Women in Engineering: My Messy, Honest Take
Women in engineering—ugh, that phrase alone makes my heart race a bit. I’m sprawled on my couch in my tiny Boston apartment, the kind with creaky floors and a weird musty smell I can’t quite place. My laptop’s balanced on a pile of takeout menus, and I’m sipping lukewarm coffee from a mug that says “Code Hard or Go Home.” I’m thinking about the women in engineering who’ve pulled me through my own chaos. Like, how do they keep it together? I’m just trying not to spill my coffee while I write this, and their advice feels like a lifeline I don’t deserve but desperately need.
Why Women in Engineering Are My Freakin’ Heroes
I’ll never forget my first coding bootcamp, where I was the only woman in a room full of guys who seemed to speak Python like it was their first language. I was sweating through my hoodie, my notes a jumbled mess of syntax errors and doodles of cats. Then I met Tara, a software engineer who’d worked at Google. She leaned over and whispered, “Girl, just keep typing—nobody knows what they’re doing at first.” That was it. Women in engineering like her don’t just break glass ceilings; they smash them with a sledgehammer and make it look easy. Their advice? Show up, mess up, and keep going.
- Ask the “stupid” questions. Nobody’s judging as hard as you think.
- Find your squad. Other female engineers get the struggle—connect with them.
- Own your mistakes. You’re not perfect, and that’s okay.
My Epic Fails as a Woman in Engineering
Okay, real talk: I once submitted a project proposal with a typo in the title—called it “Brigde Design” instead of “Bridge.” My professor emailed back, “Nice try, but bridges have two r’s.” I wanted to crawl under my desk, which was already cluttered with empty Red Bull cans. But then I talked to Maya, a civil engineer I met at a WIE event. She laughed and said, “I once miscalculated a load and delayed a project by a week—learn and move on.” That’s the thing about women in engineering: they turn screw-ups into stepping stones. I’m trying to do the same, even if I still blush thinking about that typo.
Trailblazers’ Advice That Keeps Me Going
I’ve been lucky to stumble into some incredible women in engineering, and their tips are like gold nuggets in a pile of dirt. Take Jess, a data scientist I met at a tech meetup in Austin. I was nervously clutching a beer, feeling out of place, when she said, “Build something small and show it off—confidence comes from doing.” So I started messing around with a Python script for fun, even though it crashed like five times. Then there’s Priya, a mechanical engineer I follow on LinkedIn. She told me to always negotiate my pay, even if my voice shakes. I tried it last month, stuttering like an idiot, and got a 7% raise. Not bad, right?
Here’s what I’ve scribbled down from these women in engineering:
- Start small, but start. A tiny project can spark big confidence.
- Negotiate, period. Know your worth, even if you’re sweating buckets.
- Find mentors who get it. Women in STEM will have your back—reach out.
The Real, Messy Life of a Woman in Engineering
Being a woman in engineering isn’t all LinkedIn flexes and shiny awards. Some days, it’s being ignored in a meeting or having a guy “explain” your own work to you. Last week, at a coworking space in Chicago, I pitched an idea, and a dude cut me off to say, “That’s cute, but…” Cute?! I wanted to yeet my laptop at him. But then I think of women in engineering like Kimberly Bryant, who founded Black Girls Code. She faced way bigger obstacles and kept pushing. Her advice, and others like her, is to stand tall, speak up, and don’t let anyone dim your light—even if you’re shaking inside.
My Big Takeaway for Women in Engineering
If I’m being 100% honest, the best advice from trailblazing women in engineering is to embrace the hot mess of it all. Your career’s gonna zig-zag like a bad GPS. I’m writing this with a pile of laundry staring me down, my coffee cold, and my brain half-convinced I’m faking this whole engineering thing. But those women—Lena, Maya, Jess—they remind me: you don’t need to be perfect, just persistent. So, to any woman in engineering out there, keep coding, keep designing, keep asking questions. You’re part of something bigger, typos and all.
Outbound Links:-
Oxford’s Women in Engineering network, promoting diversity and outreach.
RNLI resources for International Women in Engineering Day and career paths.
Imperial College’s Women in Engineering Network, supporting female engineers.
