WHO SAID LADIES CANT DO ANYTHING IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING? I DARE YOU!

Are you a girl studied mechanical engineering? Go ahead girl, you are not alone! As you know, mechanical engineering is a major which is full of boys. From all of the major on the university, this major is the most popular with the man. But who says that woman in mechanical engineering can’t do anything? Who says that we are lost in major? Hell, NO! This is the major I chose. “are you insane?”,”are you out of your mind?” those are the common question I’ve been accepted for the last three years. So what? Am I did something wrong? Girls, are you did something wrong join the mechanical engineering? Here I wanna share about my experience become a minority on my Mechanical engineering’s life.

Hell, NO! Absolutely nothing’s wrong. Why can I say so? Because I did. When I was at the junior high school, I like everything about car. And I promise to myself, one day I’ll take the mechanical engineering as my major in university. It’s not an easy case. When I graduated from the senior high school I wanna register myself to mechanical engineering into one of the best university in my country, Indonesia. But my parents disagree with my decision. But I’m not giving up, while we end every single day with a fight, I’m struggling to get the chair in the university. You know what they said? “You are a girl, so act like a girl!”. But I accepted as the student of diploma mechanical engineering. I don’t care about what people saying about me, about my decision. Those words would only vaporize someday. Finally, officially, in September 2014, I become the student of mechanical engineering UGM.

But hold on, I’m not only going to tell you about my college’s life, but I wanna share a story about the women’s struggle in mechanical engineering. Okay, let’s start with my story. I was on 4^th semester and we got welding practicum. I don’t know about welding, I mean, how to weld a metal while your face covered by a mask? I even don’t know who to see the welding with that black glass on the mask. Then our instructor shows us how to weld. We give our attention to him, I try my best to understand what he talking about. After that, time to practice! We practice it, at first I really confused how to practice it. I try to turn on the flame, but the flux always sticks on the metal table. I try for a few times but still failed, even my instructor gives me an example to make me understand. So we have about 10 jobs. And every job must be explored first to the instructor. I was spent my whole time on the first job and keep failed while my friends pass through to the second or third job. Then I pass the first job and going to the second job. I still cannot weld well, really! I really look like an amateur. I failed for a many time and should grind the weld to repair it. Next day, I pass the second job and going to the third job. In this job, I feel like I get used to it. My welding is good time to time. One time, my instructor suspect me because of my good welding, he said,”who helping you weld this?”. He doesn’t believe that the welding results is all by myself. On the next job, I prove to the instructor that I weld on my own, I weld in the presence of the instructor. And he believes me. He proud of my work (FYI, he told my story on welding practicum on the next class to motivate the girls haha). I finish my last job and I can’t imagine that I’m not the last one. Because there are a girl and a few boys that unfinished their job. Here is my photo when I do welding.

I got a friend, a girl. She joins mechanical engineering like a foolish. I mean, when she registered, she should click the civil engineering, but I don’t know how she lost her focus and click the mechanical engineering. So that was her first semester, and she got technical drawing class. You know, when you on the first semester of mechanical engineering, you should draw a machine part by hand. So she draws, but really she can’t imagine the draw. She can’t read the technical draw, she can’t imagine how to change the draw into 2D or 3D, so she got confused all the time and start CRYING! Yeah.. this is what we waiting for.. every girl on mechanical engineering has passed their college by crying, at least in her first semester (doesn’t apply to me). But finally, she through it. On the 4^th semester, he with me on the AutoCAD class, and I see her draw with AutoCAD very well. She needs a long time to think about the draw, but she can do it. she said,”why we are not drawing with AutoCAD  since the first time so I don’t need to cry?”. And I laugh! But really, her spirit is inspiring.

Then I have another friend, of course, a girl. This is the succesful girl in our mechanical engineering. She learns mechatronic engineering when she’s on vocational high school. She is very accomplished. She joins a lot of engineering competition. And the biggest one is she join a world competition in German, I’d forget about the name of the competition. But she said she is the only girl join mechatronics competition at that time. She is really smart. She can solve any problem. Sometimes, when I talk to her, seems like I talk with a lecturer. But, because I’m the stupid one on mechanical engineering, I always study on her boarding house. I learn a lot from her, even I can’t remember what I learned. Especially when the exam comes, I’ll be the most diligent to visit her. And now she works on Singapore. WOW! I’m happy for her.

Let me tell you what I like in this major. The boys! Not because I’m surrounded by handsome boys (well, this just the bonus). But because the girl is very respected by the boys. Really, if you want to be queen, join mechanical engineering. That’s a little story from me. I hope this story can motivate you to stay focus on your mechanical engineering program and if you are a girl doubtful with your step on this major, I hope after you read this, you have a better sight about mechanical engineering. Once again, you are not alone girl! I’ll share another story about mechanical engineering’s life soon. If you have your own story, let me know in the comment column. See ya!

 *just found it