Women in engineering: County Broadband

Bess and Georgia from County Broadband tell us what it’s like to be a female engineer and why pursuing a career in this field is one of the best decisions they have made.

Getting into it

Bess: I got my first job in engineering exactly a year ago this month. It was just by chance. I wanted a career change and saw a role advertised which offered full training. At the time, I was stuck in a “what am I going to do with my life?” kind of situation. The training made changing careers a lot easier, as it can be hard to try something new if you don't have experience in it.

Georgia: I started my career as a broadband engineer at a different company three years ago. But when Covid hit, I ended up working in the supermarket for about a year. I really missed being out in the field, so when I saw this job come up, I went for it. I've been here for over a year now and still love it!

Office jobs aren’t for me

Bess: I had two weeks of intense training, and it was just great! I got to use all these new tools and learn how to climb poles. I have always had an interest in a career like this, but you just don't know, especially as a woman, how to get into it without going to college and knowing that's what you wanted to do in the first place. It was after that initial training that I realised I wanted to continue with it.

Georgia: Learning about splicing has been really cool – I love splicing (joining fibre optics together)! It's nice to be able to explain to your customers what you're doing because it's an advanced piece of technology. We work with materials that are the size of a strand of hair and you've got this equipment that binds it together.

Bess: The first time I climbed a pole, I was like: “I can do it, I'm really strong, everyone get out of my way!” But it is terrifying. You don't want to let on, but it is. Now I love it. You're so high up that you get to see some amazing scenery. That's quite cool.

No day is the same

Bess: Every day is different. You get involved in so many different jobs, and none of them are straightforward. There are so many things that can go wrong which you can't predict, as equipment can be damaged easily or hard to work with. You need to persevere and figure out how to fix it. That really comes with experience and learning how it all works. As an engineer, you have to try everything that you can.

Although I go to jobs on my own, a lot of my day is spent speaking to co-workers, other engineers, managers and supervisors, as you need everyone's support. It's all about the teamwork.

Being a female engineer

Bess: At no point have I ever felt like my gender was an issue. I've always been treated with respect and kindness. There's never been that kind of “you're a male engineer. I'm a female engineer. There's a difference in what we can do.”

Georgia: I haven’t had any negative experiences with employees, but customers have seemed shocked when I’ve turned up and have made a few comments. People might expect their broadband engineer to be male, but, realistically, anyone can do it.

Paving the way for more women in engineering

Georgia: I think it's becoming more common for women to train. At County Broadband, I was the only female engineer for six months, but now there are three of us. I think some women assume that they’ll get discriminated against, or that they can't do it, but you’ve got to give it a try – I did and I've never regretted it!

Bess: When I first started, another female engineer was the one showing us what to do, and that was lovely. For a while afterwards, she was the person I would go to with questions. and I think if I did have certain issues, I'd be more likely to go to one of my female colleagues than anyone else.

It’s good to get out there and show people that there are a lot of women in the industry. There's always been a stereotype or stigma around it being an all-male industry, so trying to eliminate that and showing that we are very happy in our jobs is important.

Find out more

Find out more about career opportunities at County Broadband.

Learn more about full fibre broadband by visiting our dedicated webpage.

Read our interview with a female Openreach engineer.