Women in Construction Week
Today is International Women's Day and it's also Women in Construction Week! So, to celebrate, we caught up with some of the girls working at MSite and asked them what they enjoy about working in the construction technology space, here’s what they said…
Kirsty Auterson, Digital Transformation Manager
Q) Tell me about your day to day.
My role consists mostly of project management on internal and customer focused projects, so no two days are ever the same, which keeps me on my toes!
Q) What do you enjoy about working at MSite?
My targets are all outputs based, placing value on the work I do and not necessarily how long I spend doing it. I work much better with this flexible approach as my work ethic is measured based on the effort I put in, which is fair and incentivising.
Q) What were your experiences as a woman starting out in the field?
For me it's important to be seen and heard as a high performing individual, not necessarily as a woman. In male dominated industries such as tech and construction there can be an unconscious bias towards women, so you do need to develop resilience, but if you work hard and deliver great outcomes then it doesn't matter what gender you are.
Q) What would you say to other women starting a career in construction technology?
Go for that job! Do great things. Get involved in careers that aren't typically gender balanced. No one can dispute the effort you put in, so give it your best and good things will happen. Sounds like a motivational quote but it's true!
Julie Bedford, MSite Graduate
Q) Tell me about your day to day.
As a graduate, I get involved in plenty of different areas. I am currently working within the Digital Team, I am responsible for the implementation of digital projects, supplementary work for Power BI reports and administrative tasks. My duties will change again after I rotate to my next department, which helps keep things interesting.
Q) What do you enjoy about working at MSite?
I enjoy the atmosphere at MSite. Everyone here is friendly and understands how daunting it can be for new starters. This makes it easier to ask for help when you’re struggling with a task and I’m always learning new ‘tips and tricks’ from those around me.
Q) What were your experiences as a woman starting out in the field?
Initially I was a little intimidated by the idea of working within the construction industry. It’s a field that you’re taught is predominantly male dominated so you’re not too sure if you’re going to fit in well. Since working at MSite, I’ve gained a much better understanding of the industry. This has helped my confidence grow and now I rarely struggle to make connections.
Q) What would you say to other women starting a career in construction technology?
I’d say, ‘go for it’. The construction sector is exciting. There’s always new developments and changes that can shake up the industry. I think it’s a shame there aren’t more women in construction, especially given how large the sector is.
Ellen Alton, Software Technical Lead
Q) Tell me about your day to day.
My day-to-day role is running one of the 4 software development teams in the Product department. I manage the project that the Team is working on, remove blockers that are stopping members of my Team from making progress and do hands on development work.
Q) What do you enjoy about working at MSite?
The thing that stands out to me most about MSite, specifically the department I work in, is the culture and the people. I can say in all honesty that it is a really nice place to work.
Q) What were your experiences as a woman starting out in the field?
I have been a software engineer for about 6 years and through my career so far, as a woman in a technical role, my experience has been varied. However, the past 2 years at MSite have been great, everyone is super friendly and supportive.
Q) What would you say to other women starting a career in construction technology?
To anyone starting a career in software engineering, a place where you can collaborate rather than compete, learn rather than blame and grow rather than go unchallenged is worth its weight in gold.
Kayleigh Smith, QA Engineer
Q) Tell me about your day to day.
My day to day consists of working closely with the developers to understand any changes/improvements they have made to MSite, then writing test scripts and regression testing the functionality to make sure it works how expected in all different scenarios.
Q) What do you enjoy about working at MSite?
MSite is a very friendly place to work, I enjoy working alongside some intelligent people. I'm excited to see what my 5th year working at MSite has to offer.
Q) What were your experiences as a woman starting out in the field?
I've had a very positive experience as a woman working in this field and a lot of opportunities to grow and better my career.
Q) What would you say to other women starting a career in construction technology?
Just go for it! We need more women to start their careers in construction technology as it is still a very male dominated field. It’s such a rewarding field to work in you won’t regret it.
If you want to join us you can see all our open roles here, see the 100 reasons why you’ll love working here, and reach out to recruitment@msite.com with any questions you might have.