Maria Carreira, from Ferrovial Airports, shares her thoughts in this interview about International Women in Engineering Day

To celebrate International Women in Engineering Day last week, we asked our female engineers about their professional careers and goals. One of them is María Carreira, who works at Ferrovial Power Infrastructure in the Business Plan & Innovation Department, and shared with us how she pursued her career in Chemical Engineering, what she likes most about her job and some words of encouragement for women to study STEM degrees (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). One thing that she pointing out was that we must avoid false stereotypes about women in these type of careers.

Hello María, where are you from?

I’m from Galicia, a region in the north-west of Spain.

What area/department of the company do you work in?

I work in the Business Plan & Innovation Department at Ferrovial Power Infrastructure.

What do you do?

I participate in the development of transmission lines projects’ Business Plan during the bidding phase and in project management during the operation phase.

How long have you been in your field? How long have you been with Ferrovial?

Since 2010, so a whole decade! I started at Ferrovial Airports and Power Infrastructure in 2017.

Tell us what your day-to-day work is like.

My day to day basically consists of carrying out all those tasks necessary for the development of the different projects, combining it with some hobby  during my free time.

What is the project you are most proud of?

Above all, I would highlight te all the great people that I have come across throughout the different stages of my lief. Professionally, I remember with pride the achievement of a project in a new market.

What do you have to do to lead a project like that?

You must have great planning skills, drive and, above all, be a team player.

Why did you decide to pursue your career?

Because it allows me to have a global vision of the development of a Project.

What was your career plan to get to your job/role? What did you study? (undergraduate, graduate, masters, different positions)

I studied Chemical Engineering and a Masters in Renewable Energies and Energy Market. As a result of some internships I did during the masters, I got involved in the world of project development and from there I began to gain experience.

Currently, we have a global challenge to increase the amount of young women in STEM careers. How would you encourage future generations to become an engineer?

Creating an environment that promotes science by avoiding false stereotypes about STEM careers, teaching them to have a growth mindset and talking to them and introducing them to successful women in this area.

What do you like most about your profession?

The global vision provided it offers, as you are involved in all the phases of a project, allowing you to interact with the different teams and their expertise.

If I wanted to pursue the same career as you, what would you recommend studying or doing?

Any sort of Engineering, it teaches you a lot of problem-solving and pushes you to think.

Do you have any hobbies?

I do! I love sports, going to the cinema, reading a good book…

What do you like to do during your free time?

What I most like is travelling.

What book/music/series/movie/sport would you recommend?

A good series would be Breaking Bad; a movie would be As Good as It Gets, and a sport I would chose skiing.