Women can in technical jobs clear Together to earn. Nevertheless, these are still considered unattractive for women. Some initiatives want to change that.

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MINT compartments: Versatile application possibilities

University graduates in the fields of mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and Technology, the so-called MINT subjects, have a wide range of job opportunities, excellent career prospects and above-average earnings.

Nevertheless, the proportion of first-year students in most of these subjects remains well below the average.

Proportion of female students too low

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Despite a balanced gender ratio among the total number of new students (50: 50), the proportion of female students in mechanical engineering / computer science is only 18%, in construction engineering 27% and in electrical engineering only 9%. Only in mathematics is the relationship balanced.

This not only leads to problems on the job market, but is also a disadvantage for Germany as a business location. For in the next few years, the MINT workspaces will be massively lacking the skilled workers.

Girls go Tech - female STEM students report on their studies

we have three Boy Women who, despite all resistance, have decided on a MINT subject, asked about their experiences:

Julika Bleil, industrial engineer: “I actually wanted to convince myself that this was not for me”

Even if, according to a study published in 2008 by Hochschul-Informations-Systems GmbH (HIS), the career prospects for industrial engineers are particularly good: for Julika Bleil, today the founder of Onlineservice Allyve.com, that wasn't the argument for that Choice this subject, but pure enthusiasm:

“As a child, I loved playing with Lego bricks, making model planes and helping build a loft bed”

Her father, as a hobby craftsman, encouraged his daughter's interest by giving her a set of chemicals and letting her help out. However, the path to engineering wasn't necessarily predetermined: Julika dropped out of physics and chemistry in high school because she didn't have these subjects Fun made. The reasons:

“The teachers simply trusted the boys more and the subjects were considered uncool in the class.”

So she initially wanted to study journalism or architecture. She only got better at mathematics when she attended an international school for a while, where the subject was particularly encouraged. The teacher, she reports, was particularly enthusiastic about his subject and loved the abstract mathematical ones Tasks always related to practical application. Looking back, Julika finds:

"If the teacher knows about his subject and is accordingly enthusiastic, then the spark will jump!"

The decision However, the engineering degree only came about through an internship that Julika did at the Airbus supplier Comtas Aerospace in her hometown of Hamburg - actually to convince herself that engineering was not for her. But the opposite was the case: Julika extended the internship, which was originally intended for one month, to half a year. What she particularly liked was the relaxed, unbureaucratic environment and the ability to work independently:

“I thought it was great to end up holding the finished product that I was involved in”

reports Julika. She then made a conscious decision to mix and match Economy and engineering to keep the path open to management. In the Study As a woman, she doesn't have any herself Problems had: Although it was unusual to study in a group of almost exclusively men; however, there are great advantages in being one of the few women. Only in chemistry and physics did she have to do a lot of reworking to catch up. Since Julika did numerous internships during her studies, she was able to choose from two offers after graduating and decided on a management consultancy. The position was challenging, a lot of fun and she had the opportunity to gain insights into different areas of different companies Industries to get. In that respect the place was like one at the same time Further Training. But when, after just one year, you came up with the business idea for the Foundation one of your own Company came, she became self-employed and has not regretted this step to this day:

“I didn't always want to deal with other companies, I wanted my own product from them Strategy to Implementation and accompany marketing itself”

Maike Krause, graduate of biochemistry: “I wanted to know exactly how everything works”

Similar to Julika Bleil, Maike Krause, who is writing her master's thesis in biochemistry at the University of Ulm, was also involved. Her father is a mechanical engineer, the uncle Professor for biophysics. Maike was therefore very interested in how things are structured and work. Her focus was initially on the functioning of machines, so their original job was also mechanical engineering. However, she repeatedly talked to her uncle about his work and also did an internship in the Department of Biophysics at the Hannover Medical School. As a result, the enthusiasm for the chemic processes in the body:

"I just wanted to know more about what happens in enzymes and how certain chemical compounds work in the organism."

Although Maike was already in eleventh grade for sure was that she wanted to study biochemistry – this decision had little to do with school: Although she always particularly enjoyed chemistry lessons, the teachers did not manage to convey the material well, also due to technical deficiencies and had a rather demotivating effect. And the classmates didn't trust Maike to study science. At the university, too, she occasionally had to deal with lecturers who preferred their male fellow students. None of this was an obstacle for Maike, however:

“Studying biochemistry was mine Objective and then I just did that. I didn't care what the others say "

Maike wants to continue working at the university after completing her master's degree. Besides research you want her Background above all pass it on to others - because her own bad experiences with teachers have shown her how important it is to motivate others at an early stage.

Vera Schäfer, student of physics: “I always liked to think logically”

Research is also the goal of Vera Schäfer, who is studying physics in the second semester at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. Since the father electrical engineer and the Mother were a chemical laboratory assistant, Vera's interest in MINT subjects was practically instilled in her from the cradle. She does not see it as a disadvantage at all to be one of the few girls in the lecture hall, but also sees some advantages:

“The trainers know your name faster and the fellow students are extremely helpful.”

Although Vera was not bad at school, she found the Phyis classes to be boring at first. What motivated you to study the subject was the extra-curricular activities: In the Albert Einstein Year 2005, Vera had watched a report on the theory of relativity on television. Through her very dedicated chemistry teacher, she came to the Bad Waldsee Children's and Youth Academy, which organizes excursions to various scientific events, open days and museums. Because Vera liked it very much, three years ago her parents suggested that she visit the South Wuerttemberg School Research Center in Bad Saulgau, about which the father had one Article had read.

"At first when I saw the website I thought it was a size too big for me, but I just went there three years ago and I liked it straight away,"

tells Vera. In fact, it was exactly the right thing: Because at the student research center, young people work together in small groups of two or three people on one Projects. Vera's group tried to produce liquid lenses that change their focal length by changing their curvature, and with this project they promptly achieved third place in the state competition Jugend forscht Baden Württemberg. Motivated by that positive The following year, Vera took part in Jugend forscht again:

"This time we examined the flight of maple seeds, built a vertical wind tunnel, took high-speed pictures, made even small maple seed models, examined the currents around the seeds and of course again compared our results with our theory."

Vera reports enthusiastically. Vera was also a member of Team the International Young Physicists' Tournament, an international physics competition. What fascinates her most about physics is the logic on which everything is built. Accordingly, she is primarily interested in basic research and theoretical physics.

“I've always liked to think up ideas and solve puzzles. This is good for me now, because in physics you have to derive and prove everything from scratch. ”

But that wasn't the only thing that finally led her to study physics: Vera was above all from the Teamwork, playful curiosity and the systematic search for one Solution as well as enthusiastic about the presentation of the projects; she simply enjoys discussing and solving mathematical and physical problems with others:

“I have learned a lot from working in a group and have noticed through these projects that physics is exactly what I want to do.”

Women still outnumbered

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Whether it's the joy of designing and manufacturing your own product, the desire to get to the bottom of things, or the fun of logical thinking and doing research together with others: Our three examples show that young women STEM subjects with a lot of joy and Success can study. However, Julika, Maike and Vera belong to a minority: Although women made up about half of all first semester students at German universities in 2007, only less than a quarter (23%) decided to study science and technology. And that despite the fact that a good 40% of the young women who are entitled to study are principally interested in technology and the natural sciences.

Even in international comparison, the German STEM female students are rather understaffed: The proportion of women in engineering in the European average at 27 percent. In this country, it is only 22%. Even fewer engineering students are only available in the UK (21%), Austria (20%), the Netherlands (16%) and Switzerland (15%). In the area of ​​mathematics and computer science, too, Germany has a catch-up requirement of 26% of women compared to the EU average of 29%. In the life sciences, physics and agricultural sciences, only Greece (47%), the Netherlands (46%) and Switzerland (41%) have a lower proportion of women than Germany (48%), while the European average is 54%.

The low percentage of women in these subjects cannot be explained with a simple “That just doesn't interest me”. Often it is much more likely to be missing Motivation parents and bad teachers do the rest. People of the same age also play an important role: The interest in mathematics, chemistry or physics is often seen as not very girlish and is more likely to be ridiculed in the class. In contrast, our three examples Julika, Maike and Vera show that women are anything but untalented for technical and scientific subjects if their interest is only recognized and encouraged in good time.

Initiatives to promote women in STEM subjects

By the year 2013, 330.000 academics will be missing. Of which 70.000 from the field of natural sciences and 85.000 from the engineering sciences. Politicians and industry have recognized this and have launched numerous initiatives designed to attract young women's interest in STEM subjects. An overview:

How do I find out if a MINT subject is right for me?

As our three examples show, the decision for or against a MINT subject should be made primarily according to one's own interests, inclinations and abilities. To judge correctly is not so easy. Julika Bleil, for example, first completed an internship of several months before she came to study engineering. Even Maike Krause and Vera Schäfer did not come through the school, but through extracurricular projects and internships to their subjects.

A first indication is of course that you enjoy math or science subjects at school - even if, as our three STEM students report, a lot depends on the teacher: If you didn't enjoy math or chemistry at school, you probably do even a MINT degree is nothing. On the other hand, those who like to deal with practical things in their free time and are interested in apparatus, machines, buildings, computer programs or communication networks as well Internet interested, he should take a closer look at STEM subjects.

There is a wealth of material in printed and electronic form for each of these subjects, which everyone can use to obtain initial information about the content of the course, about professional activities and the opportunities, and later an interesting one Workplace to find, can get. But you shouldn't leave it at that: Many universities organize an "open day" where you can get a first impression of studying and get to know different subjects. Some universities even offer self-assessments, ie interactive programs that use the data entered by prospective students to determine their profile and compare it with the profile of courses. Real courses for freshers at the nearest university also give a good overview of the course and the subject areas Discipline and can also be perceived by students.

However, one should not only take care of one's studies, but also deal with later ones at an early stage Job occupy. Many companies also offer internships for students, and in many schools these are anyway mandatory. Anyone who has not yet heard of such opportunities in their area should ask companies on their own. You can also get involved in extracurricular projects, such as Jugend forscht. Like Julika Bleil, anyone who completes a relevant internship should not be afraid Employees of the company and ask them about their careers and experiences. Because only those who also have professional experience before and during their studies can choose from the multitude of professional opportunities in the mathematical, scientific and technical subjects, which range from research, through development, work as a freelancer to manager in a large company, find out the right career path for you.


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