Can I be an engineer and still dress conservatively?

I think you already know the answer to wearing "loose and flowing" clothing near equipment around machinery and on construction sites. It is highly discouraged, especially if you are going to be close to the machinery or site construction elements. Not only is it a liability for the company to let you on property, but it is a safety factor for yourself. If the clothing is of a cultural or religious nature then you will just have to be creative or bring a support person with you who can go onsite.

For example: Indian women dress in Kurta and Salwar Suits. A Salwar Suit may not be appropriate for a day on site, but a Kurta with Leggings or pants appropriately selected would be safe and acceptable. Albeit, you may have to forgo the footwear fashion sense for the period of time on site to wear steel toed boots. And hard hats are never complementary to any ensemble.

There are always other options too. As an engineering manager, I am typically accompanied by an engineer or technician to sites. Often I will just attend the initial meet location and speak of the high level requirements. The engineer or technician will proceed into the secure safety zone to get details, as they will be the individuals drafting up the detailed plans for my review. Yet then you have to know your employees. If I was with a new hire, I would make sure I was appropriately dressed for the event and accompany the entourage through the entire process.

I would not let your sense of style and clothing sense dictate your pursuit of an engineering discipline. There are many engineering positions and support roles which do not require one to be in a safety related zone.

Of course you can wear loose fitting clothing working as an engineer! There may be certain cases where flowing clothing may be a safety concern, if you are working in extremely close proximity to moving machinery, gears, systems in operation, but in general, there are no dress requirements while overseeing work or walking on a construction site. The only dress code I have seen is that you must wear pants or long sleeves in certain cases, but no detail as to how fitting those items need to be.

Yes! Yes, you can still be a very effective and productive engineer by dressing conservatively, by wearing what makes you feel like you. I see you are leaning toward a "manufacturing" type of career - not being at a desk all day and working around machinery - so I'll address my answer toward that.

I worked for a large automotive manufacturing plant as well as for oil and gas producers and a large gas utility (serving major metro areas). Conservative clothing is not an issue. Loose, flowing clothing is a safety hazard around machinery or job sites. However, many companies provide allowance for company logo clothing (polo with slacks are the most common "uniform") or set business-casual as their clothing preference for personnel. The important thing to remember is to keep safety at the forefront. If you search options, you will quickly find styles you are comfortable with for the work environment you're hired into. Do not limit your career possibilities on the clothing options - you have so much to offer with your interests in mechanical and electrical engineering!

The other thing to remember is we change and evolve over time - styles change - options open up - you'll find clothing, styles and comfort when you better understand your work demands and work environment. I'm impressed you are even considering this aspect of employment - that's awesome! The engineering field and us in the field would love to have you join us! I'm wishing you the confidence and clarity to know YOU would be a great addition to the field of women in engineering! Good luck and stand tall in confidence in your abilities!

In general, yes! You can dress conservatively. The only exceptions I can think of when you may not have 100% say in the outer layer is when safety comes into play. In a machine shop, or place with moving machinery, you are often required to wear steel toed shoes and safety glasses. This is a common requirement for labs and in the field. In some cases you have to wear a hard hat, or for electrical, you may need an electrically grounded smock for your outer layer. If you work in an area where fire is a concern, like a chemical plant, you most likely will have to wear FR's (Flame Resistant) clothing. You can search the web and see the type of FR's that are available. In all cases, the company is expected to provide all safety equipment and clothing. For FR's, you might be given a catalog, and you pick the style and size for you. Everyone there would be wearing these, so everyone looks very similar - safety first!

Conservative dress is just fine for office work and presentations at conferences. However, loose clothing when working near machinery may cause a safety hazard. This should be reviewed in consultation with your Safety Officer and appropriate precautions taken to keep you safe - it may require a modification to your clothing so that it’s not so free flowing (for example, long hair needs to be pinned up so that it cannot be so easily caught in a drill press). Or, it might be solved by putting guards around the machinery so that loose clothing cannot be pulled into the machinery. Each situation may be a little different.

You will find a job in engineering. The restrictions that we have in jobs are there to keep us safe. You cannot have someone operating machinery while wearing clothing that could get caught. That being said, I am sure that there is an OSHA person who can help to mediate between a person's clothing needs and the requirements of the job. Sometimes it might be putting cuffs on sleeves to keep them controlled while operating machinery, or putting on long gloves to contain garments. At the same time, it depends on what the environment is like. I sit at a desk and also work in a lab. I have very long hair. When I am in the lab, I pull it back to make sure that it does not get caught in machinery or fans. And I take off some of my jewelry so that I can work with the electronics better.