<p>I've heard that colleges look favorably upon women who want to go into such fields as engineering or computer science. How true is this?
Also, would engineering be a good choice for me as I'm basically interested in everything and don't know what I want to study?</p>
<p>“I’ve heard that colleges look favorably upon women who want to go into such fields as engineering or computer science. How true is this?”</p>
<p>Very true, because the fields are affected by an unfortunate gender stigma. I.e. those fields are just culturally and socially perceived as “masculine fields”, which is BS, because there’s nothing “rational” to suggest why women couldn’t be in these fields (they should be, if they’re interested). It’s sort of the same why it’s “odd” if a man wants to be a nurse. Especially CS is quite gender neutral vs. something like EE or ME, which are traditionally very masculine (in the sense that the majority of students are male). In general, colleges/universities do have higher preference for female applicants. Often they have a separate quota for female applicants (i.e. the application process is done only among female applicants, not the whole group of applicants) to encourage women to the fields by allowing an easier application process (because of fewer applicants, which the colleges would like to increase or balance more closer to 50f:50m preferably).</p>
<p>See some descriptions of different fields and what kind of courses they study and what kind of jobs or tasks they would be preparing for.</p>
<p>It is true that at some colleges, women planning to study engineering have an advantage in admissions vs men. Merit scholarships may also be easier to get. But those alone are not a reason to study engineering. Are you good at math and physics? Are you interested in problem solving and understanding how things work?</p>
<p>I agree with sacchi 100% - you must be good at math and physics in order to succeed in engineering. If this is the case, you could try it out, just know what you’re getting into.</p>
<p>Agree with both @sacchi and @literatechild. You have to be solid in math and physics if you want any chance at succeeding in engineering. It would help if you like solving problems and knowing how things work and are put together. Here is a good place to look at the various types of engineering careers: [Architecture</a> and Engineering Occupations : Occupational Outlook Handbook : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics](<a href=“http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Architecture-and-Engineering/home.htm]Architecture”>http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Architecture-and-Engineering/home.htm)</p>
<p>Pick a field that you love, you will be better motivated to continue if you do.</p>
<p>Anytime a girl (with good math scores) applies for physics, computer science, or computer engineering, a faculty member/advisor/college PR person pees their pants in excitement. This is a big deal to them and they get very excited about it. They have whole scholarships and support groups and clubs set up to accommodate women in physics/CS/compEng. They specifically put girls on the cover of newsletters and department magazines to attract more women to the field.</p>
<p>If you think science or engineering is for you, here is what you do:
- take calculus in college your first semester of your freshman year
- take the introductory calc-based physics sequence
- take an intro computer programming class</p>
<p>The purpose is that:
- first year STEM students take these classes anyway so if you decide STEM is for you then you’re on your way, if not no harm done
- the physics sequence is a great way to expose yourself to different types of science and engineering, f’instance the classical mechanics/gravity/fluids/thermodynamics part is similar to mechanical/civil/aerospace engineering and if you love/hate it you’ll know if you’ll love/hate those majors. The electricity and magnetism portion is similar to electrical engineering and if you absolutely hate working with circuits you’ll know EE isn’t for you (but this won’t rule out physics itself). The later part on quantum/optics/nuclear/atomic/relativity will tell you whether or not you’d hate physics.
- the intro programming class will tell you whether you are apt for computer-related majors (mainly CS) and most STEM majors take at least one programming class</p>
<p>In short, it’s easier to start as pre-engineering and move out of it than it is to start as undeclared and move into engineering.</p>
<p>On average, girls fare better in the liberal arts subjects better than math and science, which is most needed for engineering. Women also aren’t as “hands on” and don’t like tinkering as much as men do. Not that all engineering positions involve this, but it is what is assumed by the general population. Some fields of engineering also get “dirty” (petroleum engineering comes to mind) and most women don’t like this either. Not that there aren’t women here, it is obviously much less common than seeing a man doing the same job.</p>
<p>If you can handle the academic requirements and the actual job itself, then by all means go for it. I’d look more into what branches of engineering you would want to go and see if the work environment, what they work on, etc. is something interesting. Engineers typically work in manufacturing sites or plants. Or offices, it depends.</p>
<p>^^^
I will say, these are stereotypes. There is no evidence to suggest that any gender is inherently more gifted at a certain subject than another. Nor is any gender more likely to be drawn to hands on activity or getting down and dirty. It is all a matter of preference. Women are underrepresented in engineering for the same reason that men are underrepresented in nursing: cultural norms. For the longest time engineering was composed of only men, so women shied away from it. Now that we have moved forward in society, people don’t typically care about what field you choose to have a career in.</p>
<p>Like @BeachyPeachy said, if you like and can handle the workload that comes with engineering, then go for it.</p>
<p>I have seen studies that say men do better in math and science and women in subjects like english, but I can’t remember where. Maybe it has changed?</p>
<p>It’s unfortunate how many people believe in stereotypes. I have considered engineering for a while. My dad has said this to me before: “You will hate engineering, you’re a girl.” I’m sure other girls have heard it before. There are many exceptions to the stereotypes, such as myself. I’m sure the OP is the same if she is considering it.</p>
<p>Anvera, I wonder if I have seen you around? :D</p>
<p>Beachy - you should mention your theory about women being better at liberal arts than math and science to your surgeon, right before she slices you open ;)</p>
<p>@BeachyPeachy – Could be since you are in engineering as well. I spend most of my days at the College of Optical Sciences building, so I am pretty far removed from the heart of campus unless I make an effort to walk over. What branch of engineering do you study?</p>
<p>EDIT: I just saw your science vs. engineering thread. So it sounds like you are contemplating going into engineering. Is that so?</p>
<p>Say men aren’t as good at nurturing, sharing feelings, staying out of prison, committing to relationships, nobody bats an eye.</p>
<p>Say women aren’t as good at STEM (on average) and everybody freaks out. :P</p>
<p>Personally as long as nobody is <em>prevented</em> from going into STEM because of their gender then stereotypes are just noise, IMO.</p>
<p>BeachyPeachy, myself, my W and Ds find the concept of “things women are better at” to be quite offensive. They are all great at math. My Ds are both studying STEM subjects and W works in quantitative finance. </p>
<p>And frankly, I can be pretty nuturing, though perhaps I do have a little more Vulcan in me and prefer logic to emotions when making important decisions.</p>
<p>I’ll take the contrary opinion and suggest that there is some truth to these gender stereotypes.</p>
<p>I’ve seen a fair share of STEM women, and here are the trends I’ve always noticed:
- Just about all of them are “slightly above average” when it comes to intelligence. Very few are either among the dumbest or among the smartest in any field I have seen.
- Very few of them are geeky. I’ve seen a much higher proportion of geekiness/obsessiveness among males. This is not to say I haven’t seen any women like that, but it is exceedingly rare. Most of them care about the field they are in, but they treat work like work.
- Almost none are suited for field work. Every one I have met would be best off either being a housewife or working a 100% desk job.
- They are much better than males at data crunching. Not sure if they are more patient or are just better at sifting through numbers and data and the like, but they outclass males by a large margin. Most STEM females I have met would make good secretaries, and I suspect that that plays no small part in their interest in biology/medicine (a largely informational rather than conceptual science). </p>
<p>Nothing exactly damning about any of that in regards to working as engineers, but really it’s not a field that most women would be happy in. Many things in engineering are only tolerable to those obsessed with the stuff (read: tedious drone work) and there are fields that give more flexibility and opportunity to women. </p>
<p>Two more things to consider:
- Annoying women are 100 times worse than annoying men.
I’m not sure how much cultural norms play into this, probably quite a bit, but I have a feeling that that is still not the full story. In general, people do not like to be ordered around, or micromanaged, or nagged. When men do this, it usually is not pleasant. When women do this, it is downright insufferable. Is this unfair? I’m not entirely sure that it isn’t, but it is a fact. Many people cannot deal with bossy women.</p>
<ol>
<li>Maternity
You will probably eventually want to have kids, and unless your career is the far more promising one, you will often want to stay at home and raise your children. With the exception of finding a lucky job that will support your needs, engineering offers pretty much no flexibility in this regard due to the nature of the work. Why work for 4 years for something like a 6 year career? Especially if you have no special interest in engineering, I would suggest that you pass if you ever want to raise children.</li>
</ol>
<p>Engineering and CS actually used to have more women than they do now. I’m not sure if these are the reasons why, but I do believe that there is some legitimate reason beyond cultural norms that women are avoiding it.</p>
<p>LOL! </p>
<p>None of what NeoDymium just said jibes with my long extensive engineering career, with the exception of geekiness. Not too many male engineers are really that geeky either.</p>
<p>Anvera- I am. Not too sure. I’m technically undecided right now.</p>
<p>You guys, I’m a woman who is also better at STEM than the liberal arts. I’m just saying the studies exist. I’m a walking contradiction to those studies. I don’t mean to cause uproar about it 
I have met plenty of women doctors and even male nurses. There is just a tendency. Like how little girls prefer Barbies and little boys prefer action figures or racecars.</p>
<p>Geekiness has changed, it’s more confined to physics and CS these days.</p>
<p>Also, to add my own little trend, I’ve noticed (within my limited experiences) that women leave STEM after graduation more often. I’ve seen them go from diploma straight to politics, ministry, farming, other non-STEM thing. I’ve only seen that once with a guy.</p>
<p>
In my experience, this happens all the time with both genders.</p>
<p>My dad (an engineer) at first advised me to not go into engineering…but the story is not as you might think. It was early 1980s, and he was chanting “study Computer Science”.</p>
<p>
Little tidbit from Wiki to back up one assertion I made on the last page:</p>
<p>
[Women</a> in computing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_computing]Women”>Women in computing - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>I don’t think that the dotcom bubble or coincidence would explain such a drop. I think that it’s more likely that to an extent, the job is just less suitable for women.</p>