This research aimed to develop an understanding of the influence of women engineers' earliest encounters with engineering workplaces on their future career intentions. One of the novelties of this approach is that it recognised that engineering is not a homogeneous industry. The research adopted a mixed methods approach, using qualitative interviews and focus groups to explore the experiences and reflections of women engineering students from a pre- and post-1992 university, before, during and after, their industrial placement. Alongside this, an email survey of all male and female engineering undergraduates, at the same universities, was conducted. Further information about the project may be found on the ESRC Women Engineering Students' Workplace Experiences: Impact on Career Intentions award web page. Women, engineering, career, culture, education