Engineering should be a career that everyone can see themselves in, girls and boys, women and men. Right now, it isn’t. Women make up just 17% of the UK’s engineering and technology workforce.In this solo episode, Josh looks at where girls and women are lost to engineering, from the subjects they choose at school to the careers they leave. He also explains why industry has to show up much earlier, and much more consistently, if we want a workforce that reflects the people it serves.Josh doesn’t claim to have all the answers. He wants to hear what he’s missing, and this won’t be the last episode on this subject.Sources and further readingEngineeringUK, Women in engineering and technology (2026): https://www.engineeringuk.com/research-and-insights/our-research-reports/women-in-engineering-and-technology/EngineeringUK, Women in engineering dashboard (April 2026): https://www.engineeringuk.com/media/2rshp0g3/dashboard-women-in-engineering-engineeringuk-april-26.pdfEngineeringUK, infographic references, including the 2023 Science Education Tracker: https://www.engineeringuk.com/research-and-insights/infographic-references/Royal Academy of Engineering, Closing the engineering gender pay gap (2020): https://raeng.org.uk/policy-and-resources/d-i-resources/gender-pay-gapASPIRES research, UCL: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/research-projects/2017/mar/aspires-researchWomen’s Engineering Society: https://www.wes.org.ukEquate Scotland: https://equatescotland.org.ukEqual Engineers: https://equalengineers.com

In episode 69, Hayyaan joins Josh to share how great tech teachers and a school Lego club sparked his interest in engineering, why one open day settled his choice of degree, and what it was like learning anatomy at Ninewells Hospital and sitting at the controls of a Da Vinci surgical robot.

They talk about founding Dundee's first biomedical engineering society, becoming a J.P. Morgan tech brand ambassador through LinkedIn, and the AFBE conference where Hayyaan met engineers who looked like him for the first time. That moment led to the Embed project, a summer school for over 100 students from China, and three years running AFBE's Next Gen programme.

Now finishing a Masters in Global Health at the University of Glasgow, Hayyaan's dissertation looks at AI diagnostic systems claiming 100% accuracy while being tested on the wrong people. It raises a question every engineer should ask: who are we actually designing for?

If you're a worried student wondering what to do beyond your degree, or someone who thinks engineering means a hard hat and hi vis, this one is for you.

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Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayyaanrbashir
https://www.engineeracareer.co.uk

Episode 68 of the Engineer a Career Podcast, with Josh joined by TJ Scott, a Formula One engineer and fellow Glasgow Caledonian University alumnus.

TJ grew up building fast, unlikely cars with his dad in the family workshop. That was where he first asked how you take something that works and design it properly on paper before cutting any metal. School didn't go to plan. His route through education ran through City of Glasgow College, two difficult years at Strathclyde, and a fresh start in first year at GCU, where he stayed through to his masters.

At GCU he helped found GCU Racing, the university's first Formula Student team. He talks through starting it in 2019 and keeping it alive through COVID from his bedroom. The team restarted in 2023 with a store room, an old welder and five weeks to build a car before Silverstone. During powertrain design judging that week, a judge from Mercedes picked him out, and he went straight to a final interview.

TJ joined Mercedes High Performance Powertrains as a graduate in 2024. Within months he was designing oil pump internals, and he went on to work on the hybrid system under the new 2026 regulations.

The conversation covers what Formula Student teaches beyond engineering and why industry keeps hunting for ten years of experience instead of growing it. TJ also explains why he gave up his chance to drive the car so the team could run without him. His advice to students in any year is simple: find the society that is building something, and get stuck in.

A conversation about false starts, sideways moves, and what happens when capability finally gets seen.