In this interview, Aislinn delves into what drew her towards engineering, her early career experiences and pivotal moments as a woman in the engineering sector.
1. Can you describe your early interest in engineering? What experiences or influences directed you toward this field?
I have distinct memories of being small and taking toys apart to see what the pieces inside were and how they all fit together. At school, my favourite subject technology and design. Being able to see how things work right down to the small intricacies of all the components, getting hands-on experience, seeing the end-to-end process of how things where made- I loved it! This is also where I got an early introduction to Solid Works and 3D modelling which was beneficial when I went into further education.
I found seeing the ‘whole picture’ really helped my understanding of the theory behind it compared to my other subjects (maths and physics). Despite this, I didn’t really know what engineering was when I was at school. We didn’t have a lot of visibility of women in the field and it was through exploring what my options could be post A-Levels that I discovered mechanical engineering at Queen’s University Belfast. It seemed to bring together all my strengths and interests, so it made sense that I follow this path.
2. Have you experienced any challenges as a woman entering the engineering industry, how did you overcome them? How do you feel that have impacted your career?
Overall, I feel quite lucky that throughout my career I haven’t faced a lot of animosity. When I started university, there where only six girls in my class out of 120 students so we banded together, created our own community and we’re still all friends to this day. I worked very hard and got good results which set me up well for the future. In my first job post-university I was the only female in the room, but I’ve been lucky to work in places that have supported me and helped me to develop throughout my career. I have always had bosses who have been very supportive and stood in my corner if I ever faced any external challenges from other companies we were working with.
In a previous job, I was new to the business and assigned to shadow a team of colleagues to help develop my understanding of the company and the work that we did. The team were struggling to find the correct solution on a particular task, and I had ideas that could help us, but being new and not knowing how they would take my suggestions, I was nervous to speak up. After a week, I mustered the courage to voice my opinions, and it turned out my ideas were correct, and I helped to solve the problem the team had been stuck on. This really helped to grow my confidence in myself and my abilities, it taught me to step out of my comfort zone and put myself out there.
Throughout my career I have kept pushing myself out of my comfort zone and taking risks in career moves. I have developed a career with a niche skillset, working with technologies that didn’t exist 10 years ago, and I truly love what I do.
3. Reflecting on your career, do you have any experiences that have been a key influence on you?
Across my career the thing that has had the biggest impact on me has been having supportive bosses and allyship from leaders. Having someone who has your back and lifts you up has been extremely beneficial, especially coming from a minority group within engineering. The support I have received from leaders over the years has definitely been influential on my career and helped me make bold moves which has led me to where I am today. It is something that I look out for when I start a new job or a new project, as I think its important to have positive role models within work.
Working at Thales is the first time I have ever had a female boss in engineering, and this is something I remember feeling really excited about before I joined. It has definitely had a positive impact on me to see such a wide range of women in leadership across all the engineering fields that we have. It makes for a much more comfortable working environment to have a very diverse group of people, and I think adds to the amount of support I feel within work.
4. Has joining Thales helped to grow your professional experiences? What advice would you give to young women aspiring to pursue a career in engineering?
From learning about Thales I discovered that there is a lot of room for progression within the company. They have a lot of programmes that support growth and development, and everyone shares a want to do well. After joining Thales I was encouraged to start a CMI Level 5 in Leadership and Productivity to help me further my skills in this area. The course has created a new personal goal for me to work towards that I may not have chosen if I didn’t have the support and encouragement from leadership within Thales.
The advice I would give to aspiring engineers is to say yes to all the opportunities that come your way and stay curious- you never know where an opportunity could lead you. With each new job you will need to learn new skills, so having a willingness to develop your skillset and explore unfamiliar areas will be a great help. Innovation comes with curiosity, being adaptable and wanting to learn more, so if you don’t know the answer, what can you do to learn more to find out about it?
Aislinn McGinn, Digital Manufacturing Transformation Lead at Thales in the UK.
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