Hi, I’m Emilie – the human behind The Female Engineer blog. I live in beautiful rural Shropshire, England with my husband (still feels a bit surreal typing that!). I’m a mechanical engineer by day, with seven years of experience working in fast paced research and development departments. I am a huge petrol head and currently own three motorbikes and a car, with hopefully a new campervan on the way soon! I am an avid adventurer and absolutely love exploring new places – I always max out my holiday allowance and am known for being the friend in the social circle who’s the nightmare for scheduling a date with! I’m obsessed with planning to the point where I imagine it’s actually quite annoying for those around me…but you know when you go away with me I will always find the quirky alternative places to visit!
I was brought up in a motorsport family, with my Mum a passionate motorcyclist and my Dad a woodwork wizard and self-professed tinkerer. I spent hours playing with Lego as a child, and my lifelong passion for Lego still continues to this day! I’ve always enjoyed learning, and naturally gravitated towards Maths, Sciences and Design Technology, which has ultimately paved the way for my career in engineering. I was very fortunate to go to a primary school with an incredible DT department, and spent most of my summer holidays making everything from vacuum-formed boats to fuse testers. To this day, I still love practical activities – whether that’s tinkering with a vehicle or making something like a hedgehog box for the garden.
I have been fortunate enough to travel fairly extensively over my life so far, which is certainly a huge benefit of being an engineer – you usually get paid a good salary and get decent holiday allowances, which really gives you the freedom to go on plenty of adventures! My favourite country would have to be Canada…I’ve been totally obsessed with the place since Jack and I road-tripped and camped our way across Jasper and Banff National Parks in 2018. We love it so much there that we eloped in September 2022 and got married on the shore of Two Jack Lake, Banff. I will always have a soft spot for France too as I spent many happy family holidays there as a child, and still try to maintain a reasonable standard of French language skills.
Rock music is the therapy that holds me together as a person! I am pretty much always listening to music, and I spend a vast amount of my disposable income on vinyl and gig tickets! I have met some of the best people through my love of rock music, it has taken me on so many adventures and introduced me to some of the coolest places. If I can combine music, craft beer and pinball then that is my absolute perfect evening out!
I love keeping fit which I primarily do with a combination of trail running, hiking, mountain biking and weight lifting. I used to play Roller Derby and American Football, but unfortunately both sports have taken their toll on my body so I just cheer from the side-lines these days! I’m a Las Vegas Raiders fan and have been privileged to watch them play in London, but I am hoping to get over to the USA to see them at home soon.
So that’s enough about me, and now onto more of the why…
I started this blog during the pandemic, whilst having a period of reflection enforced by a three-month furloughment period from my job. I spend a lot of my time talking about my life as an engineer, and I often get asked about my career path, what that’s led me to and the life I lead outside of the 9-5. That’s where The Female Engineer comes in…I am hoping this blog will be a little gateway into my life, hopefully changing perceptions around a career as an engineer and what kind of person an engineer is. I will also hope to provide an insight into getting into engineering, along with practical tips to help your career as a professional engineer.
I challenge you to stop and think, what is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of an engineer? A middle-aged man in a hard hat and Hi-Viz? Unfortunately that is still the stereotype of an engineer, along with misconceptions that the job is boring, dirty and practical. Whilst it can be all three of those things at times (I’m not going to lie to you!), it is so much more than that! Engineering can open up so many doors, you can pivot into different sectors and job roles throughout your career, and most of the time you will be in an office working on a computer! I’m passionate about changing these stereotypes and showing how fulfilling a life and career you can have as an engineer, which I am hopeful that this blog will do.
So that’s me and why I have started my blog…if you like the sound of this then I think we are going to get on well!! I love meeting new people, so please reach out and get in touch if you’d like to say hello 🙂
Remember this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson:
“Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.”
Emilie