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Are you a woman considering working in a male-dominated field? Have you recently started a new job and find yourself wondering if you’re really cut out for this?Here are some tips to help you succeed, even if you’re the only woman on the job.

But first, a short backstory:

I did not intentionally plan to work in a male-dominated industry. I was not a tomboy growing up and didn’t spend much time with boys (besides my brothers). I’m not even mechanically inclined.

In fact, my decision to pursue a degree in geology was purely a logical decision: I wanted to have a cool job and to improve my standard of living. The job outlook and average starting pay for geology grads sounded good. I even had a rock collection! This seemed to be a natural fit.

If you’d like to hear more about my experience as a woman working on offshore drilling rigs and as a well control instructor, check out my interview on the Women Offshore podcast.

Where my girls at?

However, as time went on, I noticed something odd–each semester, there were fewer and fewer women in my classes. Surprisingly, the girls kept switching majors, and some dropped out of college completely. By my junior year, there were already some classes where I was the only woman. Little did I know this was an indicator of my future workplace dynamic.

Fortunately, I worked as a geophysicist intern during my junior year of college. 2 geophysicists, both men, taught me how to process and interpret geophysical data and write geophysical reports about shallow hazards for oil companies and the government.

After graduating from college, I immediately went to work on deepwater drilling rigs as a logging geologist in the Gulf of Mexico. Oftentimes I was the only woman on the ship or semi-submersible, working with 179 men, for 2-3 weeks at a time. For the last 6.5 years, I’ve been working as a well control instructor. The vast majority of my students and coworkers are men.

Unique Challenges

Being a woman in a male-dominated field is not always a walk in the park. To make things even more difficult, our parents and society don’t encourage us to even consider these jobs as career options. Sadly, even our own families and friends are not always supportive of us deviating from traditional roles.

Furthermore, we deal with coworkers and clients who doubt our capabilities because we don’t “look the part”. Some people don’t even want us around. Others want us around for the wrong reasons.

Why would I want to do this to myself?

Despite the challenges, you can reap many benefits by considering a role that has traditionally been considered “man’s work”. In many cases, these jobs pay well and have good benefits. You will learn new skills, meet people, and experience things you may never have otherwise. Your people skills will improve since you’ll have to learn how to relate to types of people you may not have encountered before. All these experiences and adventures will help build your self-confidence and can greatly impact your personal life–not just your work life.

Here are some things I’ve learned during my career that have helped me become successful in my field–I hope they will also help you.

How to Become the Right Woman for the Job:

Believe in Yourself.

Make big goals and figure out how to reach them. If you don’t feel qualified to do certain types of work, find out what you need to do to change that. When you get opportunities to try new things and progress in your career, don’t let the fear of failure hold you back. You are capable of doing so much more than you know.

Be Yourself.

Forget about being seen as just another one of the guys–because you’re not! Accept it and be ok with that. You don’t need to “fit in” or “act like a guy” to do your job. It is not your responsibility to fit into any stereotype. If you try to act like someone you’re not, you will impress no one. Not everyone will like you, but they will respect you more if you are YOU. Nobody respects a poser.

Speak Up.

Even if you’re new on the job, you might see something that others don’t. Don’t assume the supervisors have already taken your concerns into account. You might have a unique perspective, and not speaking up can result in a job going poorly or someone getting hurt. Your contributions can be very helpful and improve the company as a whole. Never feel like you don’t have a voice. Remember–you are important to the company, or you would not be there!

Embrace Being a Standout.

Unsurprisingly, men will be shocked to see you at work and probably will pay more attention to you. Some men (and women) may assume you won’t catch on. People may even verbally express that women don’t belong and watch (and hope) for you to mess up. Others will be curious because they’ve just never seen a woman with the courage to do a “nontraditional” job.

Here is the good news, ladies: standing out isn’t always a bad thing. When I first started working on drillships, I felt SO self-conscious about being the only woman (or one of the few women) on board. I am still one of the few women well control instructors. In fact, I’ve only met one other in my entire 7 years of teaching!

It took me a while to get used to handling the pressure of having so many eyes on me. Eventually, I got over it and even learned how to make it work for me rather than against me.

People WILL watch you. So be someone worth watching. Have integrity, do your best, and use your unique talents and knowledge to contribute to the job and company. Let them see you do a superb job, and they will remember you. Make a good name for yourself! This will help both now and in the future.

Conclusion

Working in the oilfield has made me a stronger person. I’ve learned to take the initiative, take more chances, how to stand up for myself and not be pushed around. I’ve learned to negotiate terms and not just accept what is first offered to me. Now I value myself, set boundaries, and don’t settle for less than what I deserve in business, relationships, and life in general. I’m much more open-minded and don’t get offended easily. I am proud of my accomplishments and know what I bring to the table.

If you’re ready to rise to the challenge and do something the women around you haven’t done before, I wish you much success. Your journey won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. Even if you don’t feel you’re the right woman for the job quite yet, I encourage you to go ahead and give it a shot. There is only one way to find out what you’re capable of doing–by doing things! You can become the person you want to be.