#thestemstar

So, the day started out pretty normal. Get up, brush my teeth, make lunch for school, get my backpack and other supplies ready, put on my shoes, etc. And after leaving my first class of the day (which was band class if you were wondering), and I head to the second class I had for the day, which was the long-awaited, highly-anticipated, and held in the utmost regard, my engineering class. 

And when I walked in, I stood there really awkwardly for a few seconds and decided to sit near the door. Then I did one of those maneuvers and decided to sit in the seat in front of the seat I originally chose. So after I sit and put my stuff down on the floor, I look around the room and...

ALL OF THEM WERE BOYS. Even the teacher. I was literally the only girl in that room. I know that engineering is a male-dominated field, but I thought that there would be at least one other girl in that class. And to top it all off, they all seemed to already know each other, I was also probably the only freshman in there. I just sat there and hardly said anything during class. I just did what I was told. And when I did talk, I felt like the whole room got kind of quiet, maybe it was to be respectful and listen when someone was given permission to talk, or maybe it was because I was the only girl in there, who knows?

So, as you can imagine, I felt really out of place, like I didn’t belong in there, even though nobody was telling me that I shouldn’t be there. Now, does this mean I’m going to drop out of the class and decide to pursue a different career path... no. I know there are probably going to be more classes like this in the future as I pursue this career, but I just have to make peace with it if I want a career in engineering. For now, this is just a part of life.

Also, if you were wondering what percentage of engineers in the workforce are women:

13-14%. It was like this 2012, in 2016, in 2017. And it probably STILL hasn’t changed in 2020. I mean, the percentage of women with intentions to major in engineering have definitely increased, but according to an infographic by the Society of Women Engineers, 32% of women switch out of STEM degrees in college and only 30% of women who earn a bachelor’s degree in engineering are still in the engineering field 20 years later.

As you can see, these numbers are abysmal. So, once I become an engineer, I’m going to advocate for more girls in STEM and engineering. We’ve got to bring these numbers up. But, until then, I’m going to keep going to that class while also trying to adapt to this new environment. Here’s a tip: when you’re a girl going into engineering, be prepared mentally. Because you probably are the only girl in there.