I have an MSEE (master's degree in electrical engineering) and I work for one of the giants of the defense industry. I have been here for 4.7 years and my job has been to modify documents and spreadsheets, run errands, search the Internet for electronics and/or software, enter information in an archaic database, modify schematics and generally do what no one else wants to do. I believe a high school graduate would be overqualified for my job. I am capable of so much more, but never given the opportunity.
When I ask for more challenging assignments, I feel like I get punished. Once, I ended up working for a man who claimed that "my degrees meant nothing and that I was no better than a database entry operator". Most recently, I ended up responsible for fixing broken hardware, but with no physical means to troubleshoot. With no diagnostics, I was told to simply guess what needed to be fixed. Needless to say, the hardware is still broken and there is now a permanent record of my perceived incompetence.
Yesterday, I got upset (to the point where I finally really want to find another job) when an employee who has a successful job troubleshooting hardware failed to deliver a document on time and it's now my job to modify yet another document! I generally feel like I don't matter. When am I going to ever get any relevant work experience? I was told that my problem is that I want the world to be fair. I think it’s morally reprehensible to commit an unjust act, and then justify it by claiming that the world is unfair. If my promotions, raises and future assignments are based on how I rank when compared to my peers, is it not at least unethical that my I get assignments with much less technical merit that my peers do?
I try to talk to the other employees about my dilemma, but they think things are the way they should be. I tried talking to my friends and family, but most see being "paid so well, to do such menial tasks" as the "ride of a lifetime". My issue is that the "world’s oldest profession" is the only profession where I see it as even being conceivable to justify being well paid as the best part. I want to work as an engineer. I think that most people with an advanced degree (scientists, doctors, lawyers, professors, etc.) have a passion for their respective profession where the true compensation is the satisfaction felt after a hard day’s work. Am I being naive?
I am starting to think that I was only hired because as one of the few minority females with an advanced technical degree, I satisfy some sort of EEO quota. But, it is a double-edged sword because as a minority female, I feel I am then viewed as not being capable or deserving of more than the most menial of tasks because my degrees were not earned but received as some sort of consolation prize.
Sometimes I think I should be patient and eventually I will get a chance to show this company what I'm really worth. But, then I question how I will ever get that opportunity when my core skill set is being proficient at Microsoft Word!?
My greatest fear is if I leave this company, I will face the same sort of problem somewhere else because this is the real world. Is this discrimination or simply the luck of the draw at a huge corporation? What do you think? Are dreams only for kids? What do I put on my resume since I’ve had so little technical experience? Should I find a job in another field due to the fact that as a minority female, I may never have a equal chance to succeed as an engineer?
