<p>I recently landed an internship at a large company (so excited!!!) and I am an electrical engineering major. I would like to know what I should wear to work because I am not used to corporate world at all. I am planning to wear high heels (3 inches min) with chiffon blouses and colorful blazers. Is this professional and if any of you have had internships before what did you wear?
thanks</p>
<p>Being a guy, I can’t exactly explain a girl’s clothing too well, but I’m a mechanical engineering intern at a fairly large company where there’s a fair amount of girl interns. Most don’t wear high heels. It’s a job that can keep you on your feet at times, so it’s best to be comfortable (EE may be different though). Blazers are also overkill…could certainly wear one, but it’s not necessary.</p>
<p>Although each company differs, so it may be more commonplace at yours to dress that nicely, it’s definitely not here. Generally girls seem to wear a nice shirt, nice pair of pants, etc.</p>
<p>For comparison, most guys wear collared shirts (polos), khaki’s, and shoes that aren’t sneakers.</p>
<p>But it really all depends on the employer.</p>
<p>What kind of work is it? Did they mention anything about dress code?</p>
<p>At my internship last summer, I wore jeans, a tshirt, and sneakers every day. It was the nature of the company (and it’s relatively large) - even my boss would show up to work in jeans & a flannel.</p>
<p>At my current co-op, I wear slacks and a sweater (man my office is freezing) with flats on days I’m in the office. Jeans & a button up on days I’m in the field (with steel-toed boots, of course). </p>
<p>It really depends on your office. I’m in an operations center with lots of field guys everywhere - I would not get respect wearing heels like you want (in fact, it would be very poor form to wear anything 2+ inches). In the company headquarters, it would be similar - it is in no way a benefit to draw attention to your gender like that (some 2% of the top level engineers are women).</p>
<p>As much as that sucks, it is the nature of my business. 3 inch heels do not really send out a professional message. And unfortunately, field guys can indeed be quite sexist.</p>
<p>Tl;dr - it entirely depends on where you’re working. Ask hr.</p>
<p>(If it wasn’t obvious, I’m a female EE as well)</p>
<p>The most important thing is that each company is different. </p>
<p>You should not be afraid to email your contact (HR or whoever hired you) at the company inquiring about dress code and about what women typically wear.</p>
<p>I’d agree that heels would not be a good idea. Double that if it’s paired with a skirt above the knee. Pencil skirts and flats with a sweater or pants with a nice blouse are probably what’s the safest bets. Congrats on your internship!</p>
<p>Im interning at a university in a research position. They wear flats and jeans/khaki pants, since they are quite mobile from task to task. I dont see a need for overdress, simple and tasteful is the way to go. Imo they look really cute-- If only a lot more girls were like them…</p>
<p>Sent from my ADR6300 using CC</p>
<p>There are plenty of women, some of whom are engineeers, at my workplace who wear heels. Now I’m not talking about porn star stilettos, mind you – just some fairly conservative looking heels. No one has a problem with it.</p>
<p>That’s why I could never make it as an engineer. Hart hats? Khakis? Overalls? Tailored suits please.</p>
<p>High heels never made sense to me (but I am not female) – they are rather bad for your feet and limit your mobility.</p>
<p>As far as normal workplace dress goes, if you had an on-site interview, you probably saw what others were wearing. You can probably start out dressing somewhat on the nicer side of the range you saw, then adjusting appropriately as you get more observation in your first few days at work.</p>
<p>It’s not very difficult to understand. They make you look taller and leaner and make your legs longer. I’m not a woman, but I can understand why they wear em.</p>
<p>I’m a female mechanical engineering student, and I’ve done a few internships. At my current one, I wear khakis or jeans, nice shirts, and sneakers or keds. CLOSED TOE, no heels pretty much rule my shoe selection. At my past internship in a more corporate setting (working in R&D for a major company), I wore nice slacks and blouses, nicer closed toe flats. Still no heels. You can’t move quickly and confidently across a factory floor or in a lab with grated floors if you are in 3+ in. spikes. Settle for flats, or if you really need the height, go with wedges. I’d over dress (read: high business casual) for the first few days of work, then see what other females wear and dress accordingly.</p>
<p>i cant even think of wearing jeans and t-shirts to work when I dont even wear that to school. I might still go for a little heel at least because I can’t stand flats either. This is what happens when you chose to be an engineering major when you actually want to be a fashion designer…</p>
<p>…Then why are you not majoring in fashion design?</p>
<p>I’d second that question, engineering is hard enough even if you are passionate about it. It’s still definitely possible to be fashionable though! I try my best to have a sense of style, but remember that practicality should be a top priority. You don’t want to trip over a wire and break an ankle due to your high heels! Plus, dressing according to your environment gives you a sense of professionalism. If you dress like someone attending Fashion Week in NYC, you will not be taken as seriously. Fact of life.</p>
<p>Mirror what the other women in your group are wearing. I am a manager, so I dress a little nicer than the newer engineers. Most of the women wear nice slacks and tops, and small heeled (never high heeled) shoes. Only wear jeans if everyone else around you is also wearing. The same goes with the skirts and blazers.</p>
<p>I wanted to be a fashion designer as well but ended up in economics & accounting + pre=pharm. </p>
<p>Maybe 20 years from now we’ll have enough banking and engineering capital saved up to collaborate on some skirt suits. Oh life…</p>
<p>I would dress nice the first day, maybe. Nice pants and nice conservative shirt. Then you can see how everyone else dresses and follow their lead. I’ve worked in engineering for 30+ years and although there are more women now, it’s still mainly a male profession. Because of that, you want to dress more conservatively - no lowcut blouses, very short skirts, etc. The men will take you much more seriously if you don’t dress like you’re going out for the night. Not fair, but that’s how it is. Also, most engineering jobs have some type of field work, so you may want to re-think the high heels or at least plan on keeping a comfortable pair of shoes in your car.</p>
<p>I am not majoring in fashion designing because my parents wouldn’t pay for fashion school. Even though I am not passionate about engineering I am doing good in it so I am not regretting my major…its just I dont have that engineering gene and nobody would have guessed me as an engineering major if you saw me at the mall…I always wanted to have a professional job and go to work in dress suits and heels but this sucks that I cant do it…well lest see…I will not start until July…</p>
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<p>I dunno, normally when I am at the mall and guessing peoples majors I am pretty spot on. jk.</p>
<p>I would follow what Kvillemom has to say. Wear something nice, conservative, and professional. They’ll usually let you know what they expect you to wear around the workplace on day one. If it’s a job that you are likely to get dirty at, they’ll probably tell you to wear jeans and a t-shirt. Anyway, good luck.</p>