at Moore, there’s not much of that going on. We’re actually really lucky in that we do have women in some management positions, which is really nice to see.

Q: What’s the best thing about being a woman in the field?

I guess the advantages to it is that when you do get to a firm where there are a certain number of women, you form this really close bond with them and it’s really awesome to get to work with them on projects and just be around other strong women who know what they’re doing and get to learn from them and work with them every day.

Q: Are there very many women that you work with?

Yeah, I would say Moore probably is one of the firm’s that has the highest number of women.

Q: Is this a new trend, do you think?

I would say it’s kind of trending that way. Now. It definitely hasn’t always, historically, been the case.

Q: What advice would you give to another female considering going into engineering?

I would tell them to just go for it. Just follow their dreams. Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do it just because of your gender, because that argument is stupid. I also would encourage them to go out and find a mentor, whether it be a male or a female that’s in that field who can help guide them down that path.

Carrie Fraser – Minot, N.D. Moore Engineering

Q: What got you interested in pursuing a career in engineering?

I was in high school and my best friend’s dad was an engineer, and her cousin was an engineer, and I spent a lot of time with her. My brother was going to school for engineering at the time. But other than that, we didn’t have any engineers in our family, but we both got into the same college at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, where her cousin had lived and worked. He showed us around and he always talked about his job and how much he liked it. I was interested, and so I signed up for the classes, really liked them, and so I stuck with it.

Q: What are some challenges being a female in the engineering field?

In most places, it’s work-life balance. I have kids. And that is what I found to be a huge challenge. Before kids, it was just the respect. Some places, especially when you work out in the field, contractors don’t look at you and see someone with tons of knowledge. And that can also be because you’re a young woman. Respect was a huge challenge. I got told a lot in my early career that I should just go get married, have kids and stop working. Engineering is not for women. There’s a lot of people with those comments. And then I had kids and a lot of people were like, Oh, well, now it’s your time to stop working. continued on page 20 continued from Page 19

Q: Why do you think some people still harbor the old mentality about women in the field?

Well, a lot of those comments I received from older men, and I don’t know if that’s just because they were still used to that environment. But in the past eight years that I’ve been in this career field, the younger men don’t make those comments; they work with you as equals. I think it’s just generational differences.

Q: For you, what’s the best thing about being a woman in the field today?

I get asked that question a lot in my career. I never defined myself as a woman engineer. I just define myself as an engineer, because I see myself as an equal; but you know, then I had kids that entire dynamic changed.

I see being a woman engineer is a huge success. I’ve fought my battles. I’ve worked my way up and I work with peers that respect me now. I want to be able to mentor other young women that want to make this trek through their life. I want them to have a great experience. I want them to not know the struggles. I just want to be able to be a friendly woman in engineering and make sure that change is there.

Q: What advice do you offer another woman considering engineering?

I think of all the things that have been said to me and what should have been said to me. Instead of saying you don’t need to work, go home and have kids, I want to say that you have the right to be there; you are equal. You can do it. So go do it.

Jessica LoBello – Maple Grove, Minn. Sandman Structural Engineers

Q: What challenges have you noticed in the field?

That’s such a tricky question. I can’t say that there have been any true challenges as far as just the gender difference. I think that if you present yourself as a confident and capable person people are going to respect you no matter what. I guess, the only time that I’ve ever had any real challenges have been on site where contractors or laborers tend to question my judgment, and I can’t say that’s necessarily due to the fact that I’m a female. I think that some of that comes from being young and then not knowing me and not working with me before.

That has obviously changed over the years, because I have gained experience and I know how to handle these situations maybe a little bit better; I come across a little bit more capable and confident in my abilities. But definitely early in my career, it was a little bit challenging to convince people that I know what I’m doing.

Now, as far as being a woman in the industry, I can’t say that I’ve ever had a situation where I felt slighted or maybe challenged by male counterparts or felt that I didn’t have the same opportunity. I do think that there could be instances where that occurs. I have not experienced them.

Q: How about for those who may feel slighted in the industry? Any thoughts or suggestions?

I would say reach out to your leader or a mentor, whether that’s an HR lead or someone else, and just let your voice be heard. And then work on standing up for yourself more than anything. I just happen to have a personality where I don’t take things personally; I’m not easily offended. … I just let it roll off my back. It’s about having a little bit of a thick skin, just not letting things bother you, but making sure that if there are situations where you are bothered or disrespected because of your gender, to make sure that somebody is aware of it and that they can act on it and correct the actions of others.

Q: What’s the best thing about being an engineer these days?

I would have to say, the ability to make an impact on my team and the community by delivering excellent service and providing a quality product for the clients and the owners and something that they’re going to be happy with. I really strive to do the best that I can every day for the people around me and serve others, and help other people be successful. That’s really what gets me going.

Q: What would you say to a young woman looking to go into the engineering field? Any advice or suggestions?

Yeah. I just say, don’t be scared to take a risk. Don’t be scared to stand out of the crowd. Don’t be intimidated by male counterparts around you. Women are just as capable, technically, as men are. There shouldn’t be anything that holds females back from pursuing something they’re curious or passionate about.

Erin Steever - Sioux Falls, S.D. Bartlett & West

Q: What, in your opinion, are the challenges of being a woman in the engineering field?

I’ve always had a different way of thinking about things. Starting out in the profession, I didn’t ask many questions because I wanted to fit in and not stand out. To this day, I wish I would have learned to be bold and ask questions earlier. In my mind, asking questions was a sign of weakness, but in actuality I was only making it harder on myself. I didn’t have young inquisitive role models, let alone many female role models. When those role models finally came until much later in my career, I envied them so much that I started to ask more questions myself. Today, I make it a point to come up with questions and, here at Bartlett & West, I’ve learned to identify key questions that may not be as apparent but can be of more value.

Q: What’s the best thing about it?

Being a female on a job site does have its perks. I’m not much for crass language, and contractors generally keep side conversations pretty clean in my presence. Mind you, once they get more comfortable with me being on site, most turn back into their more common grumpy hot-headed selves, but they still watched their language when I was around.

Because I am female, I did have a water tower painting crew give me the ‘best’ safety climb trolley for the painter’s buggy ride to the top of the pedestal. I’m not sure I agree with them that the ‘best’ was the one that wouldn’t hang up as frequently on the way up as the others. I was never more excited than when the ladder was installed, and I could climb the 200 feet to the top of the tower! This same crew was from Michigan, and the most awkward moment I’ve had on a project site was on a cool mid-October day. The crew of probably six guys awkwardly took turns wishing me Happy Sweetest Day.

I had never heard of this before and I was pretty confused trying to figure out what kind of prank they were trying to pull, but yet they all seemed to be too sincere for it to be anything but real. I looked it up later and realized it was a real holiday, it’s just not celebrated as frequently outside of the Great Lakes Region.

The next day I thanked them all and confessed that I had no idea what they were talking about the day before. They had no idea their Hallmark holiday wasn’t nationally known.

Q: Do you think things are improving for women engineers? In what ways?

For sure. I think the diversity, inclusion and equity movement is bringing awareness and acceptance to everyone. By bringing the topic to the forefront, people are asking more questions, and finding ways to be more sensitive and more accepting to all our differences. Developing a diverse team may create more challenges, especially to start. However, this makes those that are accepting the challenge stronger by working through tough conversations and developing skills to turn disagreements into constructive conversations. It also allows female engineers to become more confident in all situations, knowing that their opinion, no matter how different or odd it may sound, is also a valuable perspective and one that should be voiced for the good of the project.

Big media has also helped to change the narrative of females in a positive way.

Q: What advice do you offer for someone pursuing the same career path?

Ask questions, search out and surround yourself with those you desire to be more like, and get involved in organizations outside of work. Being involved in a volunteer organization sets you up for leadership development opportunities that you can build on in your career, allows you the opportunity to work with different personalities and people you may not fully agree with, and increases your network of knowledgeable experts in the field. These individuals will be there for you if you have questions or are in search of advice. This brings me to another thought, find a few good mentors that will have honest conversations and are good listeners.

Check out PrairieBusinessMagazine.com to see additional responses from these engineers.