As part of the SEED feature Women in Science & Engineering, Sophie gave the following answers to questions about how she came to work in the world of science.

Question: What led to your choosing science/engineering as a profession? Did a particular event direct your choice? Did someone significant influence you? What factors most influenced your choice?

Answer: During my last year study of Business and Administration we had a great lecture from a Commercial Director of a French Multinational Company (Alcatel) who explained to us the decision process in Business-to-Business trade (usually long process, problems of financing, process which involve distributors or agents or intermediaries), projects which often contribute to the development of countries. I found this presentation very different from the consumer marketing class and lectures we had during the previous years. Different because I had the feeling that Industrial Marketing in a B to B environment was more serious than consumer marketing (marketing for toothpaste or yoghourt!). A few weeks later, I had the opportunity to spend three months in Canada for an industrial marketing consultant. This experience reinforced my opinion. Then I had the opportunity to perform my Final Year Project with a competitor to Alcatel for six months. At the end I was offered a job.At the end of my Final Year Project, the Sales Director (who had a long experience in international business with a competitor) had just joined the Company. He wanted to bring new profiles, not necessarily technical, onto his sales team. He supported my application as an export sales engineer. It has been a great opportunity in an engineering environment. A close friend of mine, a Sales Manager for a telecommunication manufacturer, encouraged me to start in a high tech company because high tech = great potentials and high gross in an evolving environment.

Q: What is the most interesting part of your job?

A: The most interesting part of my job today is to listen as carefully as possible to what managers need from the person to be recruited as well as towhat candidates (mostly Fresh Outs) can do and expect from their first job. It is interesting to match expectations from both parties and therefore do a good job.

Q: What impact has your choice of career had on your family life?

A: Frequent travels in my previous job developed a taste for frequent travels of the person I share my life. We therefore both need to be very tolerant.

Q: What advice would you share with young female scientists today?

A: Behave as naturally as possible. Do not be on the defensive when you are surrounded by men at work. Take into account that a typical "woman day" will probably be longer than a "man day" (after work worries). Therefore, spare some energy for after work!