Want to design yachts? The future designer

[DavidJ]

Alik I can see where you are coming from, but Skyak is right. In North America you aren't even allowed to think like that. When I first read those comments I almost fell off my chair. Man, if I tried saying something like that around my wife I'd be in big time trouble.

Skyak also makes some good points about the varieties of naval architecture companies. I've worked in yacht design, commercial design, and naval design and they were all very different. For me personally I liked commercial best. Yep, it is all based on rules and regulations. Yep, there isn't a lot of opportunity for cutting edge innovation and yep all the big stuff is in Asia. What I liked about it was that commercial clients make the most sense. They want the best boat for the best price. Their goals and requirements are clear and well defined. In my experience, yacht clients are fickle dreamers. Navies are even worse. 100m dollar boat, nah new gov't cutbacks, now we want the same boat for 20m.

However, I do think being on the navy side looks like an interesting job(as opposed to working for a consultancy working on Navy contracts, which is my experience). Writing the constantly changing spec and attending conferences. They get the fun of thinking up what the ships should do without the headaches of trying to figure out the details of how to actually do it. Paid for education. Paid for higher education. Then retire at 40 with a pension and go work for a consultancy as a highly paid naval design expert. If I could go back in time that's what I'd do.

 

[Alik]

Alik I can see where you are coming from, but Skyak is right. In North America you aren't even allowed to think like that.

Country of freedom, heh?

That's cultural difference; we do not need to say lie just because it looks polite to someone. I wish good luck to TS, but frankly speaking if she choose a bit lighter career (i.e. 'marine design' instead of 'naval architecture'), in my opinion she can make better progress.

 

[DavidJ]

Haha, yep. Freedom is a funny thing.

Definitely a cultural difference. And yes in some countries and even in some industries (yacht design perhaps) it might be easier for a woman to be accepted in a aesthetic versus engineering capacity. However, in some industries the opposite is true. Only one woman graduated in my naval architecture class. She wasn't near the top of the class but she has probably been the most successful since. The story is similar for another woman who graduated the year before me. Her company loves her, the clients love her. Women engineers are hard to find and they are a hot commodity in North American firms.

 

[Skyak]

Sounds like an idiot's post. Luckily I do not need to work for 'a company in US', but work for myself; and thus do not need to be a hypocrite. I can afford to call female a female, and mother a mother (not parent #1 or 2).

There are different cultures in the world and not only the one culture being 'right'.

Thanks, coming from you I can't think of a greater complement and I find it comforting that you are impairing no one's career but your own.

I value freedom of speech more than politics or fashion dictate -even yours. That said, it appears you learned english from a 50 year old manual on how to discourage women from higher education and occupation. I don't know of such a document so I can only conclude that you lifted it from a pamphlet on 'recognizing sexual harassment' and thus know that you intend to harm. In the context of advice for someone young and interested in designing yachts it must be made clear that you do NOT represent the profession, and people like you CAN NOT impede her career. Speaking from experience in north america, europe, and china, I can say that gender equality is more than assured. Safety and considerations for family are not an impediment, and imposing stereotype is strictly prohibited.

There is another profession called 'industrial design' that is all about the look and interaction of a product -not responsible for safety and performance like NA or engineering. If that's what Sele meant by 'design yachts' then Italy would be my direction or Rhode Island school of design in the US (great ID school and great sailing history and culture). Sweden and the Netherlands would also be great choices.

Alik, I anticipate that you will feel some need to make this thread about you and your opinions of women or culture -don't bother, this isn't about you and the internet is full of more appropriate blogs for you to rant on. You don't care what I think and I don't care what you have to say. Let this thread be about professional advice.