Conservation, comradery and the most surprising part of being a woman in engineering

Ahead of International Women in Engineering Day we caught up with one of last year’s Scholars, Serena Gildea, to ask her some questions about her career in engineering and what she’s been up to since finishing the programme. 

Serena, it's been six months. How have you been?

I’ve had a very busy start to 2023 but I’m doing well. As we approach International Women in Engineering Day on the 23^rd of June, I am feeling very grateful for all the opportunities I have been afforded throughout my career and being offered a place on the prestigious SPAB Scholarship last year was the ‘cherry on top’ of an already fulfilling career. I still can’t believe I was that lucky.

Why did you choose a career in Structural Engineering?

I get asked quite regularly about what attracted me to Structural Engineering, as women are definitely in the minority, but I try not to focus on this. I am proud to be an Engineer and I promote it as a career to any young person with an interest in the sciences whenever I get the opportunity.

My path into engineering came from my father, and not my career guidance teacher, who decided my love of maths and physics meant I should apply only to be a Maths teacher. I think teachers are amazing but that just never suited me.

I spent my childhood building Lego^® towns in my bedroom, making up new games and generally being interested in how things were built or fixed and when my dad prompted me to look at Structural Engineering and I investigated what a career in this might look like, I was hooked. I wasn’t going to do anything else.

What did you study and where has this brought you?

I studied a Masters in Structural Engineering with Architecture at Queen’s University in Belfast. Since then I have lived and worked in Northern Ireland, New Zealand and England. Post- Scholarship I’m back working with Design ID, the engineering consultancy I’ve been with for the past seven years. We decided to set up a Conservation Team in January and I am developing new working relationships in the Conservation sector. It has been a lot of fun!

Can you share an exciting project you’ve been involved with, and why it was so interesting?

I completed a structural survey on a small cob building recently and I loved it. There is currently no roof, which is problematic, but it has a lovely 1m high stone plinth and some very weathered mud walls over. Vernacular buildings are steeped in history, and I love that the material is local and natural. It’s also a challenge for me as it’s a material that I had no experience with until last year on the Scholarship. The initial phase includes some temporary stabilisation until some further plans are worked up, but I think it’s going to be a very fun project to be involved in.

How do you draw on the SPAB Scholarship experience in your day-to-day job?

The Scholarship has completely changed my career. It’s given me the confidence I needed to be able to change the direction of my career and focus on Conservation. I’ve always loved historic buildings and in the past six months we’ve set up the conservation team. I’m getting to use my knowledge from the Scholarship more and more every week.

What’s something that has surprised you about the career since starting?

Since starting my career in 2010 I’ve probably been most surprised by how generous other women in the construction industry are with their time and knowledge with other women. There is definitely a comradery that goes with being one of two or three women at a round table of ten or twelve in meetings. We may not immediately want to admit that this support is needed, but it is certainly welcomed.

I have yet to meet a female Engineer who isn’t trying to help me, empower me or lift me up. I think that is special in a male dominated industry. I really enjoyed having Katie Hood on the Scholarship last year too as another female Structural Engineer. I found this useful from a learning experience for analytical conversations but also as a friend who thinks about buildings like you do.

I think all women in the construction industry help one another where possible and this is true for my other fellow Scholar and Architect, Sinéad Scullion, too. She has been nothing but a positive influence in my career post Scholarship as she sends me opportunities she sees or hears about as well as anything she thinks I might be interested in on a regular basis. This empowerment leads to a community within an industry that may appear difficult but is actually welcoming and supportive.

Any advice you'd have for women (or under-represented people in general) considering a career in engineering?

Don’t focus on anyone else. If you love maths, physics, buildings or how things go together, then you should definitely think about Structural Engineering as a career. You could be on site one day and doing analysis and design the next and you get variety from working on different projects. It’s very fun.

I don’t think being in the minority should hold you back from building a career around something you love. With every passing year there are more and more women moving into senior positions in Engineering companies and this will become more common over the next decade. In the meantime, we have each other to empower and guide and I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support I’ve received from my fellow female Engineers over the years.  

Words by Serena Gildea.

Since 1930, the SPAB Scholarship has offered an unrivalled training opportunity to architects, surveyors and engineers in the early stages of their career.

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