The Innovators’ Tea Party
WISE was proud to support this year’s Innovators’ Tea Party held over the weekend. Below is a fabulous report-back from our Committee Member and Sarolta Pudney, originally published on her LinkedIn blog.
Inspiring more young West Australian girls to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
The Innovators’ Tea Party is an event that links women working in STEM with high school students in engaging, speed-networking events. The mentors are selected from a range of industries and backgrounds and are passionate about telling their stories and promoting their fields to students in years 10-12.
The Engineering session at this years Innovators’ Tea Party was sponsored by Women In Subsea Engineering(WISE), an initiative that is dedicated to increasing the visibility of female engineers and connecting people committed to achieving gender parity within the subsea sector.
As part of WISE, I was lucky enough to be selected as one of the mentors for the Engineering session and share my experiences, learning and stories with a number of students.
While preparing for this event, I asked myself what is the most valuable piece of information I can share with these young girls who are about to make a decision that will define their future? What advice do I wish I had received when I was a year 12 student? After some reflection on my career path, I realised that the most valuable insight I can share is this – It is okay not to exactly know what you want to be at this point! Choose a field of study that is suited to your strengths and you will be surprised with the places it can take you!
When I enrolled in my Electrical Engineering studies I didn’t even know the subsea industry existed. I entered it by chance, and now, 3 years later, here I am, absolutely in love with what I do! Receiving this piece of advice would have saved me a lot of stress and anxiety caused by not having a clear career path.
When choosing studies, our whole future career seems black and white, and we tend to get caught up in small details. We focus too much on trying to figure out what we exactly want to be doing 10 years down the track. However, at 18 it is extremely difficult to see the full spectrum of opportunities out there – and therefore pursuing them becomes impossible. If we choose a field that plays to our strengths, and within that field a speciality that seems appealing and interesting, without stressing about picturing ourselves in our future roles, we might become aware of a whole new world of opportunities out there – and fall in love with one of them!
Personally, I find it extremely important to participate and help organisations like The Innovators’ Tea Party,Women In Subsea Engineering (WISE) and many others, because by making our career path visible to young students we get the opportunity to open their eyes to all the hidden but amazing places they can end up in their careers.
About the Author
Sarolta Pudney | Project Engineer / 3.4u Subsea Inspection Engineer at Intervention Engineering
